SHEFFIELD soul man Paul Carrack has released a new compilation album expressly for the supermarket market at the price of a fiver.

“We just figured it was time for a new collection, bringing it up to date a bit and with a couple of re-recordings on there too,” says Paul, whose 60-date autumn, winter and spring tour kicks off at Harrogate Royal Hall tomorrow.

“It’s aimed at the mainstream because we were approached by the supermarkets, Asda, Waitrose and Tesco, which is a market that’s been closed to us before, not being a ‘big hitter’, but they’ve now given us this opportunity.”

The Best Of Paul Carrack comes after a career of 17 solo albums and contributions to no fewer than 60 albums in all, including the work of Ace, Squeeze and Mike + The Mechanics (CORRECT), and brings together 19 tracks, culminating in I’m Losing You, One In A Million and Come Rain Or Shine from 2013’s Rain Or Shine and this month’s remixed new single, Stepping Stone.

“We have some great fans and very supportive ones at that, but there’s also a market who will like a single and though they may not buy a studio album, they might be tempted by a compilation, so that’s why we’ve gone for the most commercial tracks.”

The opening track is Living Years, not the Mike + The Mechanics version, but, rather, a live recording from Stockholm.

“I always knew I couldn’t get the Mechanics’ one, so we’ve gone for a live one, recorded with the King and Queen of Sweden sitting in the front row at the Royal palace,” says Paul.

“I was a guest for a concert by Robert Wells, singing Living Years with him. He’s a classically trained pianist who likes to rock’n’roll it up – his hero was Victor Borge – and we’ve done a few shows for him out there. Robert had Living Years on his DVD of the concert, where you can also see the King of Sweden playing air guitar to Albert Lee, who was on the bill too.”

Among the hits on Paul’s album are How Long and Tempted.

“The How Long version is the one I did in 1995/96, rather than the Ace one, and Tempted comes from Squeeze’s Spot The Difference, when they had an issue over not having the rights to their back catalogue, so they re-recorded all their hits,” says Paul. “The way that worked is that I re-recorded my vocals and didn’t take a fee or royalties, so it’s quid pro quo; I can use it and Squeeze can use it.”

Another highlight is Love Will Keep Us Alive, the song Paul wrote with The Eagles’ Timothy B Schmit.

“We’ve gone for the studio version I did with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra from the album A Different Hat,” says Paul, whose other selections include Over My Shoulder, Satisfy My Soul, Groovin’, Don’t Dream It’s Over, Moon River and Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying.

Paul’s set list at Harrogate tomorrow and York Barbican on November 9 will not be restricted to his greatest hits. “There’ll be hits there, but for our interest and the audience’s interest we have to keep swapping and changing the set and we’ll always reserve the right to do that,” he says.

Through the years, Paul has ploughed an independent path, releasing his albums on his own label, while latterly also finding time to play on the road in Eric Clapton’s band, and the new compilation affords him a chance to reflect on his career at 63.

“There are probably easier ways to make a living, but it is what it is, which is fun, and it’s now going as well as it’s ever gone for me, so it would be hard not to do it, having invested all my life in it,” he says.

“If I were banging my head against a brick wall, then it might be different, but I’m not. My career is the best it’s ever been.”

• Paul Carrack plays Harrogate Royal Hall tomorrow, 7.30pm, and York Barbican on November 9, 7.30pm. Box office: Harrogate, 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk; York, 0844 854 2757 or yorkbarbican.co.uk