If you’ve not seen PAUL CARRACK live then you need to. If you haven’t sat down and listened to at least one of his 17 albums then that has to be your homework for the week.

He’s been making music for 50 years now and while his voice is one you will absolutely know from hits with Squeeze and Mike + The Mechanics, it’s really his solo stuff which deserves full credit. Now Paul and the band are back out on the road next year, into 2022, with a show not to be missed.

As a very young lad I first came across Paul in the 70s with a song called HOW LONG by a group called ACE, of which Paul was the lead singer. It was one of those songs, with its steady bass intro, building into an emotional heartbreak of a chorus, which was destined to become a classic, and it has.

It was taken from their 1974 album Five-A-Side, which is actually really good. The single reached No. 3 in the US and Canadian charts, and only number 20 here. Lead singer Paul Carrack composed the song upon discovering that bassist Terry Comer had been secretly working with other bands. Comer returned to Ace in time to play on the song. So it actually had nothing to do with a cheating romantic partner.

What we’re about to tell reads like a who’s who of the music business, with some of our most iconic bands. Paul has played with them all. He spent time as a member of Roxy Music, Squeeze and Roger Waters’ backing band, The Bleeding Heart Band, intermittently handling lead vocals on Squeeze and Waters recordings.

Paul has sung one some of our most memorable songs over the years…..

• Squeeze – Tempted
• Mike + The Mechanics’ – Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground) – The Living Years and Over My Shoulder.

His own songs have been recorded by some pretty big hitters too. Linda Ronstadt, the Eagles, Diana Ross, Tom Jones, Michael McDonald and Jools Holland Paul also play session and toured for the likes of Elton John, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, B.B. King, The Pretenders, The Smiths and Madness. In fact for those of us who are huge fans, he played keyboards on the eponymous album THE SMITHS.

But we still come back to Paul as a solo performer with his awesome 6-piece band. I remember years ago Paul came along to an event we held over the water and did a short set in a nightclub. Him, keyboard and crowd hanging on his every song.

This is a not only a difficult choice, as he has such a huge catalogue of music, but I always point people in the direction of the song below as an introduction to Paul. The picture quality isn’t great but the live version is.

Paul and the band are out on the road next year playing Venue Cymru in Llandudno on Monday 5th April. Tickets are priced between £35.28 and £42.21. This is a rescheduled date so existing tickets are still valid. To get yours, go here. VENUE CYMRU

We then get to see Paul and the band at St David’s Hall in Cardiff on Saturday 12th February 2022 from 7:30pm. Tickets are just about to go on sale, in fact they may be by the time you read this. You can get them right here. ST DAVID’S

Paul was nicknamed ‘The Man with the GOLDEN VOICE’ in a BBC documentary about his phenomenal 50-year career. If you get chance to see it, give it a watch, it may still be on the iPlayer.

You should also take a look at Paul’s YOU TUBE channel, there’s some incredible live tracks on there. And you can see what he’s up to right here. PAUL

Finally, Paul has a special Live Streamed show on Christmas Eve, we know what we’ll be doing and we suggest you do to. It comes from the Royal Academy Of Music and you can get your tickets HERE.