Chris Rea tour heads back to Bimingham NIA

Chris Rea, one of the UK's foremost singers and songwriters is set to return to Birmingham when he plays the NIA next year as part of a full UK tour.

He will play the NIA on Sunday, April 1, 2012. Tickets cost £33.50 (plus booking and transaction fees).

Following his sell-out UK & European tour in 2010 and 2009's UK Top Ten album Still So Far To Go – The Best of Chris Rea, the tour will be in support of the release of his first new material in over a decade.

The elaborate 3CD & 2DVD 'The Santo Spirito Project' will include a brand new studio album and two bespoke feature films on DVD, written and directed by Chris.

The first feature is a raw and brutally honest chronicle on bullfighting and features neo-classical & Spanish themed gypsy music and the second feature follows a man through the city of Florence in his search for the truth, on a journey which he may or may not wish he began. The music to accompany both special feature films will be contained on 2CDs.

Chris explains his rationale for such an ambitious project: "I love creating things and passionately believe we (the artists) should be looking to try new ways of bringing what we do to the public.

"There should be no rules whatsoever and, for God's sake, there are alternatives to TV talent shows.

"Sometimes, those who have had extremely good fortune in music allow only X Factor type TV shows et. to set the musical and cultural agenda of this county by actually doing nothing new or different themselves."

With a career that spans over 30 years, both The Road to Hell in 1989 and Auberge in 1991 debuted at No 1 in the UK, cementing his position as arguably one of the country's finest musicians and songwriters.

His rich catalogue includes such classic songs as Fool (If You Think It's Over), On The Beach, Let's Dance, Josephine, Stainsby Girls and I Can Hear Your Heartbeat, Working On It, The Road To Hell (Part 2), Auberge, God's Great Banana Skin and Julia.

• Chris Rea playes the NIA, Birmingham, on Sunday 01 April, 1, 2012.

• Tickets which go on sale at 9am on Friday, June 17, 2011, are priced at £33.50 (plus booking and transaction fees) from the Ticket Factory: www.theticketfactory.com or 0844 338 8000.