SHOWBIZ legend Tom Jones is returning to Bournemouth as part of a full UK tour in October.

The hitmaking hero has lined up a date in the BIC’s Windsor Hall and staff will be expecting lengthy queues before tickets go on sale on Friday at 9am.

The tour comes on the back of his widely praised recent album, 24 Hours, which has been one of the most successful of his 45-year career. Recently certified gold, it is, for the first time, a collection of largely original songs that Tom has co-written – some of his most personal work.

Earlier this year he gave his name to one of the biggest selling singles of all time – the Comic Relief single Islands In The Stream.

One thing is certain and that is his audience will be made up of fans of all ages. Few entertainers have the cross-generational appeal that Tom Jones enjoys, from the baby boomers who bought his 1960s hits like Green Green Grass of Home and their children who fell in love with his version of the Prince hit Kiss, to the youngsters who made Give A Little Love a hit for him this year.

“I’m very versatile so can adapt to many styles,” he explains.

“When I was younger and rock ’n’ roll was just kicking off I remember the older generations going: God, what is this?’!

“And now you have hip hop and rap and all sorts of sub-genres and the older generation are having the same reaction. They can’t access it. I think that people can relate to my music, my voice hasn’t changed over the years.

At 68, Tom shows no sign of slowing down and is still touring 200 days of the year, so going back out on the road in October to support his new album holds no fear for the man they call The Voice.

“I still love it and feel great!” he says.“I know some performers who grumble: ‘Oh I’ve got a new album coming out and I need to go promote it’ – like it’s a negative – and I can’t understand it. I honestly love touring.

“Seasons is my favourite track on the album as it’s very stripped down and bare, especially when you’re performing it live. It begins with just my voice and the piano – you could hear a pin drop. It’s very intimate, it’s like baring your soul on stage.

Tom Jones has done it all – sold more than a 100 million records, had his own TV series, toured the world many times over and was recently made a knight of the realm – is there anything else he wants to achieve?

“I want to continue writing songs and creating records; and I want to perform until my voice no longer enables me to do so.

“I have this God-given gift to sing and want to make the most of it. I don’t want to retire, what would I do if I retired?”