QUEEN and Ben Elton's smash hit musical We Will Rock You is coming to the Liverpool Empire as part of its 20th anniversary tour.

Kicking off in Portsmouth at the Kings Theatre on February 7, the tour will then play 27 venues around the country, ending at Manchester's Palace Theatre on September 5 - which would have been late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury's 76th birthday.

Northwest dates include the Liverpool Empire from March 14-19 and Palace Theatre in Manchester from September 5-10.

Wirral Globe:

Production image for 'We will rock you' by Johan Persson

The musical extravaganza has seen unprecedented success in theatres and arenas all around the world since it first premiered in London nearly 20 years ago at the Dominion Theatre in May 2002.

Wirral Globe:

Production image for 'We will rock you' by Johan Persson

Featuring 24 of Queen's greatest hits, it has been watched by more than 16 million people in 19 countries.

The cast features Ian McIntosh as Galileo, Elena Skye as Scaramouche, Jenny O’Leary as Killer Queen and Adam Strong as Khashoggi.

Also appearing are Michael Mckell as Buddy, Martina Ciabatti Mennell as Oz, David Michael Johnson as Brit, and an Ensemble including Laura Bird, Kate Leiper, Joanne Harper, Anna Davey, Edward Leigh, Spin, Karen Walker, David Muscat, Damien Walsh, Laura Ava-Scott, Victoria Collins, Joseph Connor, Louis Clarke-Clare and Jacob Fearey.

Wirral Globe:

Production image for 'We will rock you' by Johan Persson

After opening in Portsmouth, next year's tour will also play York, Cornwall, Bournemouth, Stoke-On-Trent, Liverpool, Northampton, Milton Keynes, Cardiff, Bristol, Reading, Aylesbury, Ipswich, Torquay, Wolverhampton, Wimbledon, Stockton, Peterborough, Norwich, Bromley, Birmingham, Southend, Canterbury, Southampton, Newcastle, Sheffield and Manchester.

Wirral Globe:

The original writer of We Will Rock You and godfather of stand-up comedy, Ben Elton will be back in the director's chair working with the new 2022 cast ready to rock UK audiences once again.

He said: "I can hardly believe it's been 20 years since We Will Rock You premiered in London. Or that much of what we thought was science fiction in the script back then has turned into science fact! I guess Queen were always ahead of the game!

"I've directed this show all over the world and I can't wait to bring it home to the UK with a brand new production and a fabulous cast of young Bohemians, most of whom were rocking in their cradles when this adventure first began."

For more details and tickets, go to www.wewillrockyou.com or facebook.com/wewillrockyouglobal