HE was an avid Wolves fan, an Amazon adventurer and a technological pioneer - but still Sir Eward Elgar is seen as just a dull old country gent with a huge moustache.

Now a new campaign is aiming to change the image of the Worcestershire composer and reclaim him as a Midlands icon and contemporary role model on the 150th anniversary of his birth.

The campaign was launched at Symphony Hall, Birmingham, on Saturday evening.

Andrew Jowett, head of the body that manages the Symphony Hall and the newly restored Town Hall, where several of Elgar's major works were premiered, said: "Elgar's music has stood the test of time and everyone knows he wrote the Enigma Variations and Land of Hope and Glory.

"But few people know he left school at 15 with few qualifications and did not achieve national recognition until in his 40s. Or that he was a Wolves fan, a keen golfer and went on a 1,000-mile Amazon cruise in his mid-60s.

"Elgar proved that with talent, hard work and determination anything is possible."

According to Stephen Maddock, head of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra - whose very first concert was conducted by Elgar in Birmingham's Town Hall in 1920 - the composer would have been at home with today's podcasts and internet downloads.

He said: "Elgar was fascinated by technology and was one of the first composers to take an interest in recording his own works. He actually opened EMI's Abbey Road recording studios and I'm sure that he would have been most curious about our regular podcasts."

The highlight of the CBSO's 150th anniversary tribute to Elgar will be performances of his three oratorios - The Dream Of Gerontius, The Apostles and The Kingdom - on successive days over the anniversary weekend, June 1-3.

The Reclaiming Elgar campaign, funded by Arts Council England, has set up a website - www.artscentral.co.uk/elgar - to promote 150th anniversary concerts and events and to provide links to organisations with more information about the man and his life.

Cathy Sloan, curator of the Elgar Birthplace Museum at Lower Broadheath said: "Elgar had such a wide range of enthusiasms and, far from being stuffy, he had a tremendous sense of fun. He also learned how to use his fame to his advantage by endorsing various products - in many ways he was the David Beckham of the early 20th century."

In Worcester, where Elgar's father had a music shop, Visit Worcester offers an Elgar trail with information about landmarks related to the composer.

Georgia Smith, head of Visit Worcester, says: "Elgar is our most famous son and the anniversary is a tremendous opportunity to attract visitors from all over the world."