November 4, 2004 12:45

BEN FOLDS RECORDS ELLIOTT SMITH TRIBUTE

The star says he and his old touring partner and pal played "all the same shitholes"...

Ben Folds has recorded a tribute to Elliott Smith which is set to appear on his forthcoming album.

Elliott Smith toured with Ben Folds in 1998 when he fronted the Ben Folds Five.

"I was playing all the same shitholes he was," Ben Folds told Rolling Stone. "The lyrics of the song are about people who are sharing your experience too - 'Oh, Elliott Smith did this club last night, and he sat in that same room and read all the shit about dicks and asses on the wall.' Poets like to talk about how they look up and see the same stars, and I think rock musicians all look up and see the same dicks on the walls."

Elliott Smith passed away in October last year due to a self-inflicted knife wound.

The follow-up to ‘Rockin’ In The Suburbs’ has been recorded and produced by Ben Folds over the past month in Nashville.

The album is expected to be released in February.

Ben Folds heads out on a tour of the UK later this month, kicking off at Leicester De Montford Hall on November 12.

The full tour dates are:

Leicester De Montford Hall (November 12)

Manchester Lowery (14)

Dublin Vicar Street (15)

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (16)

Sheffield Octagon (18)

Brighton Dome (19)

Warwick Arts Centre (20)

Southampton Guildhall (21)

Cambridge Corn Exchange (23)

London Barbican (25)

For ticket availability, click here or call the NME Ticketline on 0870 1 663 663.