There is no other keyboardist in the history of rock 'n' roll with a more impressive CV than Ian "Mac" McLagan.

The musician's staggering stage and session career includes working as a backing artist for The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Joe Cocker, Billy Bragg, Bob Dylan and Chuck Berry, to name but a few.

But ultimately, McLagan will always be associated with Small Faces and Faces; two defining rock institutions of the Sixties and Seventies.

He co-wrote such Faces hits as Cindy Incidentally, You're So Rude and Three Button Hand Me Down, and you can hear his trademark electric piano on everything from Stay With Me by the Faces to the Small Faces' classic Itchycoo Park, as well as Rod Stewart's Maggie May and You Wear It Well.

Much to the delight of their loyal fans, the Faces reunited for a recent tour, featuring Simply Red star Mick Hucknall in place of Rod Stewart on vocals.

"It's been just what I'd hoped for all these years: fun, and rocking!" he tells me.

"We've always wanted to play together, but there always seemed to be conflicts in our schedules.

"Then we were asked to perform a benefit at the Albert Hall, and we were all game, but when it came down to it Rod couldn't make it, so we played three songs with three different singers.

"Mick Hucknall sang Stay With Me that night and it was a blast. We carried on from there."

Now Mac is back, this time flying solo for a string of UK dates, including two nights at Bristol's The Thunderbolt.

He will be performing a selection of his own compositions, including tracks from his last studio album Never Say Never, as well as the odd number that we all know and love.

"It's 'a guy walks into a bar...', so it's a conversation and a performance, really," he reveals. "I play some of my songs, a few new ones, but with a tilt of the hat to Small Faces, Faces and Ronnie Lane. You'll have to be there!"

McLagan entered the music game in Swinging London of the mid-Sixties.

"I was always passionate about music," he tells me. "I was inspired by the likes of Otis Spann and Johnnie Johnson on piano, and Booker T Jones and Billy Preston on Hammond."

Mac ascended from Top of the Pops with Small Faces to the pinnacle of rock with Faces, when Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood joined the band.

Faces ruled the radio and sales charts in the Seventies, playing stadiums, arenas and festivals around the world and leaving countless satisfied fans, many wild tales, and plenty of stressed hotel managers in their wake.

You can read all about it in Mac's vivid memoir, All The Rage, a book hailed as one of the best music books in years. But with all the rock 'n' roll hellraising that went on, did he really include all the gruesome details?

"I left as much out as I put in!" he admits. As the book makes clear, Mac has been involved in his fair share of off-stage shenanigans, but it's his onstage antics that the fans love and I wonder whether Mac can recall any stand-out gigs?

"I remember the Syria Mosque in St Louis about 1972 or '73 with Faces as being outstanding, but they're all as good as I can make them. Bristol will be two of the best!"

There's also a personal favourite moment when the late, great radio DJ John Peel joined them onstage at Top of the Pops, miming the mandolin.

"He became such a fan, but until he hung out with us he didn't drink and disliked drinkers," Mac reveals.

"He played our songs on the BBC when no one else would. Thanks John."

Handed a prestigious Ivor Novello Award in 1996 for his outstanding contribution to British music, and inducted into the Texas Music Hall of Fame in 2004, Mac has never been one to rest on his laurels.

"Right now. I'm writing, performing, painting like never before," he enthuses. "As well as touring, I've started work on my next album. I'm very excited, but then I often am."

Ian McLagan plays The Thunderbolt on Tuesday, August 9, and Wednesday, August 10, at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £15 advance/£18 on the door. Tel 0117 929 9008.