FOLK ROCK innovators Fairport Convention will celebrate their golden anniversary in 2017 with a new album and a British and Irish winter tour that visits Whitby Pavilion on March 3 and Leeds City Varieties the next night.

Released on March 10, 50:50@50 features new original songs and live recordings of various fan favourites, and the tour will mirror that format with selections from the anniversary album alongside hits from the ever-expanding Fairport repertoire.

Bassist Dave Pegg, who first played on a Fairport album in 1970 in the form of Full House, says: "Although Fairport is a long-established band, we have never rested on our laurels. We're very proud of our history and heritage but have always looked forward rather than back; we've always tried to come up with new material, new ideas, and new sounds. We believe this is reflected in both our recorded work and our stage shows.

"Fairport has never been a studio band; we've always had to tread the boards to pay the bills. That's why we decided that 50:50@50 would be half live recordings and half studio numbers."

Playing on 50:50@50 are Fairport's longest-running line-up in the band's history: Pegg on bass guitar; Simon Nicol on guitar and vocals; Chris Leslie on fiddle, mandolin and vocals; Ric Sanders on violin and Gerry Conway on drums and percussion.

"This album shows Fairport is nothing if not versatile," says Pegg. "The tracks range from new folk-rock (Eleanor’s Dream, for instance), to lively instrumentals (as in Danny Jack's Reward, a Ric Sanders tune augmented in this recording by Joe Broughton’s Conservatoire Ensemble), to Chris Leslie’s lovely lyrical songs, such as Our Bus Rolls On.

"The album also demonstrates Fairport's chameleon-like aptitude for collaboration. We become Robert Plant's backing band for Jesus On The Mainline, recorded live after a single run-through at The Mill theatre in Banbury, and we're joined by Pentangle vocalist Jacqui McShee on Lady Of Carlisle."

Opening the golden anniversary shows will be singer-songwriter Sally Barker, formerly of the all-female folk group The Poozies and runner-up in BBC1's talent show The Voice in 2014.

Tickets for Whitby can be booked on 01947 458899 or at whitbypavilion.co.uk; Leeds, 0113 243 0808 or cityvarieties.co.uk