Welshman John Cale's musical and hedonistic contributions to US art-rock legends The Velvet Underground have been well documented already. We know he co-founded the narcotically-fuelled rock band in 1965 with Lou Reed, he wrote music to many of Velvet's classics and promptly left Reed to his creative differences in 1968. It is from this point that John Cale truly found his many niches, though he is mainly charged with composing, singing and producing both his own material and other like-minded artists.

Dabbling primarily in rock, folk and classical, Cale's earliest collaborations began with the Velvets' erstwhile vocalist Nico, minimalist Terry Riley and English folk-crooner Nick Drake, the latter being an indirect influence on the wistful 1970 debut solo set, 'Vintage Violence'. His subsequent albums have included the solo and often highly-regarded 'Paris 1919', the collaborative such as 'Wrong Way Up' with Brian Eno and 'Songs For Drella' with Lou Reed and the high-brow soundtracks such as 'Paris S'eveille' and 'Le Vent De La Nuit', both prime examples of his more pastoral Satie/Debussy-esque works.

Across the decades, he has produced albums for the likes of Patti Smith, Squeeze, Siouxsie and the Banshees and, god help him (or them), Happy Mondays. If you have dismissed Shaun Ryder's lot as shambling baggy travesties, you need to hear 'Squirrel and G-Man...' - he got the best out of them on a modest budget.

Lately, Cale has been courting his own solo career with established indie Domino, releasing the top-notch EP 'Extra Playful', from which our video choice in this article, 'Catastrofuk', has been taken. A new album was originally mooted for a spring 2012 release but it, and its corresponding tour, were delayed - until now. The new album has been confirmed as 'Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood' and is his first since 2005's 'blackAcetate'.

October will see John Cale resume live and release duties, with a few rescheduled shows being switched from May. The full tour schedule now starts with Dublin on 3rd October 2012, before winging its way over to Edinburgh on the 5th and continuing to Manchester, Cardiff, Cambridge, Birmingham and finally a rejigged London show at the Royal Festival Hall on 13th October. All are on sale now.