YOU can tell that there is something different about The Opera Boys just by the information they send out.

After all few groups can boast that one of their members was once part of the Belgian entry in the Eurovision Song Content.

But being different is all part of the classical quartet's aim.

"We are all classically trained - at the Royal Academy and Royal Welsh College and places like that," said Rob Cherry, "and we do love the music and take it seriously. But there is a bit of a preconception that opera and classical music a bit stuffy, a bit boring and perhaps only for certain people and we want to change that.

"We wanted to go out and say 'this music is fantastic. You don't need to put on a bow tie and sit through an opera for three hours being bored to tears'.

"This music is brilliant and if you take the pieces out of the context of the opera, I guarantee that you will recognise every piece that we do, even if you didn't know why."

As they prepare for a show at Burnley Mechanics next Friday, the Opera Boys are putting the finishing touches to their diverse show.

"We take the big hits if you like - Nessun Dorma, Torreador, La Donna e Mobile - and we also bring in a bit of the West End," said Rob. "So there's Bring Him Home from Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera and even a bit of Jersey Boys.

"We also do some more modern stuff done in a classical style, One that works particularly well is Angels by Robbie Williams -it's a beautiful arrangement in four part harmony."

The Opera Boys - Rob, Richard Colvin, Michaels Storrs and Colin Bryce - have a vast amount of experience on some of the world's biggest stages ranging from the West End and Broadway to backing international superstars including Elton John and Sir Tom Jones.

"There is a wealth of experience between us," said Rob, "and there are one or two interesting credits along the way."

Which brings us back to the Eurovision Song Contest.

"Storrsy was part of the Belgian entry in 2015 and the finished fourth," said Rob. "We say he was a backing singer as he was one of the guys dressed all in white behind the main vocalist who actually was from Belgium but he insists he was a key part of the band!"

This kind of mickey taking often extends on to the stage, something audiences have come to love.

"One of the big things is that we do make it quite a lot of fun," said Rob. "We have a little buzz phrase that we take the music seriously but we don't take ourselves seriously.

"We have fun on stage with each other and get the audience involved. A lot of the show really quite funny - it's certainly not highbrow or stuffy.

"We try and keep it accessible as possible and hope we can persuade people that it's not going to be dull and boring.

"Our shows are as far removed from an opera recital as they could be based around this brilliant music which we do take very seriously."

The Opera Boys, Burnley Mechanics, Friday, June 16. Details from 01282 664400