DEPENDING how old you are, it will seem either a long time ago or like only yesterday that pop band Hear'say burst upon the world.

They rose to fame thanks to the reality TV show Popstars – and they didn't last very long.

Just long enough, however, to give the band members a chance to get their faces known.

One of those band members was Noel Sullivan. And in the decade or so since the demise of Hear'say, he has carved out a career in musical theatre.

He made his West End debut as Danny in Grease, his favourite role, and last appeared at the Grand Opera House in May last year as Tick in the UK tour of Priscilla Queen Of The Desert, The Musical.

He returns to York in September, this time as Drew Boley, an aspiring rock musician on the path to success and love in Rock Of Ages.

Billed as an Eighties' jukebox musical, it is a tongue-in-cheek show, says Noel, that manages to laugh at itself while booming out “epic rock songs that you don’t get to hear live anymore”. Songs such as Don't Stop Believin', We Built This City, The Final Countdown, Here I Go Again and I Want To Know What Love Is.

Having kicked off in May, the tour of this Broadway and West End hit will play the Grand Opera House in York from September 2 to 6 before ending its run in November. "It’s a big party show, a feel-good night which gets the audience on its feet," says Noel.

The audience might well find Rock Of Ages amusing, but Noel certainly takes his job very seriously. No fewer than seven auditions was what it took him to land the part of Drew Boley, despite ten years in the industry and countless leading roles.

Musical theatre was what he'd always wanted to do, he says. If anything, Hear’say threw a spanner in the works. It made his name known, but proved "more of a hindrance than a help" in terms of being taken seriously in the industry.

So it’s taken him ten years to reach the top of his game.

"I've learnt a few tricks along the way," he says. "Every new musical, you learn something new”.

Age helps too. Noel reckons that as he grows older – he is 33 – his life experiences have helped him to take on more challenging roles. Walking in six-inch heels without laddering your tights – as Sullivan did every night while touring in Priscilla Queen Of The Desert – is no mean feat .

While he loves the way touring allows you to see so many different places during the day – “I don’t know anyone back home in Cardiff who’s seen York” he says – it is“nice to settle down in places”. He prefers tours where you settle for a month in one place, or longer stints in the West End, something Sullivan has become rather accustomed to.

It’s not all about the West End, however. Among his favourite venues are the Edinburgh Playhouse and the Millennium Centre in Cardiff. The latter is favoured for two reasons; firstly, it’s one of the newest theatres in Britain, secondly, Cardiff is home.

Noel gets “a different kick out of acting and singing" but says he enjoys them equally. He would like to try his hand at some straight acting work, although he is still “really happy” in musical theatre.

In the meantime he has just finished his debut album, Here I Go Again, a compilation of the songs he has performed in shows over the last decade, with a few of his own ballads thrown into the mix.

What’s next for this Welsh musical star? “As long as I’m singing in any format, I’m happy," he says.

Noel Sullivan and Ben Richards will star in Rock Of Ages, Grand Opera House, York, September 1 to 6; Monday to Thursday, 7.30pm; Friday, 5pm and 8.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm.