ON stage Ric Sanders is a Puck-like figure, eyes sparkling, fingers a blur as he brings his unique talents on the fiddle to Fairport Convention.

Off stage, the sparkle remains. He’s lively, engaging and you sense a little bit of fun isn’t too far away.

And he’s particularly excited to be heading to Barnoldswick on Monday with one of the seminal bands on the folk rock scene at the recently opened Music and Arts Centre in the town.

“A new venue is definitely a thing to be celebrated,” said Ric.

Considering that Fairport are arguably the biggest name in their field - this year marks the band’s 50th anniversary - you could be forgiven for thinking the intimate surroundings of BMAAC would be perhaps too small for the folk juggernaut.

But Fairport are unlike any other band.

“We’re not the type of band that would play arenas on a regular basis,” said Ric. “The only time we have a gig audience of that size is at our own festival, Cropready. But even then, we don’t have any backstage bars. No matter who artists are they have to get out there and have a drink with the punters.

“We still like to play the small theatres and even village halls. We always talk to people after the shows.

“That post gig thing for us when we go and meet everybody is, for me, as important as the actual show and I’m sure it’s the same with the other guys.”

This year marks Ric’s 31st with Fairport and you can tell that he’s enjoying life with the band as much as ever.

“It’s an amazing thing to be celebrating 50 years,” he said. “We’re showing no signs of flagging at the moment. Like Ry Cooder had it, we’ll bop til we drop.

“The thing is that every night is different. We don’t have a totally worked out show, there is a lot of spontaneity.

“For my own part, I’m an improvising player, I come from a jazz background so that’s at heart of what I do.

“I never play the same thing twice but then again, I can’t remember what I did the night before to be honest!

“Sometimes Peggy (bassist Dave Pegg) and Simon (guitarist Simon Nichol) have said ‘possibly you’ve gone a bit too jazzy on that one’ and I suspect they have been right. But we all get pretty free reign which is good.”

After so many years on the road Ric and the band have become experts at travelling around the country.

“I like it when we stay in those quirky little private hotels,” he said, “but sadly there are few of them left now.

“One of my first pro tours back in the day was when I was in Soft Machine and the Albion Band. The first thing we did with the Albion Band was opening up for Billy Connolly on his seaside extravaganza tour.

“We went all around the coast playing on all the piers. I don’t think we came inland once.

“We often stayed at seaside showbiz hotel. These would invariably be owned by a couple who were into showbiz and there would always be a bar which would feature pictures of all the people who’d played there on the wall. We used to keep the bar open til the early hours in those days.

“We’ve had to slow down a bit now, After all, I’m 64, although in my head I’m still 24!”

Ric’s love for music remains undiminished and after a career on the road he still looks forward to the next gig as much as he ever has.

“What a great job to have, to play music for a living,” he said.

“In the world that we live in now people need their spirits lifting. You need music to cheer you up and hopefully to help create a more enlightened and compassionate world.”

Fairport Convention, Barnoldswick Music and Arts Centre, Monday, June 5. Details from 01282 813374 or www.barnoldswickmusicandartscentre.com