ALL thirteen of Amy Macdonald's dates on her first British tour since 2013 have sold out, York Barbican on Wednesday among them.

"Yeah, it's not too shabby, is it," says the Scottish singer-songwriter with a down-to-earth air that marks everything she does. "It feels strange because I'd not toured in Britain in such a long time, so I wasn't sure what to expect, as it's been four or five years, but as soon as we put the tickets out, the whole tour was 80 per cent sold out. I felt so honoured, so lucky, that I had this great level of support after ten years."

Amy had burst into the charts in July 2007 at the age of 19 with the album This Is The Life, the first of four to make the Top Five, the latest being Under Stars, released last month after a five-year hiatus since 2012's Life In A Beautiful Light.

There may have been a long gap between records but Amy has an unfailingly loyal fanbase. "Sometimes it feels a bit big-headed when talking about, but I think it's because I'm very real, very normal, and I write songs that are authentic," she says. "I've never tried to write in a particular style or follow trends, and people can relate to that because I write about everyday, accessible topics.

"People can feel themselves in those songs, whereas so many musicians are trying to fit in and changing styles to do that. I've always stuck out as a bit of a sore thumb by just being open, normal and very honest, but for me, music has to speak truthfully."

York Press:

"This is the album I could listen to over and over again," says Amy Macdonld

Amy, who first played York at a sold-out Fibbers in August 2007 with her debut record riding high at number two, has since had a "crazy life, experiencing things in ten years that maybe you don't usually in a lifetime". However, "while you do change in a way that you wouldn't if you stayed at home, rather than travelled", nevertheless she remains grounded after nine million album sales worldwide. "My approach to life hasn't changed. I just do things naturally," she says, with her 30th birthday on the horizon on August 25.

"I've stayed where I'm from. I love being close to my family and I still have all the friends I had at school, still living within ten minutes of each other. They've been there for me from the very beginning and it's been amazing to have been able to share that journey with all my best friends. This industry can be a bubble if you don't step out of it, but whenever I go home, I step out of it straightaway and live a normal life."

Amy is on her travels, undertaking a six-week European tour, playing 29 shows across 12 countries, reflecting the international popularity of Under Stars that took the album to number two in Germany and number one in Switzerland. What's more, she believes it is her most complete record to date.

"For me, it's the first album I've made where I feel so unbelievably proud of it," she says. "I'm always happy with my songs and albums but this is the album I could listen to over and over again. I believe it's some of the best writing I've done."

On the evidence of social media reactions, so do Amy's fans. "The shining light of social media is being able to have that interaction, that conversation with fans. I did a few shows at the end of last year, in Glasgow and London, and I couldn't believe the number of Tweets I was getting afterwards," she says. "I stayed up till 2.30 in the morning to respond to them all as I was so touched by their comments."

Amy Macdonald plays York Barbican, Wednesday, 7.30pm, SOLD OUT.