THE fastest selling pop star of 2017, the artist known as Rag'n'Bone Man, is to headline Edinburgh's Hogmanay.
The English singer, real name Rory Graham, will lead the biggest New Year celebration in the UK.
His album Human became the decade's fastest-selling debut album by a British male artist, selling more than 750,000 copies in the UK in under five months, and has been in the top ten for nearly 30 weeks.
His biggest hit is Human, which has been number one on iTunes in 40 countries, selling 4m copies.
Another song, Skin, has sold more than 1.2m.
Mr Graham said: "Excited to be breaking the New Year in with the Scots at Edinburgh's Hogmanay, what a sick event for a debut show."
The singer song writer's stage name was inspired by watching the classic BBC comedy series Steptoe and Son when he was an MC for a drum and bass group in his youth.
Ten thousand tickets to Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Concert in the Gardens will go on sale on Tuesday 12 September at 9am.
This year's Hogmanay is the first to be staged by the team behind the Underbelly Fringe venue.
Charlie Wood and Ed Bartlam, directors of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay, said: "We’re delighted to have one of the UK’s most exciting new artists headlining Edinburgh’s Hogmanay in our first year of producing the event.
"This has been Rag‘n’Bone Man's year and so where better to end it than at the mother of all New Year celebrations in Edinburgh."
Councillor Donald Wilson, Edinburgh’s new Culture and Communities Convener, said: “Edinburgh’s Hogmanay is the place to be to send off the 70th anniversary of Edinburgh as the Festival City and kick off 2018 with a stellar musical line-up.
"Rag‘n’Bone Man is a great coup for our world-famous Concert in the Gardens."
Rag'n'Bone Man, from East Sussex, is a 2017 double Brit Award winner, and in the last year has played sold out shows across Europe and the UK including two nights at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire in April.
The summer saw him playing IOW Festival, Glastonbury, TRNSMT in Glasgow and Bestival.
His seven date UK & Eire autumn tour ‘Overproof’ sold out in a few hours.
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