RICHARD Thompson's autumn travels will take the beret-wearing Notting Hill guitarist, singer and songwriter to York and Hull on successive nights.

The 13 Rivers Tour will visit the Grand Opera House, York, on October 22 and Hull City Hall on October 23, marking the launch of 69-year-old Thompson's latest studio album on Proper Records later this year.

During 2017, he released two volumes of acoustic recordings: Acoustic Classics Vol. II, featuring acoustic renderings of songs from the Thompson catalogue, and Acoustic Rarities, a set of new recordings of some of his more obscure songs. He also celebrated the 50th anniversary of Fairport Convention, the ground-breaking band he co-founded as a teenager in the 1960s, with a performance at their annual Cropredy Festival last August.

Named by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the Top 20 Guitarists of All Time, Thompson has received multiple awards, topped off by an OBE in 2011. He has a Lifetime Achievement Award from the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards to go with his UK and US Americana Music Association Awards, Mojo magazine’s Les Paul Award and an Ivor Novello Award for song-writing.

Robert Plant, REM, Elvis Costello, Bonnie Raitt, Curtis Stigers, Michael Ball, The Neville Brothers, Paulo Nutini, Kate Rusby, Dinosaur Jr and Patty Loveless are among the many acts to have recorded his songs.

His tour support act will be American folk musician Joan Shelley, from Louisville, Kentucky. York tickets are on sale on 0844 871 3024 or at atgtickets.com/york; Hull, 01482 300306 or hulltheatres.co.uk; alternatively, go to serious.org.uk/Thompson.