Susan Boyle’s first live tour nears sell-out

Susan Boyle: First live tour expected to sell out. Picture: Jane Barlow

• Tickets for Susan Boyle’s first live tour expected to sell out within hours as 98 per cent already snapped up

• Seven-night run will see singer appear in the Highlands, Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh

The 52-year-old is appearing in the Highlands, Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh on a seven-night run.

Organisers confirmed over 98 per cent of tickets had already been sold in advance of the shows, with just a handful of seats still available in Glasgow and Edinburgh – and these were expected to be snapped up within hours.

A spokeswoman for the singer, who shot to fame four years ago on Britain’s Got Talent, said: “She is really looking forward to her first solo live tour.

“She is really excited. She travelled to Inverness on Sunday and has been doing dress rehearsals.

“Susan is really enjoying the process building up to the shows.”

She added: “There are a handful of tickets left for Edinburgh and Glasgow, only about 20 in each city, but all other venues are sold out.

“And we expect these bigger venues will be the same very soon.

“Audiences can expect something from her past four albums, and something different. There will be a complete range of music, fro Tina Turner to Adele.

“This tour is her way of thanking the Scottish public for their support since Britain’s Got Talent. They have been unbelievable.”

Boyle has sold 19 million albums and topped the charts in more than 30 countries over the last four years.

However her live performances in her home country have been restricted to fleeting appearances on shows like Britain’s Got Talent and I Dreamed A Dream, the stage show inspired by her life story, starring Elaine C Smith.

Brought up in Blackburn, West Lothian, where she still lives, Boyle achieved international fame with her television debut in 2009 when she sang I Dreamed A Dream - from the musical Les Miserables - on Britain’s Got Talent. One YouTube clip of the performance has more than 21.5 million hits.

The seven Scottish shows will feature some of her best-known cover versions, including “I Dreamed A Dream”, “Wild Horses” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”.

When the tour was announced, Boyle said: “I’m really looking forward to getting on stage and singing with my own band for an entire show.

“This is the year that I feel that I would be able to give an audience what they want. I’ve always wanted to do my own show and now I feel confident enough to give it a go.

“If this works well, then the world is my oyster and 2014 will be a global tour.

“I’ve chosen my favourite songs from past albums and also new songs that not only have I wanted to perform for years but resonate with me and I hope my fans will love.

“I wanted to begin in Scotland to say thank you for all the support I have been shown over the past few years. It feels right to begin another new experience in my home country.”

Joining her on tour is special guest Lance Ellington, known to many through his regular appearances on Strictly Come Dancing. As one of the UK’s busiest session singers Lance has worked with the likes of Sting, George Michael, Robbie Williams, Tina Turner and now Susan Boyle.