Although Lloyd Cole never quite crossed over to mega-stardom during his days in the spotlight, the 80s would have been a lesser place without his perfectly-honed guitar-driven song-writing craftsmanship. Not that Cole sank without trace after the successes of "Perfect Skin", "Rattlesnakes", "Mainstream" and "Lost Weekend" - he merely reinvented himself with strings and widescreen-production, plus a bit of control over his own fate.

2010 sees the return of Lloyd Cole with his band Small Ensemble, and a fresh new album due for release later in the year. After spending the best part of a decade in exile, he makes a return with the acoustic backing band for a series of gigs in support of new album "Broken Record". The 11 new songs have been recorded with a full band including Fred Maher on drums (ex-Material, Scritti Politti and Lou Reed) and Dave Derby (previous Cole collaborator) and will see the light of day in September.

The new tour is a predominantly acoustic affair with each night split into two-halves, presumbably one half new songs, the second Cole classics. The tour begins on 21st October in Cork and continues to Limerick (22nd), Sligo (23rd) and Dublin (24th) before heading to the UK and Glasgow (26th), Stockton (27th), Manchester (28th), Exeter (31st), Brighton (1st Nov), Bristol (2nd) and finally London's Union Chapel (3rd). Tickets are available for £20 (for most venues).