THE Dubliners, regarded by many as the spiritual godfathers of Irish folk music, are concluding their autumn tour with a gig at Malvern Theatres - by no means their first visit to the venue.

"It's a town they're always happy to visit," says John Sheahan, who's been with the band since 1964 and plays fiddle, tin whistle, mandolin, concertina and guitar.

"It's a lovely place to visit," he told the Malvern Gazette, "and we're looking forward to coming back. It's a very beautiful little town, very memorable."

The concert on Sunday, November 5, at the Forum, finishes off the band's autumn tour, undertaken in support of the new double-CD compilation Too Late To Stop Now.

The album includes one disc of studio recordings covering the band's best songs from 1972 to 2005, and a live disc recorded in 2002 at Dublin's Gaiety Theatre and capturing the legendary live experience, which entrances audiences of all ages, and across many different countries.

"There's just something about the music, it seems to have a universal appeal," said John.

Despite the fact that the Dubliners are no spring chickens, it won't be back to the pipe and slippers after the Malvern gig.

"We've got other plans," confided John. "We will be putting our feet up for two weeks, but then it's off to Germany."