IN 1964 Bob Dylan was inspired by The Animals' chart-topping House Of The Rising Sun to rush out and buy an electric guitar. In the mid-Sixties, Eric Burdon's rowdy beat group from Newcastle was voted the third best band in the world behind The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

Next week - April 16 to be precise - marks the 40th anniversary of their first entry in the British charts with Baby Let Me Take You Home. That anniversary night The Animals & Friends will be playing York Theatre Royal as part of a 50-date tour.

"We're actually doing 84 dates in 90 days between April and June in Holland and Germany and Britain," says Pete Barton, The Move singer who has stepped into Eric Burdon's shoes as The Animals' front man.

"We'll have two weeks off and then we start again with 16 shows in Germany and an autumn tour, and we'll have done more than 200 dates before the end of the year."

Barton is joined in The Animals' 40th anniversary line-up by founder members John Steel and Micky Gallagher, plus Jim Rodford, from Argent and The Kinks, and Creedence Clearwater Revival's Johnnie Guitar Williamson. In support will be a specially created Sixties' supergroup of Friends, featuring Chip Hawkes of The Tremeloes, Eric Haydock of The Hollies, Mick Avory of The Kinks and Ted Tomlin of Love Affair.

To coincide with the British tour, The Animals will release a new album, Instinct, on their own Organic Mountain label on May 4. "We've done 15 totally new songs, recorded at Lisa Stansfield's studios in Rochdale.

"When we started on it two and a half years ago, we thought it would be out in a few months but it has taken this long because we have all these guests on it," says Barton.

Among those guests are Manfred Mann's Paul Jones, Rick Wakeman, Thin Lizzy's Eric Bell and Bev Bevan and Mik Kaminski from ELO. Members of Fairport Convention, Saxon, Stone Roses, Deep Purple, Smokie, Jethro Tull, the Frank Zappa Band and the Jimi Hendrix Experience participated too.

"We just rang people up and asked if they would do it, and they said yes because lots of people have a soft spot for The Animals," he says. "The music hasn't really dated; if you put on their records, kids still love them, and with The Animals, there are no songs they would wish they hadn't recorded. It's a really strong repertoire.

"They were very lucky to have a good producer in Mickie Most, and Eric Burdon had a voice like no other."

The Animals play York Theatre Royal, April 16, 7.30pm; tickets £14.50 to £16 on 01904 623568. Also Leeds City Varieties Music Hall, April 20; 0113 243 0808.

Updated: 09:04 Friday, April 09, 2004