Reggae giant Jimmy Cliff arrives in Bournemouth next week for what promises to be one of THE gigs of the year.

His date at the Opera House on Wednesday is his only 2008 appearance in the UK. It will offer the chance to witness, up close and live, one of the pioneers of modern reggae.

For Cliff was in at the beginning, arriving in Britain from Jamaica more than 40 years ago and helping to introduce reggae to a mainstream audience. Until then West Indian music was largely confined to underground clubs playing ska.

With an ear attuned to American and Cuban music heard over the airwaves on his transistor radio, the young Cliff produced early hits that instantly chimed with a European audience.

Numbers like Wonderful World Beautiful People, Vietnam and Wild Wild World crossed over to the pop charts and kicked open the doors for people like Bob Marley and The Wailers and Toots and The Maytals.

"Today's reggae music has gone through many formulations," Cliff says. "Originally known as Ska, it has evolved to rock steady' to modern reggae, in its different forms."

Speaking from New York earlier this week Cliff, who has just celebrated his 60th birthday, told me how much he is looking forward to playing the Opera House gig.

Although he constantly travels, the UK provided the launching pad for his career and has always been a favoured location. Cliff, who also wrote and produced hits like You Can Get It If You Really Want for Desmond Dekker and Let Your Yeah Be Yeah for The Pioneers, also says he's proud that his work has helped promote harmony and racial tolerance.

But he stresses there was no grand plan: "I'm just a creative person. It wasn't that I set out to change humanity but the songs I wrote like Wonderful World, Beautiful People were about how I would like to see the world."

He says Wednesday's gig will contain a mixture of classic hits, old favourites and new material. Of course the fans will want to hear the songs they identify with Jimmy Cliff and I'm happy to perform them."

Particularly happy, he says, because he feels he is in spectacular form these days. "I think I'm better on stage now. I have learnt so much over the years and I'm still learning. It's a big world out there."