John Cale to play The Velvet Underground & Nico in full to mark the record's 50th anniversary

The iconic record, viewed as one of the most influential releases of all time, turns half a century old on 12 March 2017.

On 26 May 2017 Cale will be performing at Liverpool's historic docklands - it'll only be his second European date celebrating the record's landmark birthday, following a date in Paris earlier this year. Cale will also perform in New York City for a third and final performance of the record - details TBA.

Cale's concert at the Philharmonie de Paris back in April featured a collection of special guests, including Animal Collective, The Libertines' Pete Doherty and Carl Barât, Mark Lanegan, Etienne Daho, Lou Doillon, and Lemon Jelly's Nick Franglen.

Speaking about the shows, Cale says:

"I’m often reluctant to spend too much time on things past - then, a time marker shows up: The Velvet Underground & Nico turns fifty! As so many bands can attest to, it is the fulfillment of the ultimate dream to record your first album. We were an unfriendly brand, dabbling in a world of challenging lyrics and weird sonics that didn’t fit into anyone’s playlist at the time. Remaining ferociously true to our viewpoints, Lou and I never doubted for a moment we could create something to give a voice to things not regularly explored in rock music at the time. That bizarre combination of four distinctly disparate musicians and a reluctant beauty queen perfectly summed up what it meant to be The Velvet Underground."

Tickets for Cale's The Velvet Underground & Nico show will be on sale from 9am 28 October.