SUPERTRAMP saxophonist John Helliwell will be playing on familiar territory next week.

Mr Helliwell, who lives locally, will be performing at Cracoe Village Hall - as part of Grassington Festival - on Wednesday (jun17) and Settle's Victoria Hall two days later, on Friday, June 19.

On both occasions, he will be playing with his jazz band Crème Anglaise.

Born in Todmorden in 1945, he bought his first saxophone when he was 15 and played with various bands before turning professional in 1965.

In 1973, he got a call from former colleague Dougie Thomson, who had joined Supertramp, asking him to come and play with the band. Its album, Breakfast in America, was the biggest seller in the world in 1979.

And, later this year, the group is due to tour Europe, playing in Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, France, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and UK.

During a Supertramp hiatus in the nineties, Mr Helliwell moved back to England to study at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and, these days, focuses on music based on his many inspirations, including jazz, funk, blues, soul and rock.

He formed Crème Anglaise in 2004 and the line-up includes Mark Hart from Supertramp and Crowded House on vocals, guitar and keyboards, jazz guitarist Mike Walker, Geth Griffith on double bass and bass guitar, Arthur Lea on piano and drummer Ben Bryant.

For Grassington Festival tickets, visit grassington-festival.org.uk or call 01756 752691 and for Victoria Hall tickets, visit settlevictoriahall.org.uk or call 01729 825718.