EVERYONE'S favourite country singer has returned: Hank Wangford will perform with his band of Lost Cowboys at Bridport Electric Palace on Saturday, September 7.

Back for a Bridport Hat Festival extravaganza, the authentic performer, known as country music's King of Pain, will create a celebratory party atmosphere to accompany his greatest hits.

Hank is known on both sides of the Atlantic for his musical originality, and his Lost Cowboys are equally hardcore country musicians. Joining him on stage will be Martin Belmont on Stratocaster and bass, BJ Cole on the pedal steel guitar, Kevin Foster on bass, Roy Dodds on drums and Spanner (Anna) Robinson taking the lead on vocals.

Hank has been on the music scene for almost three decades, creating television series and writing books to spread the word about the country genre. Throughout the 1990s, he produced several radio programmes for the BBC, exploring the history of railroad songs and tracing the development of county and western music from its Mongolian roots. In 1999, Hank and the Lost Cowboys played a tour of the Falkland Islands, filming it for the BBC's Video Diaries.

Hank has also written a number of travel articles for publications including The Guardian and the Sunday Telegraph, recounting his experiences in Uruguay, Georgia, Argentina, Coney Island and many more exotic locations. Aside from the music, Hank is a doctor and continues to work in sexual healthcare and contraception. He lectures and trains doctors and nurses around Britain and regularly visits Romania where he set up a project for women's health in 1991.

Hank continues to tour extensively, and his most recent venture, No Hall Too Small, saw him and his band perform in 220 village halls throughout England and Scotland in the last three years.

Bridport's Hat Festival is a simultaneous celebration of hats and fundraiser for head-related charities including Brain Tumour Research. The festival is also a massive end-of-summer party, bringing the town together with demonstrations, talks, displays, shows and music.

*Hank Langford and the Lost Cowboys will perform at the Electric Palace on Saturday, at 8pm. Tickets are £12.50 in advance or £15 on the door, available from the Electric Palace website or by contacting the box office.