FORMER Jam and Style Council frontman Paul Weller is set to perform in Manchester to promote his new album.

Forty Days and Forty Nights is a collection of covers, from which Weller's current single, a cover of jazz legend Gil Scott Heron's "The Bottle", is taken.

Weller will appear at Manchester Apollo in November to promote the album, and will no doubt be showcasing his latest tracks.

As the leader of the Jam, Weller fronted the most popular British band of the punk era, a group that was to influence the country's biggest rock acts, such as The Smiths and Oasis.

He formed the more soulful Style Council in the early 1980s before embarking on a successful solo career.

He released Traffic, a more organic-sounding record, which helped him to regain popularity after the split of the Style Council.

Now in his third decade of a career, Weller has released a number of solo albums, including the massively popular Wildwood, which entered the charts at number two in 1993, and spawned a huge hit single of the same name. Weller will be at Apollo on November 16. Tickets are priced at £28.50 and are available on 0870 401 8000.

His third release, Stanley Road, was greeted with mixed reviews, but saw Weller elevated to a musical icon in the UK, earning him titles such as the "godfather of Britpop" during the popularity of bands such as Oasis.

He claimed Heavy Soul, released in 1997, was his final studio release, but announced earlier this year his intention to record the covers set.