DESPITE having considerable solo success, musician Paul Young doesn't hark on about his glory days.

Instead, the singer - whose musical career began in the 1970s when he joined the Streetband - prefers to let his music speak for itself.

And his latest musical incarnation as part of Tex-Mex outfit Los Pacaminos is certainly a departure from the soul-influenced sound of some of his greatest solo hits.

It is the mix of Tex-Mex classics, Spanish songs and original material that has earned them rave reviews.

Worcester folk have already had a taste of what the band has to offer - and are set for a second serving as they return to the city's Marr's Bar on Friday, November 12.

"We're regulars there now - once you've played these places a few times it starts to take on a good clubbing feel," Paul told me when I caught up with him this week.

"It's the kind of place we like to play because it's quite intimate - that's the reason it's one of those we always remember."

Paul chalked up several hit singles throughout the eighties and nineties following his brief spell with the Q-Tips - who formed in 1979 and split in 1982.

His first two solo singles had no success but the third - a cover of Marvin Gaye classic Wherever I Lay My Hat - reached number one in June, 1983.

The tune sparked a golden period for the singer over the ensuing two years which saw him notch up another five top ten singles including Come Back and Stay.

He famously performed the opening line to the Band Aid single and continued to have a successful career performing with a string of artists including Queen and Zucchero.

And he continues to work as a soloist to this day but formed Los Pacaminos in 1995 as a result of his desire to get back to basics.

"The earlier years of my solo career were a great experience but I love the things I'm doing now too," he said.

"Actors do huge films that show in the West End and then do something for peanuts because they love what they do and it's the same for me."

The seven-piece band comprises a wealth of musical talent and plays Tex-Mex music - a mix of the Mariachi and Norteno styles of Mexican music and the country/blues sound of south-western America.

"I've always loved the Tex-Mex sound and knew a few musicians who had a similar passion for this type of music so I asked them to join me in forming a band," said Paul.

"It started out for fun, simply playing for the pleasure of it, and it just took off from there.

"What's really nice is everyone else in the band can sing too - and they do, all in their own very different styles.

"It's real bar room stuff, foot-stompers, not too many slow songs - a real party atmosphere!"

Paul is working on the follow-up to the band's eponymous debut, alongside a new solo album which he promises will be a departure from his earlier material.

Asked if fans attending his Worcester gig could expect a few solo numbers mixed in for good measure, he said he preferred to keep them separate.

"It sometimes feels quite refreshing doing Paul Young stuff after The Pacaminos because it's a completely different type of music.

"In the early days of the band, we were pressured to do my solo songs but they soon said it sounded awful, because you can't make it sound like the track when you've got accordion and pedal steels - and that's the point."

Tickets for the concert are £10 in advance or £12.50 on the door.

ULTIMATE GIRLS' NIGHT IN - VARIOUS (out now)

THIS two-CD compilation claims to be the perfect soundtrack for a great night in with the girls...

..not being a female of the species, I'm not sure I'm properly qualified to test that theory.

All the same, there's no denying this compilation covers all the right bases - from girl-power anthems, such as Christina Aguilera's Fighter and the 80s girlies Bananarama with their cover of the classic Venus, to tunes guaranteed to provoke a collective dance-around-the-handbags such as Jackson Five's Blame It On The Boogie and The B52's Love Shack.

Add a little cheese (Barry Manilow's Copacabana and Wham's Young Guns) and songs from the 'heartthrobs' (Justin Timberlake, Take That..) and you have an all-round winner. It even contains Dolly Parton's 9-5 - what more could you ask for?

THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES - ORIGIN VOLUME ONE (out now)

PREPARE for the latest Viking invasion as the Swedish rockers return with their latest offering and the first instalment of a two-parter.

Led by the gruff-voiced Ebbot Lundbery, the album's sound in part captures the essence of classic, brassy rock and roll.

Beefed-up opener Believe I've Found harks back to the days of classic Oasis while the pulsating beat of their latest single Bigtime drives the album along.

The problem is that most of the tunes aren't incredibly catchy, not least because Lundbery's voice starts to grate after a while.

SHAZNAY LEWIS - YOU (out now)

THE ex All Saint follows up her top 10 debut single Never Felt Like This Before with another inoffensive, bland track from her recently-released debut solo album Open.

The track is an ethereal, breezy-sounding tune that wouldn't sound out of place on a yacht cruising the ocean. A departure from her former band's more up-tempo output.

SEAL - WALK ON BY/BEST OF 1991-04 (out now/November 8 respectively)

THE silky-voiced singer has enjoyed a 14-year career to date, notching up 13 million album sales, three Grammy awards, three Brit awards and seven top 20 singles.

It all began in December 1990 when Crazy shot to number two in the charts and stayed in the top 40 for a total of 15 weeks, remaining his biggest hit to date.

This and the clutch of successive singles throughout the 90s and into the 'noughties' (including the excellent Killer and love song Kiss From a Rose) made him a household name and all appear on his greatest hits compilation.

Preceding that is a tepid new single of the Burt Bacharach classic Walk On By which, along with the awful Fly Like An Eagle, lessens the impact of what is otherwise a pretty good collection from one of the finest singing voices around. Destined for many a Christmas stocking.

MICHAEL BUBLE - MICHAEL BUBLE (out November 1)

YOU can tell Christmas is creeping ever nearer when the record labels start milking the cash car ever more vigorously and releasing superfluous repackaged albums with "bonus" tracks.

Hence, we now find Buble's debut - featuring interpretations of standards such as Fever and For Once In My Life - back on the shelves and featuring a "free bonus CD" with classic Christmas songs. I mean, ask yourself, who wouldn't kill for another version of White Christmas or Let It Snow?... There's no denying the man's exceptional singing talent but is this blatant Christmas cash-in really necessary?

Sublime voice live on stage

ONE of contemporary music's finest singer songwriters will be bringing his sublime voice and tender-tough guitar playing to Colwall Village Hall next week.

Iain Matthews has been a musician for more than 35 years and was co-founder of folk group Fairport Convention, Plainsong and Matthew's Southern Comfort.

He has recently toured with Plainsong, Nanci Griffiths and Elliott Murphy and will be teaming up this time with New Zealand guitarist and songwriter Richard Kennedy for the Colwall concert on Friday, November 12.

Richard has played with a handful of artists including The McGarrigles, The Roches, Jules Shear and Marshall Crenshaw and his country-tinged style has made him a mainstay of the New Zealand scene for the past 15 years.

Tickets for the concert - which starts at 8pm - are £5-£10 and available by telephoning 01684 540366.

GUITARIST Dave Onions is set to make a welcome return to Worcester's Marr's Bar on Sunday night.

Defying comparison or categorisation, Dave's guitar style is uniquely percussive and rhythmic and results in a unique sound.

The musician uses guitars and mandolin in live performances as well as a whole host of other instruments including bass, guitar, mandolin, banjo, harmonica and keyboards.

Tickets for the gig are £4.