VETERAN band Lindisfarne look likely to start their 30-date national tour with a sell-out at Durham's Gala Theatre.

The Geordie band, chart-toppers in the 1970s, will play the 500-seater venue next Wednesday and there are only a few tickets left.

The band's first visit to The Gala during their tour last year was a sell-out.

"It was a good night and I thought it was an excellent venue,'' said frontman Billy Mitchell. The band's popularity has grown in recent years with their albums Here Comes the Neighbourhood and Promenade.

Record company Virgin EMI has repackaged the compilation CD The Very Best of Lindisfarne, adding four songs which include two unreleased tracks from the 1980s.

A DVD featuring live performances and interviews will be released next year and the 1972 album Dingly Dell will be reissued on CD.

Mr Mitchell said the band's tour set had a mix of old favourites and newer songs. He said: "Promenade is certainly going down well with the audiences who come to see us. Some of these new songs have become as firm favourites as the oldies from the 1970s."

The tour ends at Newcastle Opera House on November 1.