Having sold out the world-famous Sydney Opera House, Stairway to Heaven: Led Zeppelin Masters will be travelling halfway across the world for its first UK tour.

The night will see a rock band combining with a 35-piece orchestra to perform all the classic hits of one of the greatest rock bands of all time.

Ahead of a show at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall next week, Vince Contarino, lead singer with The Black Dog Orchestra, answers a few questions

How did the collaboration come about?

We must go back to 2004 when we first decided to play the music of Led Zeppelin with an orchestra. We had been playing as the “Zep Boys” for almost 20 years in pubs, clubs, theatres and some outdoor festivals, so we were looking to do something different. It wasn’t as much as we wanted to make the gigs bigger but as much as we wanted grandeur.

With an orchestra, we could play all the dubbed tracks on a Zeppelin studio track and, at the same time, bring together two different musical performance cultures.

We played our first orchestral show in Adelaide with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra in 2005 and it was a resounding success with the public.

Now here we are getting ready for the UK, the most exciting phase without doubt so far.

You recent played three sold out shows at the Sydney Opera House. Did you ever imagine that was possible when you started out?

Never dreamed or dare to dream that. All we wanted to do was a couple of shows at the local pub and have some fun playing the music we loved of what we believe to be the greatest rock band ever.

How important is it for the band to show respect and honesty to both the music and the performance?

The performance must be true to the Led Zeppelin catalogue and how those songs were recorded.

Even though Zeppelin is blues based - and blues is all about the moment and how one expresses themselves individually - we believe we must stick to the script, so to speak. We may express and interpret certain themes a little different from the original, but overall we need to play the compositions as recorded on the albums so the audience is satisfied. We are strict on this and yet we still have room to move within the confines of the recorded material.

You don’t impersonate the band but allow your own personalities to come through. Was this always part of the plan?

It was never even a consideration. We are musicians not actors. The music is what is important to us not the clothes or fashion of a bygone era. The performance can only be honest if we are real and celebrate and communicate with the audience using the compositions, not the alter egos of Led Zeppelin themselves.

The addition of the 35-piece orchestra adds a new depth to the music and makes for an amazing spectacle. How did you approach the project and arrangements with the orchestra?

The arrangements are the brain child of Nicholas Buc. He was the man that sweated over those and he has done a wonderful job – superb, in my opinion.

Are there, therefore, some new interpretations on the old classics?

Indeed, but as I mentioned, some of the changes are subtle and then there are moments that come out of nowhere that simply take your breath away. That’s the wonder of music.

How much are you looking forward to bringing the show to the UK?

Are you kidding me?! We are super excited. We have a crew here in Australia that for logistic reasons we cannot take with us. They are offering the blood of their first born to come!

Stairway to Heaven: Led Zeppelin Masters, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, Tuesday, April 18. Details 0161 907 9000