Iain Matthews is a star of the British folk scene having been a member of the original Fairport Convention line-up and scoring a number one hit with Woodstock in 1969. He has also enjoyed success in Plainsong and in recent years has explored his love of jazz releasing the album Joy Mining with Egbert Derix and the Searing Quartet. He spoke to Will Gore.

With such a huge back catalogue how do you begin to approach choosing a set for your solo shows? It's not that difficult actually. I aim to please myself with songs I enjoy playing. I try to mix it up with finger picking, strumming and acapella and tempos of course. Then it's mostly material from the past 15 years, with a couple of older ones thrown in, abracadabra! My musical focus right now is on the Joy Mining album and I try to keep the two separate, by only playing those particular songs with the quintet.

How do you look back on the achievement of getting Woodstock to number one? My most vivid memory is the day I phoned my Mom with the news that we'd gone from number 10 to number one and as I told her, feeling the reality of it sinking in. The fact is, apart from recording the song, I achieved very little, the rest of it just happened. I've always felt I've had an ear for a good cover song and this was no exception. I was looking for an extra one for a BBC session. I'd just bought Joni's album and loved the song, so we decided to work it up and include it. It was a simple case of all the stars lining up in my favour.

How much are you enjoying the chance to play with jazz musicians, Egbert Derix and the Searing Quartet? I'm loving it. It's the best album I've ever made. Jazz has been a passion of mine ever since I realised that Miles existed. Kind of Blue changed my life. It's something I've been dipping my toe into for quite some time, but never felt comfortable enough to dive in head first. Meeting and working with Egbert has changed my attitude on my own self-worth, my musical limits and quite honestly, what people think. He hass made it comfortable for me to step outside my comfort zone and take some chances.

What is it about Joy Mining that marks it out from your previous work? The writing partnership with Egbert, the songs themselves, the musicianship and the dedication from all involved. I don't mean to blow my own horn, but it's such a beautiful, deeply honest work and it speaks volumes.

The night before TwickFolk youare playing with Fairport Convention at the Barbican - do you still enjoy playing with the rest of the band after so many years? It's fun to be able to occassionally get together after so much water under the bridge. We've all done so much with our music since those heady UFO days and it's gratifying to meet every few years and share that.

Can you pick out a highlight from your career? Turning 60 and realising I still had my best work inside me.

And a lowpoint? None...I've always felt that creating music and sharing those creations, is such a privileged existence.

What will you be working on next? We (the quintet) now have a great new booking agent here in Holland where I now live and our hope is that he'll put together for us a theatre tour next season. We plan to make a new album next year from my song catalogue.

Iain Matthews, TwickFolk, The Cabbage Patch, Twickenham, July 19, 8pm, £10 in advance, £12 on the door, twickfolk.co.uk