LOU Reed has announced that he will appear at the Manchester International Festival, performing his 1973 landmark album Berlin, in its entirety.

These rare European concerts will see Reed performing with a 30-piece ensemble including his band, a string and horn section, and a children's choir.

When Berlin was originally released in 1973, it was a shock to critics and fans that had just seen Reed reaffirmed as a rock visionary with the runaway success of Transformer, which included the Top 20 hit Walk on the Wild Side.

Instead of producing an album that enhanced his reputation as glam-rock innovator, Reed immersed himself in a highly ambitious, emotionally charged, psychologically exhausting, and utterly compelling work - a dark concept album about drifting, tormented addicts in love, broken hearted and willfully disabled ex-pats, plotting their own downfalls in the outskirts of a divided city.

The Berlin European concerts are being hailed as a rare insight into one of music's greatest minds, a labour of love and an integral part of rock history.

"I only do this every thirty years," says Reed. "One time, one time only. You can tell your kids you saw Lou Reed's Berlin."

Lou Reed at the Manchester International Festival, Friday June 29. Tickets £39.50/ £44.50/£48.50. To book, ring 0871 230 1888 or go online to the website below.