The crooner who has out-lived his arch-rival Frank Sinatra by a decade, will return to our shores in the summer of this year (but not for long). Anthony Dominick Benedetto (that's Tony Bennett to you and me) will present his inimitable suave and infectious style at several venues starting with the grand Royal Albert Hall on June 30th for two dates (the second is on July 1st). He then travels to Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester and the cracking Irish city of Cork.

Tickets go on sale at 9am on Friday 29th January and cost from £39 upwards (although there are some cheaper Albert Hall at £37.50 - you will have to be quick for those). The Cork tickets [part of this year's 'Live from the Marquee' festival - Ed] are already on sale at €65.70.

Tony Bennett is a legend of the stage and has been performing since the Second World War, singing for US troops in Germany before recording his first huge hit 'Because Of You' in 1951 with Percy Faith. His signature tunes are 'I Left My Heart in San Francisco' and 'The Good Life', timeless melodies that prove just how perennial Bennett has become through the generations. His good-natured and relaxed performances never fail to lift the spirits and, at 83, he still looks a dude. Whilst awards are rarely the epitome of taste sometimes, Bennett has rightly won 15 Grammys and several others between 1963 and 2007 - proof that he can still hit those notes.

He ain't done croonin' yet ... (now THAT sounds like a song... where is Tony's number ... sure I had it somewhere ... )