INSPIRATION can spring from many unlikely sources. But few artists can claim to have found inspiration in a charity shop.

Singer-songwriter Jon Allen can hardly have imagined that when he walked into his local secondhand clothes store his eye would be caught by a dapper, if faded pinstripe jacket with matching trousers – which would go on to an inspire an album.

And not just any album; an album, in fact, which has been roundly hailed as a breathtaking debut. And its name? Dead Man’s Suit. Of course.

So, it seems fitting that when I caught up with Jon, he is, indeed, wearing said suit jacket – in all its frayed glory.

“It all started with a trip to a charity shop where I purchased a suit – and wondered what the story was behind the garment. It got me mind wandering. I’m wearing the jacket now,” he says proudly. “And, even though it’s got some buttons missing, I wear it on stage – it’s become my trademark and brings me luck!”

From Winchester, by way of Devon and Streatham, South London, Jon has been favourably compared to such icons as Dylan, Cat Stevens, Nick Drake and Jon Martyn and James Taylor. But, to my mind, he sounds a dead ringer for Rod Stewart – when he was good.

He appreciates the comparison. “I’ve paid out a lot in bribes,” he jests. “It is good to read good reviews – but it’s an ego thing. I also need to read negative ones. I’m in a weird situation because I’m managing this whole project. I set up the label, Monologue, and I have a lot to organise because I’m a one-man business.

“But it also means I can’t have an ego when I’m playing live. I’ve just got to give people what they want and sell as many CDs as possible.”

On Monday he plays Oxford’s New Theatre, supporting Seal. The tour follows support slots for a clutch of other big names – KT Tunstall, Jose Gonzalez Damien Rice, and, incredibly, Emmylou Harris and Mark Knopfler at Wembley Stadium and the NEC.

“I’m looking forward to touring with Seal,” he says. “I’ve never met him, but he really likes the album – and I think it will be a nice combination of music. I have also been surprised by how good a singer he is.

“I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I’m taking it all in my stride. Maybe I’ll be more nervous when I get on stage.”

The gigs see him playing with a handpicked band. “It’s refreshing not to be a solitary troubadour,” confesses the former drummer – who started his musical career at a very tender age at Devon’s progressive, lefty, Sands School – an offshoot of the former Dartington Hall School – whose arty alumni include Lucian Freud.

While a no doubt hard-working jobbing musician, Jon has also enjoyed his share of luck – including an offer from a friend to submit his song In Your Light to an advertising agency – which used it in an advert for, of all things, Land Rover.

“It was a lovely coincidence that the track worked on the advert, and I hit the jackpot,” he recalls. “I didn't think twice about it. And that’s what got the ball rolling. They may be helping to kill the planet,” he says mischievously, “but they are also keeping people in work. I’m a communist in that respect.”

Jon honed his songwriting ability at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA) – the college founded by Sir Paul McCartney. And as a life-long fan of the Beatles it was a highly appropriate move.

“I have always loved the Beatles,” he explains. “Every birthday and Christmas I’d get another Beatles album. It was a sad day when I got the last one. It was like closing the book. I did gravitate to their music, as well as Dylan, Zeppelin, Free and Neil Young. I come from a strong tradition of singer-songwriters, and have a rootsy vibe, and a blues-rock feel which sounds like it belongs in the 60s or 70s.”

With what promises to be a rapid ascent to the big time ahead of him, it’s curious to consider that he could have found fame in a very different field.

Or, to be more precise, court.

“When I was young, I harboured an ambition to play tennis. I have realised that isn’t really going to happen – but I still hold on to the dream.”

So, with a gruelling live schedule ahead of him, does he have any particular likes on tour?

“No,” he smiles. “Just the love and admiration of my millions of fans. Oh, and Dime bars. I really am very partial to them!”

Jon Allen plays the New Theatre on Monday, supporting Seal