YOU might think that for any band, a 31-date tour in the space of just five weeks would be a daunting prospect.

But for the members of Fairport Convention, who come to Burnley Mechanics as part of their annual winter series of concerts, it has never been a problem.

“We’ve been touring at the same time every year for 30 years and I think we’ve played Burnley virtually every time,” said bassist Dave Pegg.

“We usually have Mondays off to get the laundry done but it is always a pleasure to play venues where we know there will be such an appreciative audience.”

For Dave and Simon Nicol, who founded Fairport in 1967, the tour actually acts as a relief from organising the band’s Cropredy Festival, which has become one of the key dates in the summer music calendar.

“That is a massive undertaking,” said Dave of the three-day event, which sees 20,000 fans invade the small Oxfordshire village.

“I used to do the whole thing with my ex-wife and it just became a nightmare,” he said. “Now I book all the acts and Simon handles a lot of the liaising and our former monitor engineer Gareth Williams has taken over the on-site organisation.

“There is always something to be done so to go on tour is good for us as we can just get out there and play.”

For this year’s winter tour fans can look forward to the usual selection from the band’s extensive back catalogue, plus one or two new songs.

“We are working on a new studio album” said Dave. “We haven’t put any timescale on when it will be released because if you do you can end up putting one or two mediocre tracks on to meet your deadline.

“It will be ready when it’s ready but we already have around seven great songs for consideration and we’ll play one or two of them on the tour.

“But I know as a music fan, I want bands I go and see to play stuff I’m familiar with and we have certain songs such as On The Ledge which we simply must play.”

Fairport Convention have been one of the most influential folk rock bands in the world, with their Leige and Lief being judged the most influential folk album of all time by BBC Radio 2 listeners.

“We have spent our career being a touring band,” said Dave. “We’ve never really sold vast quantities of albums so touring is the way we pay the bills.

“But it also means we get the chance to play to so many people who enjoy and appreciate what we do.”

A feature of Fairport’s tours has been the band’s desire to showcase up-and-coming talent by awarding them a coveted support slot.

“This tour we will have Edwina Hayes with us, who is a great singer,” said Dave.

After the tour ends in March it will be back to organising Cropredy. Already acts as diverse as Chas and Dave and the Australian Pink FLoyd have been announced. Last year’s event included the only UK apppearance of American legend Alice Cooper.

“He was amazing,” said Dave. “People wonder how someone like Alice Cooper fits into Cropredy but the important thing for us is that we book people who are good at what they do, that is the essential component. We have quite a few ideas in the pipeline and there will be some more announcements along the way.”

Fairport Convention, Burnley Mechanics, Saturday, February 22. Details from 01282 664400.