BARBARA DICKSON describes herself as a folk singer who went into the theatre by chance - everything else happened by accident.

That "everything else" has included roles in West End shows and television dramas as well as having Top Ten hits.

But singing folk songs remains her first love, and the star chose an intimate venue in snow-clad East Yorkshire to kick off a national tour to promote her latest album, Full Circle.

When she was a humble itinerant folk singer, Dickson scribbled the words of songs on bits of paper and cigarette packets as she came across them and deposited the scraps in her father's shirt box. Now she is performing some of these gems.

Dickson is a polished performer, whose voice is as strong and lyrical as ever.

Touring with her are some of the finest multi-instrumentalists money can buy: drummer Russell Field; Neil Drinkwater on keyboards; Pete Zorn on bass, mandolin and flute; and Troy Donockley on guitars, uilleann pipes, whistles and mandola. Their excellent ensemble playing created different sound textures to suit the mood of each song and they brought out the best in Dickson.

Highlights from Full Circle included the ancient Corpus Christi Carol, the menacing Across The Hills and The Sky Above The Roof by Ralph Vaughan Williams, who set a French poem to a poignant melody.

Dickson also sang her signature hits I Know Him So Well, Another Suitcase In Another Hall and Caravan Song, while her delightful interpretation of Grapefruit Moon, by Tom Waites, transformed the auditorium into a Parisian caf with Drinkwater on accordion.

Updated: 11:23 Friday, February 25, 2005