rushonrock favourite Jeff Scott Soto is ready to ride the crest of the ever-growing AOR wave in 2012 after revealing his return to the UK is imminent.

The former Journey/Yngwie Malmsteen man, and member of the touring Trans Siberian Orchestra roster, releases new solo album Damage Control in March. 

And Soto has collaborated with members of Y&T, Talisman and Night Ranger to produce a suitably focused follow-up to 2009’s experimental pop rock record Beautiful Mess.

Now the charismatic singer is plotting an assault on the live scene and he revealed: “I’m actually planning this year’s touring schedule as we speak.

“I’m looking at where and when but I can promise I will be hitting the UK stage again in 2012. I had to turn down the spring leg of the latest Trans Siberian Orchestra tour because I realised I’d taken enough time off as a solo artist.

“Sometimes you have to walk away from one project to get the most out of another. And I knew that if I didn’t return to what I do as Jeff Scott Soto pretty soon then I’d be forgotten.”

Look out for a full review of Damage Control, released via Frontiers Records, in March.