Singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading brings her 2018 tour to Hertfordshire later this year, with dates in Stevenage and St Albans on course to sell out.

When acclaimed singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading last took to the road in 2015 it was to be her last big world tour.

A mammoth 235 dates later, that was it, done and dusted.

No more endless long haul flights, no more torturous routing.

For one gig on that tour, the Drop the Pilot singer actually had to pass through seven different countries to get there.

So this year Joan, who enjoyed a top 10 hit with single Love and Affection in 1976, is embarking on a much more comfortable option.

She plays 33 dates across the UK from September through to the end of October, including concerts in Stevenage and St Albans as part of her 46 The 2018 Tour.

The Ivor Novello Award-winner will be appearing at the Gordon Craig Concert Hall in Stevenage on Saturday, September 29.

She will return to the county on Wednesday, October 10 for a gig at The Alban Arena in St Albans.

Tickets for both dates are already on sale from the venues – and selling fast. Both concerts are expected to sell out.

Commenting on the tour, Joan said: “I was never going to quit live work completely, and I’ll certainly never retire.

“But I won’t be doing a two-year tour again!”

As before, though, this will be very much a solo venture.

It will be Joan by herself with no band, talking, playing and taking her audience on a musical journey through her catalogue, old and new.

Her dynamic guitar work – she was the first UK female artist ever to go straight to the top of the Billboard Blues Charts – and her distinctive vocals will be very much to the fore.

All the big hits will be there, including Love And Affection, the song that first made her famous around the world 42 years ago.

“I always play that song. Why wouldn’t I?” she said.

“My fans want to hear it and if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be where I am today so, of course, it’ll always be in my set.

“I’m very grateful to them.

“But I’m on stage for a good while so I’ll be playing some of the other hits as well, along with material from the recent albums.”

That includes her latest album, her 21st, entitled Not Too Far Away.

It features 10 tracks, including new single Loving What You Hate.

The song deals with the common problem of self-doubt.

Joan said: “You know there are lots of people who will say ‘I hate how I’m looking in this dress’ or they’ve always got something to hate about themselves.

“Meanwhile everybody’s thinking ‘You look fantastic’.

“So I wanted to write about that because you see that so often and it might be quite nice for people to think ‘Oh, actually it’s alright, somebody loves me for whoever I am.”

Released on BMG this week, Loving What You Hate is available on all digital platforms.

• Joan Armatrading’s 2018 UK tour visits Stevenage on Saturday, September 29 at 7.30pm.

Tickets for the gig in the Concert Hall cost £33.50.

They available from the box office on 01438 363200 or online from the Gordon Craig Theatre website at www.gordon-craig.co.uk/joan-armatrading46-the-2018-tour-i1893

• Joan’s tour visit The Alban Arena on Wednesday, October 10 at 7.30pm.

Tickets cost £32.50. Call the St Albans box office on 01727 844488 or book online at www.alban-arena.co.uk/events/joan-armatrading