He has sold more than 100 million records worldwide and his Scottish fans are counting down to his massive show at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro, on November 11.

With 25 Grammy awards to his name, the atmosphere in the arena is sure to be electric when Motown legend Stevie Wonder plays every track from his classic 1976 double album, Songs in the Key of Life.

But the sell-out tour date, which celebrates the album’s 50th anniversary, will be a far cry from when he first arrived in Scotland – with a coachload of his labelmates playing to empty seats.

Record label boss Berry Gordy had sent his stars over to the UK to launch the brand-new Tamla Motown label.

On paper, it was the greatest soul package ever to cross the Atlantic.

The bill included the Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas and Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, who were all backed by The Earl Van Dyke Six – made up of the Funk Brothers who played on almost every Motown record.

Also taking to the stage each night was a Michigan teenager, born Stevland Hardaway Judkins, and performing under the moniker Little Stevie Wonder.

Although a success in the US, the 14-year-old blind kid had yet to score a British hit when the Tamla-Motown Revue travelled to Glasgow on April 1, 1965.

Glasgow was the 11th stop on a gruelling run of 21 theatres in 24 days with the acts playing two shows a night on a tour that proved to be a box-office flop.

Based on poor advance sales, the promoters Arthur Howes and Harold Davison had drafted in ‘special guest star’ Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames to bolster ticket sales.

When the two performances at the Glasgow Odeon, with a capacity of 2,800 and standing on the corner of Renfield Street and West Regent Street, failed to sell out, fans who made the 6.40pm show were invited to come back to see the second show for free at 9pm.

Mary Wilson of The Supremes, who were top of the bill, called it “the ghost tour”.

Martha Reeves, then 23 and now 85, recalled how Scotland had left its mark on them regardless of the empty seats – but Stevie Wonder was a hard act to follow.

The Vandellas were one of the fiercest live acts on the label. Even so, Martha told me how nobody on the Revue fancied following the kid.

She said: “The first time I came to Scotland, I was amazed to see a parade with gentlemen in kilts and Clydesdale horses. I’d only seen that in history books.

“People already knew our product when we came, so that was a surprise. It was a delight to play and experience new fans with the same love for the music.

“But nobody wanted to come on after Stevie Wonder.”

Things had changed dramatically by the time he returned to the Glasgow Odeon on March 18, 1969, as part of an 18-date UK tour.

By now he was the headline act.

His main support was The Foundations – one of the UK’s first multi-racial acts to enjoy a No1 single in 1967, with their debut Baby, Now That I’ve Found You. They were also fresh from having scored a No2 hit with Build Me Up Buttercup.  

Third on the bill was an American female trio The Flirtations who had relocated to the UK after winning a US talent contest looking for a group who sounded most like The Supremes.

Stevie was now 18 years old and riding high in the charts with For Once In My Life. He had a string of previous UK hits under his belt, including Uptight (Everything’s Alright), A Place in the Sun and I Was Made To Love Her.

His Scots fans adored him, but they would have to wait 20 years for him to come back.

His show at Glasgow’s SECC on May 9, 1989, saw him open with Master Blaster (Jammin’). He also played the hits Superstition, Sir Duke and Higher Ground, before closing the set with Uptight (Everything’s Alright).

Thirteen days later, on May 22, he played the Edinburgh Playhouse.

Now 76, and 37 years on from those shows, he is arriving back in Scotland for what could be his last show here.

The Hydro concert on Wednesday is the last UK date on his Songs in the Key of Life 50th anniversary tour. It comes a remarkable 65 years after he signed as an 11-year-old prodigy to the Tamla label in Detroit.

Tickets, priced from £101 to £265 plus fees, were snapped up in a heartbeat and it’s no wonder.

When Stevie Wonder delivers classic songs such as Love’s In Need Of Love Today, Sir Duke, I Wish and Isn’t She Lovely, the response will be a world away from the two half-empty shows he witnessed as a teenager at the Glasgow Odeon.