Rock giants U2 are to play a string of UK dates as they announced a world tour – their first major series of indoor shows for a decade.

U2
(Yui Mok/PA Wire)

The band – who performed this week without frontman Bono as he recovers from surgery – will play four concerts at London’s O2 Arena and two at Glasgow’s SSE Hydro late next year.

Unveiling their plans on their official website today, they also said they were preparing performances in their home city of Dublin in Ireland which are yet to be finalised.

The Innocence + Experience tour will begin in Canada in May and move through the US before heading to Europe.

Tour dates follow the release of their Songs Of Innocence album which was given away to half a billion iTunes customers before going on sale more generally. Another album, Songs Of Experience, is expected to be released by the band in the coming months – both albums named after volumes of poetry by William Blake.

U2
(AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Bono – who had surgery on his arm last month after a bike accident in New York’s Central Park – said: “We are going to try to have a completely different feeling from night one to night two, and have some fun playing with the idea of innocence and experience. More to be revealed.”

The tour will visit 19 cities, according to the schedule announced today. It will reach London’s O2 on October 25 with further shows at the venue on October 26, 29 and 30, before moving to Glasgow on November 6 and 7.

Tickets go on sale on Monday December 8.