WELSH rock'n'roll revivalist Shakin' Stevens will play York Barbican on May 18 next year on his biggest ever British tour, performing 33 shows in all from April 15 to May 28.

The tour announcement comes only days after Shaky released his 12th studio record, Echoes Of Our Times, "an album of life and times" that "unveils another side to his talents, as an artist, songwriter and storyteller" after notching up 33 hit singles and four number ones.

“I can’t wait to get back on the road, and introduce the songs from Echoes Of Our Times to people who have seen me perform in the past, and those who have not," says Britain's biggest-selling solo artist of the 1980s.

The new album blends blues, roots, Americana and classic rock as 68-year-old Shaky, from Ely Cardiff, details stories from his intriguing family history in a musical tribute to his once mysterious past.

York Press:

Shakin' Stevens: new album

This "surprising record" has grown from his realisation that, like most of us, he knew so very little about the background of his family: the stories of his ancestors’ loves and lives lost and their struggles to survive. Research revealed tales of poverty and strife in the Cornish copper mines, of bravery and loss in war, of philanthropic preachers and stoic Salvationists, of children suffering and of family secrets and feuds. Shaky himself is one of 13 children.

His Echoes Of Our Times Tour also will visit Leeds Grand Theatre on May 21. Tour tickets go on sale at £24 upwards at 9am on Friday from ticketmaster.co.uk; York bookings also can be made on 0844 854 2757, at yorkbarbican.co.uk or in person from the Barbican box office; Leeds bookings on 0844 848 2700 or at leedsgrandtheatre.com