The veteran singer-songwriter will bring his Up Close show to Paisley Arts Centre as part of the town’s Spree festival on Wednesday, October 15.

He was last here when he produced and compered the sold-out tribute to Paisley’s very own Gerry Rafferty in the town hall during the Bring it all Home festival in April.

That night he was joined on stage by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, as well as big names such as Barbara Dickson and fellow Spree headliner Roddy Hart, to perform his good friend’s songs on what would have been his 67th birthday.

And the expansive ensemble arrangements on show that night will be in stark contrast to the stripped-back and deeply personal nature of his next gig in the town.

He said: “Myself and Martha (Gerry’s daughter) had worked on a couple of shows dedicated to Gerry for Celtic Connections in 2012, so when we were approached for Bring it all Home it was a chance to work with a different bunch of really good artists. Having the RSNO in Paisley was such a treat and gave it something extra. It was an emotional experience but as a piece of work it was really interesting.

“I compered the show because I knew Gerry well and could bring some personal connections and anecdotes to do with the songs.” At 67, Rab is of an age where some artists would be thinking of slowing down. But with a prolific run of releases in recent years plus an active touring schedule he is, if anything, speeding up. And with his voice just as strong as ever and the creative juices still flowing, he is relishing the chance to showcase the full depth of his decades-long back catalogue for his Paisley fans.

He said: “Songs are at the heart of what I do, I’ve been writing them for 50 years, which means I have a long time to draw material from.

“So the set will include stuff I wrote with Gerry Rafferty in the forty years we knew each other and music from my Red Pump Special album which has just had its fortieth anniversary, right up to the new album which comes out next year and some even newer stuff people won’t have heard yet. I have had various other activities in the past twenty years but the songs have never stopped. I feel like I’m still in good voice at 67 and I love to sing – I can still handle all the songs in the same key as I could fifty years ago.

“I do love working with other musicians – I have recently toured with Kathleen MacInnes and with Barbara Dickson, just the two of us, voice and guitar – but I am most at home doing shows by myself. I do like to have the stage to myself and to give the crowd some of the anecdotal stuff that has attached itself to the songs.” Other music headliners during The Spree include King Creosote, Roddy Hart, Dougie MacLean, Withered Hand, Young Fathers and much more, with comedy from Russell Kane, Craig Hill and Jo Caulfield.

To buy tickets to see Rab or any other act, visit www.thespree.co.uk