MARC Almond, once of Soft Cell in the parish of our Yorkshire neighbours Leeds, plays York Barbican on Sunday night as one of only five shows on his Hits And Pieces Tour.

Taking in London, Perth, York, Buxton and Warrington, the tour accompanies this month's release of Hits And Pieces, The Best Of Marc Almond And Soft Cell, in a 60th year celebration to mark Almond's upcoming birthday on July 9.

Almond will be performing "all the hits", his poster says, in the company of his full band as he cherry-picks from a career with 13 Top 30 singles and 30 million record sales, all kick-started in 1981 by Soft Cell's chart-topping electro-pop cover of a Gloria Jones Northern Soul classic, Tainted Love.

Through the years, Almond has collaborated with not only Soft Cell partner Dave Ball, but also with Tony Visconti, Gene Pitney, Nico and Jools Holland, performing Say Hello, Wave Goodbye and Tainted Love with Holland's Rhythm & Blues Orchestra at the York Barbican in November 2014. His dramatic vocal prowess has seen him interpret Jacques Brel's French songs and traditional Russian songs alike and he was a shoe-in to be asked to perform at the BBC Proms celebration of David Bowie's music at the Royal Albert Hall last July.

Hits And Pieces is available on the Universal label in both a single and rather more comprehensive 35-track double-disc format. Featured on both is A Kind Of Love, a new yet retro number co-written with producer Chris Braide that hints at Almond’s past – "the light summery psychedelic sounds on a mid-Sixties transistor radio, the Northern Soul scene that inspired Soft Cell to cover Tainted Love and What!" – without really sounding much like anything he has recorded before.

A Kind Of Love's release as a single comes accompanied by a new video, wherein Almond reunites with Tim Pope, the legendary director of Soft Cell’s ground-breaking videos of the early ‘80s, most notably Bedsitter: the synth group's first-ever video and Pope’s own directorial debut.

Based on the 1969 Russ Meyer flick Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls, the new video features an all-girl backing band, The Flicks, a cast of freaks and groovers, plus cameos from The The’s Matt Johnson and Bowie guitarist Mick Ronson’s daughter, Lisa. Making an appearance too are reality TV star Eileen Daly, who was Almond’s love interest in Pope’s 1982 video for Say Hello, Wave Goodbye, and jazz chanteuse Mari Wilson, who featured in the original video for What!.

Tickets, but not many, are still available for Sunday's 7.30pm show on 0844 854 2757 or at yorkbarbican.co.uk