Ray Davies, a name to send musical shivers down the spine. A giant of British rock and pop, up there with Richards and Harrison at the vanguard of elusive genuine rock'n'roll cool.

With The Kinks, Davies stood toe-to-toe with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and, somehow, in the face of Beatlemania and Jagger's ludicrous yet irresistible posturing, came out fighting. In doing so, he wrote (and often produced) many of British music's dizziest highs, still played, widely revered, repeatedly covered and sung on street corners everywhere. Yes, in the Great British Songbook, Ray Davies has a chapter all of his own.

And it's not just the beautiful evocative romance of Waterloo Sunset. Davies' writing credits also include You Really Got Me, All Day and All of The Night, Dedicated Follower of Fashion, Sunny Afternoon, Days and Lola - an extraordinary and rare collection of influential hits and largely the work of just one man (and his band). Much was made of Davies' enduring frostiness with his brother and bandmate Dave and, of course, the many twists and turns of his private life which have included a romance with Chrissie Hynde (and a resulting daughter) and being shot in the leg in New Orleans attempting to halt a robbery. There's music and then there's rock'n'roll.

The giant of British music that is the peerless, incomparable Ray Davies kicks off his 14-date autumn tour in Canterbury on 30th September, followed by dates in Manchester, London, York, Glasgow, Birmingham and more, before the final date at the Forum in Bath on 18th October 2012. The London show is at the Royal Albert Hall on 4th October.

We will have tickets available from 9am on Friday 18th May. Ahead of the autumn shows, Ray Davies has a few summer dates including appearances at The Hop Farm Festival 2012 in late June and the Folklore Festival 2012 in Jersey on 1st July - we have tickets for both available now.