FROM The Air That I Breathe to When I Need You and It Never Rains In Southern California, Albert Hammond has had a glittering career writing songs.

The 70-year-old is back in Glasgow tonight at Oran Mor, with his Songbook show visiting his many hits over the years, both for himself and others.

Yet if it hadn't been for a random encounter with a Scottish girl when he was a teenager, then the singer might never have penned so many pop hits.

"A big ocean liner docked in Gibraltar [where he lived at the time] filled with school children of all ages from Scotland who were touring the Mediterranean," recalls Albert.

"I had a skiffle group then called the Diamond Boys and we were asked to play on board for the students, and that's where I noticed a girl with blue eyes and ginger hair who stood out from the rest, she sat in the front row and smiled at me all through the performance.

"Later we walked around the ship for a few hours holding hands, I kissed her goodbye and the ship sailed away.

"The sadness I felt that moment brought tears to my eyes so I went home strummed my guitar and wrote my first love song called Blue Boy, for this girl, named Ann Andrews."

Albert actually enjoyed a reunion with Ann last year, when BBC's The One Show brought them back together as Albert toured the country. In the years between their two meetings, Albert's success had gone far beyond the odd cruise ship gig.

Aside from his own singing career, he's written for acts as diverse as Tina Turner, Starship, Whitney Houston and Willie Nelson. Yet Albert has never followed a hit-making formula when penning possible chart smashes.

"I have no rules for writing songs," he says.

"Sometimes it all happens so fast that I don't know how the song got written, it's like the song was just sent through me for the world to hear, and then other times it seems to take forever.

"I used to think every song I wrote was a hit but I soon learnt not to think that way or worry whether a song was a hit or not, as long as I enjoyed writing it."

He takes a similarly relaxed approach when looking over his work collaborating with other writers.

Albert's written alongside the likes of Hal David, Mike Hazlewood and Diane Warren, but doesn't believe there are secrets to making a writing partnership work.

"I don't think there is a secret, it's more likely just due to the chemistry between two people or a little bit of magic, like the right place the right time," he says.

"Sometimes it clicked right away, sometimes it took a little longer and sometimes what we wrote in a day ended up not being so good.

"Sometimes it took writing adequate songs before you wrote the one that became a hit, but in most cases I always had an idea for a melody to start, then we took it from there."

HOWEVER, while Albert can point to the simpler things in making music, he is more profound when looking at the impact it can have on people.

He believes that songs can make a difference.

"A famous promoter in Vienna had a colonoscopy procedure and complications led him to have three more operations," he adds.

"He was on life support as he couldn't breathe on his own, I went to the hospital and they gave me permission to go into the ICU with my guitar where I sang a medley of songs.

"A day later I got an email from his right hand person to tell me he was better and two days after that they took him off the life support machine.

"He told me he remembers me being there and singing to him and it helped. I believe that music heals or helps in a positive way."

The singer has upbeat vibes about returning to Glasgow tonight too.

"I have enjoyed the last two years I've played at Oran Mor and the audience is always great there."

l Albert Hammond, Oran Mor, tonight, £20, 7pm