JEFF WAYNE'S cult tale of an alien invasion is a bizarre spectacle.

JEFF WAYNE'S cult tale of an alien invasion is a bizarre spectacle.

Part-musical, part-orchestral concert, part-animated movie, the sell-out show is like no other.

And last night's audience wasn't just fans who remember it from 1978, when Wayne's concept album came out. The teenage lad behind me knew every word.

The humans who fought off the nasty Martians included Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues.

His rendition of one of the hit singles, Forever Autumn, was a highlight.

Shannon Noll - runner-up in Australia's version of Pop Idol - made a strange first step into the UK as crazy Parson Nathanial.

Ex-Brookside girl Jennifer Ellison was his wife Beth, though sadly some of her notes were as unwelcome as the aliens.

But by far the biggest star was the three-tonne, 35ft tall Martian fighting machine which fires heat rays at the audience The spine-tingling score, conducted by Wayne, ensures the show, unlike the Martians, will likely live on for another three decades.