THERE is a line on Graham Nash's new album - his first solo work in 14 years - in which he asks "Is my future just my past?" writes John Anson.

For most people having the past that Graham has had, they would probably more than happy to say yes to that question.

From his early days with The Hollies, to moving to America and working first with Crosby Stills, Nash and Young and more latterly as part of Crosby, Stills and Nash, he has constantly been at the forefront of popular music and holds the rare accolade of twice being voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

But at 74, Graham is clearly not a man to look back or rest on his laurels.

"I don't want to be typecast by what I've done," he said. "For me it always about what is next.

"I know what I have done and I am very proud of it but I don't want to stand still."

This Path Tonight, Graham's new solo album is a highly personal affair which he admits is a reaction to upheavals in his personal life.

"It is a very reflective album," he said. "It's fair to say my life is somewhat in turmoil at the moment. My wife and I have decided to get divorced which has been going on for 18 months or so and now I have fallen in love with a beautiful artist from New York."

That artist, Amy Grantham, Graham openly credits for inspiring him to head back into the studio.

"My relationship with Amy has relit the fire," he said. "Any song I write has to start with me feeling something.

"If something upsets me then I have to write about it. Similarly if I feel emotional in a positive way that will be a catalyst for a song.

"As an artist I think you have to be as honest as possible and show your feeling and reflect the times in which we live.

"To write a song you have to feel something."

The new solo release is something many fans thought they would never see.

"I've been involved with the music of Crosby Stills and Nash for the last 14 years," he said. "Over that time I have worked on 16 CDs - I have been a busy boy you know!

"I just haven't had the time to concentrate on anything else."

But having taken the decision to record, Graham went into the studio with long-time collaborator Shane Fontayne and wrote 20 songs in a month and recorded the album in just over a week.

"There are a couple of songs where the first take in the studio is the version on the album," he said. "That doesn't happen very often but it's what you are always striving for."

Next month Graham will be heading to Manchester for a date at the Albert Hall, a return home for the Salford singer.

"I was actually born in Blackpool," he said, "because Salford where the family was from was too dangerous for pregnant mums during the war and she was evacuated.

"But Salford is where I grew up and I love coming home."

It was at school that Graham met Allan Clarke and the pair founded The Hollies which was to include the East Lancashire trio guitarist Tony Hicks, Bobby Elliott on drums and Bernie Calvert on bass.

Hits such as Bus Stop and I'm Alive saw The Hollies break through on both sides of the Atlantic but in 1968 Graham stunned his bandmates by quitting to join David Crosby, Stephen Stills and then Neil Young.

"When I heard the results of singing with David and Stephen I knew that's what I wanted to do, " he said. "With the Hollies we do still keep in touch and things have been much better between us over the last 10 years.

"I think it's fair to say it was a little bit ugly before that at times."

Graham chronicled his remarkable life in his frank autobiography, Wild Tales which was released in 2013.

Although many people know of Graham Nash the musician, fewer realise he is also a pioneering photographer. An exhibition of his work My Life Through My Lens will open at Salford Museum and Art Gallery on April 23.

"I've been a photographer longer than I've been a musician," he said. "There's a photo in my book of my mum which was the first photo I ever took when I was 11."

Graham is widely recognised as one of the true pioneers of digital photography and commissioned some of the first digital printers.

"I'm very proud that my first digital printer is now on display at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington," he said. "At that time it was impossible to get very large digital prints, so I designed a machine to do it.

"I love technology but you have to remember no matter how much technology you have it won't turn a bad song into a good song."

This Path Tonight is released on Friday. The exhibition My Life Through My Lens opens on April and Graham Nash plays Manchester's Albert Hall on May 21. Details from 0844-858-8521.