According to the official Really Useful website, Essex will play Uncle George in the U.K. tour of Aspects of Love, which kicks off at the Theatre Royal in Newcastle Aug. 31 before playing stops in Milton Keynes, Cardiff, Aberdeen, Bradford, Stoke on Trent, Manchester, Glasgow, Wolverhampton, Plymouth, Norwich and Bath. Nikolai Foster will direct the production, which will feature designs by Rob Jones. Kenny Wax and Michael Harrison are producing in association with PW Productions.

Aspects of Love, according to press notes, is set in 1947 when "English student Alex Dillingham [is] traveling through France [and] before his call up, falls in love with the alluring actress Rose Vibert. After a little persuasion, Rose joins Alex at his uncle's villa. As the pair embark on a passionate affair, the unexpected arrival of Uncle George (Essex) changes their lives forever. From the cobbled streets of Paris to the mountains of the Pyrenees, [the musical] is a heartbreaking love story spanning twenty years. Passion, desire, family ties and friendship bind six people and three generations together as they come to appreciate how love changes everything."

David Essex boasts 23 Top 30 hits, including the number one singles "Hold Me Close" and "Gonna Make You a Star." In addition to Evita, he has also appeared onstage in Godspell and She Stoops to Conquer.

Aspects of Love — featuring music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Don Black and Charles Hart — opened in the West End in 1989 with a cast led by Michael Ball, Ann Crumb and Kevin Colson. Trevor Nunn directed. The score features such tunes as "Seeing Is Believing," "Anything But Lonely" and "Love Changes Everything." Ball, Crumb and Colson also headed the New York company, which played 377 performances at the Broadhurst Theatre from March 1990 to March 1991.

For a list of current tour dates, visit www.reallyuseful.com.