Paul Carrack on touring with Eric Clapton and playing his favourite date - Glasgow

“Glasgow is one of our favourite gigs on the tour because it is a great crowd and great town,” he said.

He added: “When we have played up there (before) on a Saturday night, I might have gone out for a bag of chips after and the town is rocking. We look forward to it really.”

READ MORE: Slade star Dave Hill on staying in dodgy B'n'B's on Bath Street and shopping in Zara for his outfits 

Glasgow music fans should take his compliments of the city’s scene seriously for Paul is a man who has gathered some considerable air miles touring.

Having just finished performing in Japan and America as a featured instrumentalist with the Eric Clapton band, the Sheffield-born star has now turned his attention to a solo tour that will kick off next month taking him to Glasgow’s SEC Armadillo on Sunday, January 19.

“Fans who have been along before will know that it is not a greatest hits show.

“We do play the big songs, the hits,” explained Paul.

He added: “I’ve made apparently 17 solo albums so there is a lot of material to choose from. It is a mixture of stuff throughout my whole career.

“Each year we try to push it along and make it a little bit better than the last year. That is a challenge because we are definitely not coasting. We try to progress and we always take it up a notch in terms of production.

“It’s a good high-quality show. We try to give value for money, its not a cheap ticket but you have to put on a good show.”

At 68, Paul has had a career most would envy. Dubbed, ‘The Man with the Golden Voice,’ he rose to fame in the 70s as the frontman of Ace where he wrote the classic How Long. He was the voice of Tempted from his time with rock band Squeeze before Mike and the Mechanics Grammy-nominated hits The Living Years and Over My Shoulder ruled the charts.

READ MORE: Review: The Libertines at the Barrowland Ballroom in Glasgow

Today, Paul is focused on his solo career and continues to tour the world with Eric Clapton.

The dad-of-four, whose son Jack plays drums in his band, said: “I look back on the whole thing knowing where I come from and being completely self-taught and clueless and not knowing anybody - and I think it’s amazing.

“It’s just a fantastic life experience you know. “ He continued: “It’s been a fantastic experience playing with (Eric). He’s a legend.

“It’s great to have that respect that you’re accepted amongst the fold. I don’t count on it. I still like to think I’m doing my thing that’s the most important thing to me.”

Paul promises that he will return to the studio after his tour commitments and in the meantime, fans can enjoy his 2018 release These Days which became an unexpected digital hit.

Paul explained: “My last album These Days, I thought it was a really good album.

“Our main supporter over the years on mainstream radio has been Radio Two and there have been massive changes down there.

“I got the complete cold shoulder. It was a little bit of a knockback, it hurt me.

“But one thing that came out of it was looking at Spotify. The numbers were going through the roof. We were getting one million streams a month at least.

“You are thinking well somebody is liking this.”

With admiration from fans over his last release and a consistently successful career, it might be surprising to some that Paul is a bit of a worrier.

He said: “I wish I had worried less about surviving. I still worry about it now and I am way past it.”

He added: “Now I would say is a fantastic time because a lot of the heat is off . I have made a living, my kids are grown up, we have kept a roof over our heads and I have played with some fantastic people.

“I still enjoy my music, I am pretty independent you know, I am self sufficient. If it all ends tomorrow I would say I have been so so lucky to follow the dream of it.”

For tickets to Paul’s Glasgow show, visit www.sec.co.uk