YORKSHIRE soprano Lesley Garrett, musical theatre star Maria Friedman and evergreen actress Bonnie Langford are joining forces as Golden Girls for the first time.

They will visit York Barbican on January 24 and Scarborough Spa Grand Hall the following night in the wake of releasing their Golden Girls album on November 30 on Decca Records.

Garrett, Friedman and Langford have hand-picked the repertoire to “capture their timeless vocals and infectious personalities in a complete soundtrack to their lives”.

“Each track is a celebration of their journey as women: the nostalgia, the joy, the highs, the lows, and the excitement for what is still to come,” says Decca.

Between them, these Golden Girls have 130 years of experience on stage and screen, more than 50 stage shows and 30-plus albums, and their choices reflect those years.

The track listing will feature: Feelin’ Good (Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse); Get Happy (Harold Arlen); Nobody Does It Better (Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager, from The Spy Who Loved Me); Que Sera Sera (Jay Livingstone and Ray Evans); This Is Me (Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, from The Greatest Showman); The Way We Were (Alana and Marilyn Bergman and Marvin Hamlisch), and I Know Him So Well (Tim Rice, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeu, from Chess).

The selections continue with: Send In The Clowns (Stephen Sondheim, from A Little Night Music); Music (John Miles); Slipping Through My Fingers (Abba); Magic Moments (Burt Bacharach and Hal David); Downtown (Tony Hatch) and As If We Never Said Goodbye (Don Black, Christopher Hampton and Andrew Lloyd Webber, from Sunset Boulevard).

York Press:

Lesley Garrett performing at the Castle Howard Proms Spectacular on August 18. Picture: Anthony Chappel-Ross

Lesley Garrett, 63, from Thorne, South Yorkshire, made her professional debut in 1980 and was principal soprano with the English National Opera from 1984. She sang at the Castle Howard Proms this summer and is soon to perform in Patrick Barlow’s play The Messiah on the road.

Maria Friedman, 57, who has won four Olivier Awards, was a chosen singer of Michel Legrand and Marvin Hamlisch and originated roles for Stephen Sondheim in Britain. She has starred in 16 West End shows, played Elaine Peacock in the BBC soap EastEnders and is now directing Dusty, a new musical about Dusty Springfield.

Bonnie Langford, 54, first appeared on Opportunity Knocks at the age of six; on London’s West End stage aged seven in Gone With The Wind and on Broadway, aged nine, opposite Angela Lansbury in Gypsy. She played Lena in the movie Bugsy Malone; starred in the original London cast of Cats; played Dr Who’s assistant and Carmel Kazemi in EastEnders on BBC One and is now back in the West End as Dorothy Brock in 42nd Street at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

Lesley, Maria and Bonnie say: “We are thrilled to be teaming up for this new Golden Girls album and UK tour. Being in the studio together has been a blast and we can’t wait to hit the road together.”

Their November album “invites the listener to experience the joys and the sorrows that these women have faced throughout their colossal careers and promises to be a moving journey for all”.

Fiona Pope, A&R manager at Decca Records, says: “These three women are truly the female legends of stage and screen. We are delighted that they have come together to share the stories of their lives and extraordinary careers through music.”

The Golden Girls tour will run from January 12 to February 4, concluding with a third Yorkshire show at Sheffield City Hall. Tickets for York are on sale on 0844 854 2757, at yorkbarbican.co.uk or in person from the Barbican box office; for Scarborough, 01723 821888 or scarboroughspa.sivtickets.com.