Richard Hawley at Hull City Hall on February 26, 2013

After missing out on the Mercury Prize, troubadour Richard Hawley is hoping to secure a Brit Award for best male solo artist.

He may not have enjoyed the same mainstream success as fellow nominees Calvin Harris, Olly Murs, Plan B and Ben Howard, but he's finally getting the recognition he deserves.

And while Ben has only just started out in the industry, Richard is something of a veteran.

Standing At The Sky's Edge, his seventh studio album, went to number three in the charts, and he's heading to the city next month to show a Hull audience exactly what all of the fuss is about.

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Last year, the Mercury Music Prize went to Leeds lads Alt-J who breezed in and took the £20,000 prize money.

But Richard is by no means bitter, and he told website Drowned In Sound that the past 12 months have been "totally unexpected."

He said: "The album going in at number three and other extremes like breaking my leg on tour – that was pretty weird – but on the whole it's been an exceptional year."

His latest album, which was inspired by the loss of musician friend Tim McCall, was heavier and darker than his previous offerings and explored love, loss and disillusionment.

He said losing Tim at just 37 was one of the "biggest blows" he had ever been dealt after the guitarist fell down the stairs at his home.

Fans and critics embraced the inspired album and Richard achieved his highest chart place to date, as well as his second Mercury Music Prize nomination.

But Richard thought he was taking a risk recording the album and feared he may lose fans.

He said: "It was almost a paradigm shift in a way, in my life, to create the music on that record.

"It was such a shift in gears I didn't really expect people to go with me.

"It was something that I had to do and I knew that I'd got to it, so I thought I might lose a lot of folks.

"I was really pleased, I almost had to redefine what I thought of human beings – they went with me and I didn't really expect that."

The last single to be released from Richard's album – Don't Stare At The Sun – will be out later this month.

He said: "There are so many people that believed in me along the way.

"I don't intend to stop, I intend to keep going."

The Brit Awards will take place on February 20, broadcast live on ITV1.