This week Alex Harvey chats to Ricky Ross, the former lead singer of Scottish band Deacon Blue...

THE idea of a Scotsman not agreeing with the concept of the public house is like a Saints fan throwing in their jersey for the blue of Pompey - you just can't see it happening.

Seems then that Ricky Ross isn't your average Scot.

"I just never bought the idea really," explains the Deacon Blue frontman turned solo artist.

The ironic thing is that the venue for his next gig is a pub, The Brook, Southampton on May 24, and familiar territory.

"I gigged there about three years ago, and it was very nice, I enjoyed it. It was with Deacon Blue and we also played in a couple of other places nearby, so I've done a lot of gigs in that part of the world," he explains in his broad Scottish accent.

"It's a very nice audience down there too - hopefully it will be like that again."

Ross pursued a solo career in 1994, with his first album What You Are coming out in 1996. But it was another six years until the highly anticipated follow-up, This Is The Life, and a further four years until his third album, Pale Rider, which was released on May 2.

"It's an album full of new songs, and I've been trying to write songs that are appropriate to my age. It's the same sort of topics as before but from a few years on. It's just a collection of songs really," explained the Scot.

The show at The Brook will be one of the first opportunities for fans to hear the new material live.

"I'm quite nervous about it and it'll take a while to get going, but I've played a couple of warm-up shows, and I've got to get used to playing again as I haven't toured in three years.

"It's not like a Deacon Blue show where we've got seven of us on stage - there's just the two of us so it'll be much more intimate."

The tour and album release are just the beginning for Ross who, aside from pursuing solo interests is also playing several shows in the summer with Deacon Blue and pursuing his other passion in life - writing for other people.

"The main thing in my life is writing for other people, and that's what I'll return to at the end of the summer. Over the last couple of years I've been doing some writing for Ronan Keating, but the one I'm quite excited about is James Blunt, who is beginning to break through and looks like being a success."

Tickets £15. Box office: 023 8055 5366.