It’s hard to remember the last time the venerable Archdrude played a major British festival – I have a faint memory of some brilliant, mildly alarming show one Reading afternoon in the mid ‘90s. But it’s testimony to Latitude’s cultured charms that Julian Cope – author, ancient historian, Gnostic adventurer and, lest we forget, a tremendous rock star – will be playing the Uncut Arena on Friday July 17.

Only a fool would try and predict exactly what Cope may have in store for the show, though it’s worth noting that, for all his Krautrock, glampunk and gonzoid metal excursions, he usually plays a fair number of hits at his exuberant gigs. Last year’s well-received “You Gotta Problem With Me” suggested that Cope’s muse was carrying him back towards a more accessible sound, and rumours are rife that a new album, tentatively scheduled for the autumn, is even stronger.

We’ve also heard some vague talk of some brutal three acoustic-guitar interplay, assuming Cope can wrest his bandmates from the clammy grasp of Jason Pierce, who who continues to pinch old Cope sidemen to swell the ranks of Spiritualized. It’s probably safe to expect, however, leather, shades, some alarming forays into the audience. And, of course, some of the finest psychedelic rock music made in Britain in the past three decades.