VETERAN folk-rockers Fairport Convention will welcome the return of longest-serving bandmate Dave Pegg on a tour which includes a show in Clacton later this year.

Earlier in the year, Pegg’s son, Matt had to stand in on bass when Pegg senior badly injured his hand in a kitchen accident.

The long-serving bassist says “In January, I severed a tendon in the first finger of my left hand while I was emptying the dishwasher.

“The irony is I’d just spent two days chainsawing firewood without incident.

“My hand was in a splint for six weeks so I couldn’t play bass or mandolin. Luckily, Matt is a bass player, too and he was available to deputise for me on Fairport’s winter tour.

“Now I'm raring to get back on the road and really looking forward to playing with the band again.”

Pegg will join Simon Nicol (vocals, guitar), Ric Sanders (violin), Chris Leslie (mandolin, fiddle, vocals) and Gerry Conway (percussion) on stage for the tour, which arrives at the West Cliff Theatre, Clacton, on June 5.

The Clacton gig is one of 30-odd shows Fairport have scheduled between May 1 and June 7.

Their semi-acoustic spring tour is aimed at venues with a more intimate feel and the shows will feature a mix of new songs and long-established favourites from the Fairport repertoire.

Simon Nicol says: “We played Clacton during our winter tour a couple of years ago. Despite the cold weather, a lot of people came to the gig, but it’ll be nice to see what i’s like in the spring.”

Formed in 1967', Oxfordshire-based Fairport Convention are one of the most enduring bands to emerge from the Sixties.

They have won a BBC Lifetime Achievement Award and Radio 2 listeners voted their ground-breaking album Liege & Lief, the most influential folk album of all time.

Fairport Convention West Cliff Theatre Tower Road Clacton.

June 5.

7.30pm. £21.50 01255 433344