SPICE Girl Melanie C will be the special guest vocalist when Jools Holland & His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra play the York Barbican on November 21 on their autumn tour.

Tickets go on sale on 0844 854 2757 and yorkbarbican.co.uk at 10am today for Holland’s return to the Barbican, where he was joined by Fine Young Cannibals front-man Roland Gift for two nights last November.

Gift will be accompanying Holland once more when the Rhythm & Blues Orchestra perform at the Scarborough Spa on May 15.

Melanie Chisholm follows in a long line of high-profile female special guests at Holland’s shows, including KT Tunstall, Alison Moyet and Sandie Shaw. The Liverpudlian singer, alias Sporty Spice, has carved out a solo career and branched out into musicals, playing Mrs Johnstone in Blood Brothers and Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar.

Jools’s shows will as ever feature drummer Gilson Lavis, vocalists Ruby Turner and Louise Marshall, and ska trombonist Rico Rodriguez as he showcases his latest album, The Golden Age Of Song, released last December on the Rhino UK label.

Jools’s first album since 2007’s Moving Out To The Country went gold within six weeks, buoyed by his collaborations with Florence Welch, Tom Jones and Cee-Lo Green and a Later performance with the late Amy Winehouse.

Look out for Jools and His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra on ITV1’s From The Heart show on Wednesday when they join musical and comedy stars to perform When You’re Smiling from The Golden Age of Song. Jools and band will then perform new album track Get Away Jordan with Ruby Turner on The Alan Titchmarsh Show on ITV1 on the afternoon of February 19.

Tickets for Jools’s live shows also can be booked on 0844 873 7353 or online at seetickets.com, ticketmaster.co.uk and ticketline.co.uk