VETERAN rocker Rod Stewart will perform at this year's Liverpool Summer Pops Festival for the first time.

Tickets for his show at the Echo Arena on July 21 go on sale at 9am tomorrow, Friday January 29.

More festival acts will be announced over the coming weeks.

Its organiser Chas Cole said: "This is a really special year for the Liverpool Summer Pops Festival.

"Not only is it our tenth anniversary this year but we have been trying to bring Rod Stewart to Liverpool for a decade so this is really exciting news.

"Tickets for Rod's summer tour are selling out at an incredible rate, further cementing Rod’s ever-popular reputation as one of Britain’s biggest live draws."

With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Rod came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 70s with The Jeff Beck Group and then Faces.

He launched his solo career in 1969 with debut album An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down.

His work with The Jeff Beck Group and Faces proved to be influential on the formation of the heavy metal and punk rock genres, respectively. Both bands were also pioneers of blues-rock.

With his career now in its sixth decade, he has achieved numerous solo hit singles worldwide, most notably in the UK, where he has garnered six consecutive number one albums and his tally of 62 hit singles include 31 that reached the top 10, six of which gained the number one position.

He has had 16 top ten singles in America, with four of these reaching number one.

He was voted number 33 in Q Magazine's list of the top 100 Greatest Singers of all time.

His new studio album 'Soulbook' went to number ten in the UK charts when it was released in November.

Tickets for his Liverpool Pops show go on sale tomorrow, Friday January 29, at 9am.

They are available from 0844 8000 400. To reserve a VIP table of 10 call Jan Owen on 0151 708 6050.