His tour hits Peterborough on Wednesday, his first full jaunt across the country in support of Memory Muscle, a solid collection of the kind of tunes that won't disappoint the Bluetones faithful.

Getting his hands dirty with his own set of songs has been something of an inspiring experience for Mark, who started trying them out acoustically at open-mic nights in London in 2004.

"I'd just turn up with my guitar, play five or six songs, along with everyone else," he said.

"I didn't want any special favours, and just enjoyed the experience of stripping things right back down."

Last year he started recording the material for the album with producer Gordon Mills, enlisting Grammy award winning composer David Arnold along the way.

"We first met on the set of Little Britain, ironically," he said.

"We were both making a cameo in the same scene, and it was here that I learned he really liked The Bluetones. In fact, it was when he was composing the soundtrack to Independence Day that he first heard Expecting To Fly. I was naturally incredibly flattered, and never dreamed that I'd have the chance to work with him."

Since those early acoustic days, Mark has formed his own backing band, The Mummys, and, with the release of the new record, will be hitting the road to share these newly-embellished songs with whoever enjoys a persuasive melody and a nifty way with a word.

The album also features two covers, a light, mellotron-enhanced twist on Teenage Fanclub's raucous Alcoholiday, and the album's closer, a take on Lee Hazelwood's My Autumn's Done Come.

"If I view myself as anything it's as an underdog", he says, "and I relate to the fact that Lee Hazelwood is a songwriter who has been really underrated – most people don't know him beyond These Boots Are Made For Walking."

A huge influence over Mark's current work – as he explained to The Guide in our Favourite Things feature last week (see www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/guide) – is favourite author Kurt Vonnegut, whose work informs the track So It Goes.

"That's a phrase he used a lot in his books, especially Slaughterhouse Five," he explains.

"He's something of a misanthrope, I guess, but with a pitch black wit and despite everything, a real humanist at heart."

Mark Morriss is at Peterborough's Met Lounge on Wednesday. Tickets, priced £8, are available by calling 01733 571616, or at www.ticketweb.co.uk

The show starts at 8pm and support comes from Peterborough's own The Brays and Loose Baby Charlotte.

Related: My favourite things: Mark Morriss
A peek into the lives of some of the great and the good in Peterborough, and the music, films and books that have captured their imaginations.

More online: www.bluetones.info.