It's a far cry from a humble Bradford pub to the Royal Albert Hall - but evergreen entertainer John Otway (pictured left) has included both on his latest tour.

His itinerary takes him to MacRory's Bar in Easby Road next week and visits the most prestigious venue in the land next month.

Otway is one of the most enduring and wacky musicians on the rock circuit.

He first achieved notoriety 20 years ago when he performed some unusual gymnastics live on television's Old Grey Whistle Test with Wild Willy Barrett.

Otway found himself signed to Polydor Records, desperate to capitalise on the punk boom, for a deal that these days would be worth close to £1 million.

"True to form and with acts just as daring or stupid and equally fascinating and painful as the TV one, the vast fortune was reduced to an overdraft the size of several houses in a mere nine months," he recalls.

Now Otway is lining up a marathon 48-date tour which will see him make a rare visit to Bradford.

The gig on September 13 is at tiny MacRory's Bar, which has a capacity of just 100 compared to the Royal Albert Hall which can hold more than 6,000.

MacRory's landlord Ian Austin said he was very excited to have persuaded Otway to play there.

"We put on a lot of great live music which is free but we're having to charge admission for this for the first time ever," he said.

Otway attracted more than 2,500 fans to his 2,000th anniversary gig at the Astoria in London five years ago.

His Albert Hall debut is on October 30 at the end of a tour which will see him play 48 gigs in just 53 days all over the country.

"It's nice having a long journey if you're going somewhere good," said Otway.

"One particularly interesting bit of the tour is the bit that goes October 22 Perth, Scotland and October 23 Penzance, Cornwall - close alphabetically, not so close geographically."

Realising these shows were so difficult to do consecutively, Otway has even thrown open a Perth To Penzance challenge, with prizes for any fan who manages to make it both shows.

Tickets to see John Otway at MacRory's Bar cost £2.50. They can be booked in advance from the venue.

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