Singer Young announces UK return

Young is currently performing a number of dates in New York

Rock legend Neil Young will perform in the UK next March - his first concerts on these shores for five years.

The influential singer-songwriter will play at the Playhouse in Edinburgh on 3 March, followed by four nights at the Hammersmith Apollo in London.

The 62-year-old will then play two nights at the Apollo in Manchester.

Young - who was treated for a brain aneurysm in 2005 - is promoting Chrome Dreams II, a follow-up to an album he recorded but did not release in 1977.

It follows his 2006 album Living with War, a collection of songs protesting against the war in Iraq.

Durable

The record was nominated for three Grammy awards earlier this year.

A prolific and durable artist, Young has experimented with a wide range of musical styles over his four-decade career.

The Toronto-born performer is one of rock's most political artists, thanks to such classic anthems as Rockin' in the Free World and Ohio.

According to the NME's website, Young will play two sets at each gig - an acoustic and an electric performance.