VETERAN rockers Status Quo have announced a brand new UK tour, including four dates in our area.

The band, fronted by Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt, will be calling at Portsmouth, Bournemouth and Basingstoke as part of a mammoth 40-date tour in November and December.

This year is to be a memorable one for the Quo, with the simultaneous release of their greatest hits collection and autobiography, both titled XS All Areas.

The album, due for release on September 20, will feature more than 40 of the band's hits from the past four decades, from Pictures of Matchstick Men in 1968 to Jam Side Down in 2002.

Also included will be two brand new tracks, You'll Come Around - the new single, to be released on September 13 - and Thinking Of You.

The autobiography has been written with the help of rock journalist Mick Wall and will be published on September 17.

It promises a no-holds-barred insight into the lives of the two ordinary London boys who went on to worldwide fame.

The band has accumulated more British hits than any other, including the top ten singles Whatever You Want, The Wanderer and In the Army Now, and the number one Down Down.

You can see the Quo in action at Portsmouth Guildhall on November 5 (box office: 023 9282 4355), Bournemouth International Centre on November 6 (box office: 0870 111 3000) and The Anvil, Basingstoke, on November 16 and 17 (box office: 01256 844244).