X FACTOR's Joseph Whelan Joins Cast Of THE WAR OF THE WORLDS!

ollowing phenomenal demand, it has been confirmed that 3 dates have been added to the final arena tour of Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of The Worlds. Extra shows in Brighton, Bournemouth and Cardiff will go on general sale on Friday 31st January at 9am via thewaroftheworlds.com/tickets or at www.livenation.co.uk. The announcement coincides with the announcement that X Factor's Joseph Whelan is to join the all-star cast.

After wowing audiences on X Factor 2013, Whelan is the latest Guest Artiste to be announced for the final arena tour of Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds - Alive on Stage! Joseph will perform the role of The Voice of Humanity.

Following a triumphant UK and European arena tour in 2012, Live Nation and SJM Concerts, are delighted to announce that one of the most ground-breaking tours of all time, Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of The Worlds is to return for the sixth and final time in 2014. Tickets for existing dates are on sale now priced from £38.50.

The show will again feature a stellar cast with Jeff Wayne returning to the podium to conduct the 9-piece Black Smoke Band and 36-pieceULLAdubULLA Strings. A final Guest Artiste is soon to be announced.

Whelan now joins: Westlife's Brian McFadden as The Sung Thoughts of The Journalist, Jason Donovan reprising his role as Parson Nathaniel and Carrie Hope Fletcher as Beth, Parson Nathaniel's Wife, direct from her West End and highly acclaimed performance as Eponine in Les Miserables. Liam Neeson's spell-binding 3D holographic performance as The Journalist also returns.

Immediately after his appearances on X Factor, Whelan released his debut album, The Kontrast, which shot to Number 1 in the iTunes rock chart with a successful tour immediately following.

Guest judge Robbie Williams raved about Joseph's 'raucous' voice, which is perfect for his role as The Voice of Humanity.

Whelan commented:

"Never in my wildest dreams did I think that X Factor would bring me to the attention of the legendary Jeff Wayne! To be cast in Jeff's classic, The War of The Worlds is totally amazing! And it is particularly special to be part of the final ever arena tour! As a huge fan of The War of the Worlds this is a dream come true for me. Jeff Wayne is an absolute rock legend and it is a true honour to be working alongside him! The production is technologically mind-blowing and this is a completely new experience for me. I'm so excited to be involved. I can't wait to get on the road!"

Talking about Joseph, Jeff Wayne commented;

"I met Joseph via a mutual friend who manages The Who and a number of other major rock artists. Knowing TWOTW, he thought Joseph would be ideal for the role of The Voice of Humanity. At that point I wasn't aware that Joseph had been on X Factor, had also enjoyed a No 1 album in the UK Rock Charts and was touring regularly.

But I was directed to some YouTube clips of Joseph and was simply blown away by his voice and charisma. He then visited my studio and we first talked through the part of The Voice of Humanity, then recorded all that the role had to achieve.

He simply nailed it. Easily. And he's now on board. I welcome Joseph to TWOTW and I very much look forward to working with him on this, our Final Arena Tour."

Tour dates:
November 2014
Thurs 27th - Dublin O2 Arena, Eire
Friday 28th - Liverpool Echo Arena, UK
Saturday 29th - Glasgow Hydro Arena, UK
Sunday 30th - Manchester MEN Arena, UK
December 2014
Tuesday 2nd - Nottingham Arena, UK
Wednesday 3rd - Newcastle Arena, UK
Friday 5th - Birmingham LG Arena, UK
Saturday 6th - Leeds Arena, UK
Sunday 7th - Cardiff Motorpoint Arena, UK
Monday 8th - Cardiff Motorpoint Arena, UK ( JUST ANNOUNCED)
Wednesday 10th - Bournemouth BIC, UK
Thursday 11th - Bournemouth BIC, UK ( JUST ANNOUNCED)
Saturday 13th - London O2 Arena (matinee), UK
Saturday 13th -London O2 Arena (evening), UK
Sunday 14th - Brighton Centre, UK
Monday 15th - Brighton Centre, UK ( JUST ANNOUNCED)
Tuesday 16th - Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

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