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Ben Watt Announces Australian Shows Over Twitter

British muso to play pair of gigs alongside Melbourne Writers Festival appearance

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London-based singer/songwriter/author/DJ Ben Watt has taken to Twitter to let fans in Australia know he'll be headed to a stage near you soon – provided a stage near you is in Melbourne or Sydney.

Like all good anti-establishmentarians, Watt skipped the PR-machine middle man in releasing his tweet, directly naming dates on which he is planning to play a pair of live shows while in the country to speak at the Melbourne Writers Festival in August.

The announcement is confirmed by Watts' official website, which shows that the Sydney and Melbourne shows will be held at The Basement and the National Gallery Of Victoria, respectively.

Formerly one half of '90s alt-pop icons Everything But The Girl, Watt has since gained esteem in fields from literature to radio, but has nonetheless remained musically active. Last month, he released his first solo LP in more than 30 years, Hendra, a collaboration with early Britpop trailblazer Bernard Butler.

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Watt and Butler head to the US in June before returning to Europe for Watt to embark on a string of dates that takes in the Berlin Festival, the Port Eliot Festival in Cornwall, and Japan's Summer Sonic Festival before he heads Down Under for his Australian (de)tour.

The writers' festival is yet to release its 2014 full line-up or schedule - and thus details of Watt's appearance - but you can find more information over at the MWF website.