England got sadder after Thatcher

He says: "The music scene in Europe has changed a lot as well, a lot of the smaller venues closed, emphasis became more on festivals and things like that, so if you don't get on the festival tours, sometimes you don't get to Europe at all.

- BY CASEY COOPER-FISKE

EARLY DAYS: Todd, front, with Nazz

FROM the blistering fuzzed-out riff of Open My Eyes, recorded with Nazz in the 1960s, to the wide-ranging experimentation of Utopia and thoughtful reflection of his solo albums, Todd Rundgren's career has been both prolific and diverse.

Todd, 77, also built a name for himself as a producer, working with the likes of Sparks, Patti Smith and XTC, but he is best known by British audiences for the 1972 single I Saw The Light which influenced the power pop movement that followed.

Todd is making a rare return to the UK to play two concerts as part of his Me/We tour, at London's Palladium and Birmingham's The Alexandra, although he was once a "semi-resident" in Britain.

He recalls: "I was producing some British artists, so I'd be in England for that.

"I knew the guys, they were actually American, but they owned [psychedelic boutique clothing store] Granny Takes A Trip on the King's Road, and I used to come and live with them for about two weeks and do my clothes shopping for a whole year.

"I'd go to the warehouses and buy half a dozen pairs of crushed velvet pants.