TIM Hornsby remembers the first time he booked American songwriter Tom Russell to play York. “There were only 20 people there, so I’m so pleased for him that he’s getting such great reviews for his latest album,” says Tim, who welcomes Tom to The Duchess on Sunday evening.

“He’s a genuine USA legend, dabbling in spoken word, painting and documentary making – his sets are scattered with tales from Charles Bukowski, American childhoods and the beat generation. A maverick. A genius. And a bloody big hat!”

Tom’s songs may have been covered by Johnny Cash, Nanci Griffith and Joe Ely in the past, but he sensed his latest album, Blood And Candle Smoke, could be the defining recording of his long career. What’s more, he has been proved right.

“This record really seems to have pushed things. A lot of the American shows were sold out, and most of the British dates are getting close to sold out,” says Tom, from his winter retreat in Switzerland. “The internet has made such a difference too with all these mentions in best albums of the year lists.

“The album got a lot of attention on websites; Mike Harding played the hell of it on Radio 2, and now it’s catching on in places like Norway, where it’s sold almost as much as in the UK.”

He committed himself to working on songs for Blood And Candle Smoke for three to four years.

“After 20 records in 40 years, I knew that the only thing that would move me into the John Prine league was a significant record of great songs and a newer sound – and I’d been experimenting with that with Calexico,” says Tom.

“I also knew that careers are usually judged by the first six albums, and people say, ‘Oh, Tom Russell, he’s a country boy’ or ‘he’s Americana’, but I knew I didn’t fit in with the Nashville crowd.

“I live in El Paso, which is the end of the line really… so I decided I would sing some global songs and write music that would reflect that, writing about things like being a young criminologist in Nigeria in 1969 and listening to Nina Simone in Mexico.”

For all his increased sales, above all else Tom still enjoys performing concerts, giving himself a chance to explain his songs. “People can analyse them to the core, as I talk about them, and you get people coming up and saying, ‘I didn’t ‘get’ the record until you talked about it,” he says.

“Let’s face it, it’s an ancient craft, Homer going from town to town, minstrels and troubadours. Nothing changes, except that maybe the microphones have got better. You’re still going from town to town with broadsides – which my songs are – bringing news to the people with a guitar.”

• Tom Russell plays The Duchess, York, on Sunday. Tickets: £14 in advance on 0844 477 1000 or £16 on the door from 7.30pm.