LEGENDARY singer songwriter Paul Simon is to play the BIC later this year.

The 64-year-old star is coming to Bournemouth on November 6 as part of his European tour, which includes just three other UK dates.

Earlier this year Simon released Surprise, his first album for six years, and won widespread critical praise for its challenging direction. Recorded in London, Nashville and Simon's native New York, it was produced by electronic music pioneer Brian Eno in what many fans saw as a surprise collaboration.

But Simon says he has been a long-term fan of Eno, who's best known for his production work with David Bowie, Talking Heads and U2.

"We're both sounds people," said Paul Simon in a recent interview with Associated Press.

"I thought he would bring an element I had never encountered before, electronics, into a guitar record. Theoretically, it seemed to be a good idea. And when we actually did it, you could tell right away it was a good idea."

Paul Simon has won 16 Grammy awards in a career that has lasted more than 40 years. As half of '60s folk-pop duo Simon and Garfunkel he scored international hits such as Bridge Over Troubled Water, Sounds of Silence and Mrs Robinson. His solo work is equally well known through songs like Mother and Child Reunion, 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover and You Can Call Me Al from his award-winning 1986 album Graceland on which he controversially worked with South African musicians at the height of the cultural embargo.

  • Tickets for the BIC show went on sale this morning, priced £50.