ROCK and metal festival which attracts fans from across the UK and Europe is being held next week.

Original singer and founder member of AC/DC, Dave Evans, is set to headline day one of the SOS Festival 2013, at Radcliffe Civic Hall, which takes place on July 20 and 21.

Dave said: “It’s actually the last show I’m doing of the England and Wales tour. It’s a good one to finish off with.”

Dave was replaced by Bon Scott in 1974, before AC/DC was catapulted into international stardom, and he has since released three solo albums.

His latest tour, which kicked off at The Towler, in Market Street, Tottington, last month sees him celebrating 40 years of AC/DC, as well as performing tracks from his solo album Judgement Day.

Speaking of the upcoming gig, he said: “It will be the best show they’ve ever seen but, apart from that, I will be doing my own music, my own rock.

“Mostly from my Judgement Day album. And because it’s the 40th anniversary of AC/DC this year, I’ll be doing quite a few AC/DC songs too, including my hit record with them, Can I Sit Next To You Girl, and Bon Scott classics as well.”

He will appear with his UK Badasses, aka Chris Appleton on guitar, Martin McNee on drums, Dan Bate on bass and Chris Needham on guitar, on the Dean Hocking (Main) Stage at the festival, which is now in its sixth year.

The line-up also includes X-UFO, the band featuring former UFO members Laurence Archer, Danny Peyronel and Clive Edwards, as well as Rocky Newton, formerly of Michael Schenker Group.

Day two is headed up by Manchester-based Babylon Fire who released their acclaimed Dark Horizons album on Rocksector Records in November.

SOS has a packed programme involving 22 bands on the main stage, which has been re-named the Dean Hocking Stage in memory of the bass player, from Rocksector band Nightvision, who was killed in a car crash in December, aged 23, in Lincolnshire. The festival’s second stage is for acoustic sessions which will be headed up on day one by power-folk trio Steel Threads and by Greek rockers 4Bitten, on day two.

Festival director Mark Appleton said: “We aim to improve SOS each year and following the successes of the past two years this is quite a challenge.

“However, with the line-up we’ve assembled, we’re confident we’ve taken another stride forward, with a range of artists with something for every fan of rock and metal, at thoroughly affordable prices.”

n Tickets cost £15 for two days or £10 for a single day and are available from the Rocksector Records website or ticketline.co. uk