Don McLean

Legendary American singer-songwriter Don McLean returns to the UK in May 2010, performing dates in London, Birmingham, Bristol, Bournemouth, Glasgow, Belfast, Manchester and Liverpool, in support of his 2009 album Addicted to Black. McLean has been a recording artist for more than four decades now, amassing over 40 gold and platinum records worldwide. In 2004, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and was presented with the award by fellow singer-songwriter Garth Brooks, who said "His work, like the man himself, is very deep and very compassionate. His pop anthem 'American Pie' is a cultural phenomenon". It was this song, and the 1971 album of the same name, that propelled McLean into the mainstream, with the album hitting the number one spot on the Billboard 200. The importance of the album's title track to America's musical and cultural heritage was later recognised by the Songs of the Century education project, which listed American Pie as the number five song of the twentieth century, alongside hits by artists including Judy Garland, Bing Crosby and Aretha Franklin. The other major hit from the American Pie album was Vincent (Starry Starry Night), which McLean wrote as a tribute to artist Vincent van Gogh. Expect to hear both of these classics when McLean begins his UK jaunt at the Symphony Hall in Birmingham on May 3.

• Website: www.don-mclean.com

At the following places

• Basingstoke
• The Anvil
• Birmingham
• Symphony Hall
• Brighton
• Brighton Dome
• Bristol
• Colston Hall
• Cardiff
• St David's Hall
• Londonderry
• Millennium Forum, Theatre And Conference Centre