THE title of Bryan Ferry's last album - Frantic - went against everything we ever thought we knew about the man.

Frantic? The coolest living Englishman? The original lounge lizard? But after years of seeming inactivity, Ferry's career is once again in high gear.

Last year brought the album and a triumphant reunion tour with the band that made him, Brian Eno and Jerry Hall famous, and in March he comes to Cardiff to the delight of his die-hard fans.

And while he might not be getting together with Roxy again for a while, Bryan has no regrets.

He said: "It was great. It was a big success and we all enjoyed it very much. We just did a one-off thing, really.

"A year beforehand I wouldn't have thought we were going to do that, but you can never tell what happens. I would be open to another reunion obviously someday.

"It was exciting, and this tour is exciting too. It's nice to keep varying things. "The idea of this album was to try and do something more direct and straightforward. The next album... When this tour finishes off, I'll start recording it, and it could be anything, really.

"I'm not sure which direction it's going. It's nice to know that there are several different avenues I could pursue. One of them is doing covers of different artists.

"I like doing that, but I've also got some songs of my own, which are lying around, which I might do as well. I could experiment much more and do things which are much more difficult, but I've got to make a living, and that's always been my excuse.

"But my next task must be something which is difficult. "I've always wanted to do an album everybody hated."

Bryan Ferry comes to St David's Hall on March 21. Tickets are available now at £28.50. Box office 02920 878444.