There are many great things about living in Dorset - not least the fact that we have our very own concert arena.

Multi-platinum recording artist Bryan Adams is performing just ten dates on his latest UK tour - and one of them will be right here at the BIC on Friday.

The Get Up series of shows follows the release of the rocker's 13th studio album of the same name last year.

Produced by famed ELO frontman Jeff Lynne and co-written with his long-time collaborator Jim Vallance, the record features nine new songs and four acoustic versions, including Brand New Day and Don't Even Try.

The Bournemouth date is highly anticipated, but singer-songwriter Adams hit the headlines last week after cancelling a performance in Mississippi in protest over the state's new law that allows religious groups and some private businesses to refuse service to gay couples.

His decision came after Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band also cancelled a gig in North Carolina over the state's new law blocking anti-discrimination rules for the LGBT community.

Adams said in a statement that he found it "incomprehensible" that LGBT citizens were being discriminated against.

He said: "I cannot in good conscience perform in a State where certain people are being denied their civil rights due to their sexual orientation," adding: "Using my voice I stand in solidarity with all my LGBT friends to repeal this extremely discriminatory bill.

"Hopefully Mississippi will right itself and I can come back and perform for all of my many fans. I look forward to that day. "

It's not the first time Adams has made a noise outside the recording studio. The keen philanthropist set up The Bryan Adams Foundation, funded mostly by himself, to advance education and learning opportunities for children and young people worldwide.

He has also taken part in various concerts and activities to help raise money and awareness for a number of causes since the 1980s, including Live Aid, Amnesty International, the Prince's Trust, NSPCC, Children in Need, and the Royal Marsden Hospital, to name a few.

A strict vegetarian since 1989, he has campaigned for the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary and is a big supporter of the animal rights group PETA.

So what do charity campaigning rock stars get up to in their spare time?

Dad-of-two Adams, who has homes in Paris and Chelsea and is a keen Chelsea FC supporter, doesn't have much of that - he also works as a professional photographer.

His work has appeared in publications including British Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper's Bazaar, GQ, and Esquire, and he has shot advertising and PR campaigns for the likes of Hugo Boss, Guess Jeans, Converse, Montblanc, Fred Perry and Escada.

The recipient of a 2015 Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society in London for his work, Adams has won three Lead Awards in Germany for his fashion photography, has held numerous photographic exhibitions and released several books of his work.

He was even asked to photograph the Queen during her Golden Jubilee in 2002, with one of his photographs from the session being used as a Canadian postage stamp in 2004 and 2005 and another portrait of the Queen with Prince Phillip now on display at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

But music remains his first love and the multi-award winning artist will be taking centre stage to a sold-out audience at the BIC on Friday.