After coming to fame in 1985 via Trevor Nunn's original production of Les Miserables, Michael Ball established himself as the face of musical theatre.

His curls and grin leavened the atmosphere of Phantom Of The Opera, he scored a number one with the Aspects Of Love song Love Changes Everything and, in the past three years alone, he has received favourable reviews for his performances in West End hits Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The Woman In White.

So why does Ball feel the need to perpetuate a solo career which remains indelibly associated with that performance of One Step Out Of Time on the Eurovision Song Contest? And why do people still feel the need to attend?

Not to be confused with Michael Bolton or Michael Buble, Ball released his debut album in 1992 and has followed it with 11 more. All have been pushed to gold within weeks of their release by an incredibly loyal following - Ball's fan club boasts one of the highest membership counts in the world and is diligently rewarded by his faithful attendance at its yearly conventions.

But if you feel the need to brush up on your Ball, recent release The Essential Michael Ball, a double CD best-of weighing in at one hour and 30 minutes, will tell you all you need to know.

Namely, that he has a pure precise tenor and a technical talent which stretches to furnishing The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face with the best-managed trilly bits you'll ever hear. But also that he has an un-switch-off-able vibrato which worries at your senses like a glass gradually wobbling its way to the edge of a train carriage table, and a stage-schooled tendency to over-emote which results in an even more unbearable version of My Heart Will Go On than was previously thought possible.

Ball's love of "sweeping melodies and lyrics that mean something" has resulted in a recording career pegged down by Andrew Lloyd Webber numbers - stock-response love songs for people who are scared of feeling something, accompanied by three or four facial expressions to aid comprehension of meaning.

But in 2001 he embarked on a cabaret tour in which he swore not to sing anything he'd sung in public before. "This is a change of direction," he said. Well, blatantly.

Previously sneering critics were won over, however, by a set which ranged from Bowie's Life On Mars to Radiohead's Nice Dream and swapped the muted horns and perpetually crescendoing strings for tasteful piano arrangements.

And when Ball started writing his own material in 2003 - four new compositions are included on the current album - he demonstrated a fine knack for Eighties-style power pop.

If Ball plans to continue this expansion of his repertoire, the new tour could well impress beyond his fan base.

As for the show tunes, well, we have a place for this sort of stuff nowadays - it's called the National Lottery show and it's free to all TV licence holders.

Starts 8pm, tickets £28.50, call 0870 900 9100.