SINGER/songwriter Paul Carrack is relishing the fact that he is now recognized as a solo act.

“It’s taken a while for me to establish myself as a solo artist, about ten years in fact; and it’s great! I’ve got a great band who have mostly been with me for ten years, and a great crew,” he told me before embarking on a mammoth tour of the UK.

Sheffield-born Paul first came to our attention in the mid-seventies as a member of Ace, whose evergreen hit How Long was written by him.

From Ace, he moved into the keyboard slot vacated by Jools Holland in Squeeze then, after a stint in Roxy Music and as a member of Mike + The Mechanics, be brought life into songs such as Silent Running and The Living Years.

He has always had a soft spot for How Long. “It’s endured in a big way,” he said, “And I still enjoy performing it.”

Paul is happy his new album is out. A Different Hat, released in October, is a departure for Paul as it’s an orchestral album.

“I’ve been wanting to do this ever since Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now,” he said.

The album has Paul singing with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with numbers including Moon River, Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying and Paul’s own Eyes Of Blue.

“I’m very pleased with it. It was a massive learning curve and I felt out of my depth on the orchestral arrangements but we had a capable guy in Dave Cullen.”

The style of the album meant that Paul had to change his own sound.

“That’s right, I changed my vocal style a bit. It made me sing softer and unless it’s a complete disaster I’d love to do another album like it.”

Paul’s soulful voice can tackle just about any type of song, and passion permeates every note he sings, as evidenced on the album.

And on the live stage, he’s no slouch either. Being a man of many talents, he doesn’t see himself as just a performer or songwriter.

“I really enjoy performing out there with the band; there’s the satisfaction of doing a good gig and seeing all the smiling faces of the audience.

“It wouldn’t bother me if I didn’t write another song. But I want to keep on producing new things, however you don’t get the instant gratification that a live audience gives you.”

The tour started in October, and after a short break for Christmas, is set to go on until mid-March.

“The early part of the tour has been fantastic and I honestly feel as if each tour has been better than the one before,” says Paul.

The show itself will be made up of numbers cherry-picked from Paul’s illustrious career.