Squeeze lead singer Glenn Tilbrook is returning to Greenwich next week with his new solo tour. He tells Matthew Jenkin why he loves playing on home turf and how his show is breaking new ground.

GLENN Tilbrook, the lead singer from Squeeze, is a hard man to reach.

After several failed attempts to call him, 24 hours later I finally catch up with him, somewhere in the wilds of Scotland without a phone signal.

The Woolwich-born musician has left his Cool For Cats band members at home to embark on a 35-date solo tour around the UK, ending at Blackheath Halls in Lee Road on Tuesday.

It's not the first time he has taken a brief break from performing with the former New Wave group, but this time he promises The Acoustic Tour is different from anything he has done before.

While the first half of the show will simply be Tilbrook on his own, the second half will see him joined by two more musicians, Simon Hanson and Chris McNally, and will feature percussion, acoustic guitars, Ukeleles, Indian harmonium, bass and iPads.

Tilbrook said: "I’ve never done a tour with the sort of instrumentation we have at the moment. It’s a very unique sound."

One aspect of the tour which he is particularly excited about is that every gig is recorded live and then made available at the end of the night from the merchandise stand.

He explains he got the idea from Steve Poltz, who opens the show.

"We toured together 10 years ago in the States and I saw him performing in Chicago in April when he was doing this thing where he sells recordings of the show afterwards," he says.

"I took it back to my hotel and was absolutely knocked out with the sound. It was absolutely brilliant."

As well as performing songs from his back catalogue, he will be showcasing new unreleased solo material and music from The Co-Operative - his collaboration with fellow Greenwich band Nine Below Zero.

Tilbrook and lead vocalist for the blues band Dennis Greaves go way back, he explains, but they have only just reconnected with each other recently.

Tilbrook said: "They did their last album in my studio in Charlton and I thought how great they are as a band and how underappreciated they are.

"I wanted to do a record with them in the same way people who did jazz albums used to do. I like your playing, so lets do an album together. It doesn’t mean we are committed to each other for life.

"It was a sort of meeting of minds between us, but I also think it brought something very different out of both of us. That’s what I’m really fond of on The Co-Operative record."

Tilbrook says he is looking forward to returning to the area where his musical career began, playing in the local pubs and venues.

Despite countless live performances under his belt, he claims he still gets the same kick out of gigging in front of a big crowd.

"If anything I get more of a buzz now," he giddily admits.

"We’re doing some of the most exciting things I’ve ever done in terms of gigging in the last year, during which I have had some of my biggest career defining moments.

"The record business is practically dead now. I still make records but they are not the be all and end all and it’s increasingly more about live performance.

"That’s why I am integrating the two things in the shows I am doing now. That’s a way forward and people seem to be really responding to that."

Glenn Tilbrook is bringing The Acoustic Tour to Blackheath Halls on Tuesday at 8pm. For tickets, call 020 8463 0100.