SWINDON rocker Justin Hayward will be battling alien invaders across the country until the end of the month.

The Moody Blues star, who was born in Dean Street, is appearing in a nationwide stage tour of War Of The Worlds which had its first night at the Royal Albert Hall on Tuesday.

He sings the hit Forever Autumn.

Based on Jeff Wayne's 1979 instrumental take on the apocalyptic classic by HG Wells, the show features a 48-piece orchestra and an ensemble cast.

It even features the original commentary from the late acting legend Richard Burton.

A giant recreation of Burton's face brings the Welsh legend back to life.

Costing hundreds of thousands of pounds, the production is the latest in a series of attempts to bring HG Wells' vision to a fresh audience, with giant aliens filling the stage.

Steven Spielberg brought the work to the big screen in his 2005 film starring Tom Cruise and child actor Dakota Fanning.

Justin, who is appearing alongside tenor Russell Watson, was a pupil at Commonweal School.

Last October he appeared at The Apartment nightclub in Havelock Square, performing an acoustic gig.

This was the first time he had played in the town in 40 years, having performed in various different local bands in the early 60s when he was starting out his career.

In 1966 he joined the Moody Blues.

As part of the new musical tour, Burton's head will appear as if suspended in mid-air, narrating the creepy alien plotline of HG Wells' classic tale of martian invasion.

The musical is an adaptation by Jeff Wayne of his 1978 concept album based on the novel.

The recording, which featured Burton as the journalist-narrator, sold 13 million copies and spent 300 consecutive weeks in the album chart.

The out-of-this-world tour will be invading venues across the country, including Glasgow's Clyde Auditorium, Wembley Arena, Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle and Hallam FM Arena in Sheffield.