QUEEN guitarist Brian May and West End star Kerry Ellis have announced a special pre-Christmas tour.

The pair will be performing Candlelit Christmas concerts at both the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester and Preston Guild Hall as part of an 11-date UK tour.

This will be their sixth tour together since their first Anthems shows in 2011.

This concert tour will feature new songs from the forthcoming album Anthems II, which the pair have been working on for the past year.

These intimate shows will see May swapping his trademark electric guitar for acoustic instruments for most of the show.

The set also includes versions of the duo’s personal favourite songs of all time and a few Queen tunes revisited.

They will be joined on stage by keyboard player Jeff Leach and it’s likely May will be bringing out his electric guitar for the finale.

Brian May and Kerry Ellis first got to know one another when Kerry created the role of Meat in Queen’s record-breaking rock musical We Will Rock You.

“Our show is definitely an experience; we like to move people, give them new experiences and take them on our personal journey, and we have a lot of fun,” said Kerry.

“Brian always comes up with great stories to explain our choice of songs, and among them a lot of hidden gems that people have never heard before. We like to think it’s a unique and special evening.”

Brian May and Kerry Ellis, Candlelit Christmas tour, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, Wednesday, December 14 and Preston Guild Hall, Thursday, December 15. Tickets on sale 10am tomorrow from 0161 907 9000 (Manchester) and 01772 804444 (Preston).