FIRST performed in London in 2002 and certainly in development for several years before, who could have predicted that Simon Cowell and generated talent would be dominating today’s charts so determinedly?

And the irony certainly won’t have escaped show author Ben Elton, that the leading man in this latest tour of We Will Rock You was spawned by the very TV shows which are credited with leading us into a Planet Mall future.

We Will Rock You, the Queen musical, transports us forward to a time long after the day the music died, where GlobalSoft’s computer manipulated Ga Ga girls and Boyzone boys are the ‘musicians’ of their day, churned out by the thousand to create One Vision.

I saw the touring production at the Palace just over 18 months ago, and while some of the technical feats seem to have been mysteriously dropped, I left the theatre with the same overwhelming sense of just how much the cast enjoy their jobs.

From the early strains of Radio Ga Ga, right through to the ‘Bohemian’s Rhapsody’ the energy from every single performer leaps out from the stage, grabs you by the neck and seeps into your veins.

Noel Sullivan, a former member of Pop Idol band Hear’say, is the ‘dreamer’ Galileo who with his ‘chick’ sidekick Scaramouche (Amanda Coutts; tiny girl, huge voice) sets out to rediscover live music.

Young Jenny Douglas, seen on screen as a wannabe Dorothy on the BBC’s talent contest Over The Rainbow, is a treat as Meat, capitalising on her Scot’s accent to add an extra rough rock edge to her role. Also from the TV talent stables are hunky Leon Lopez (Brookside, Soapstar Superstar) as Brit and Ashley J Russell, from I’d Do Anything, as the teacher.

I was amazed to see Earl Carpenter as Khashoggi. What a contrast to his Manchester performances earlier this year as Javert in the Les Miserables 25th Anniversary Tour, talk about versatile.

Tiffany Graves lacked somewhat on the vampish curves front, as the leather-clad and all-controlling Killer Queen, but her vocals were fantastic, and ex-Corrie actor Ian Reddington made mystic librarian Pop his own and was an improvement on fellow Street star Kevin Kennedy from last year.

OK, so it’s not a traditional festive show but if you’re after a cracking start to the party season - or something to beat the New Year blues - beg, borrow or steal a ticket this Christmas.

* Until January 15. Tickets: £17.50 - £42.50 Booking line: 0844 847 2275.