The island has secured a musical coup - with the announcement that Take That star Gary Barlow is to perform here next year.

He will take to the stage at the Villa Marina’s Royal Hall for two nights - Monday May 28 and Tuesday May 29 as part of a solo tour of intimate venues across the British Isles.

Tickets go on sale on October 20 with detail to be announced shortly.

The last time Gary played a string of venues this size, demand was so high he could have sold certain venues out six times over!

He said of his forthcoming tour: ’I had such a lot of fun back in 2013 when I played those smaller venues because you’re so much closer to the fans.

’The audience always seem to love the intimacy of it all too. I’m also really looking forward to playing in a couple of cities I’ve never played before as well as getting a chance to meet the fans there.’

Gary last toured as a solo artist in 2014 to acclaim from fans and critics alike, playing some of the biggest venues he had ever played as a solo artist including The O2 London, Birmingham LG Arena, Glasgow The SSE Hydro and Manchester Arena.

The singer-songwriter and record producer found worldwide fame as a member of British pop group Take That which has won eight BRIT awards, sold over 45 million records and over eight million concert tickets.

Gary has written 14 number one singles and has been a six-time recipient of an Ivor Novello Award.

Aside from his achievements with Take That, he has also co-written and produced music for other renowned artists including Dame Shirley Bassey, Sir Elton John and Robbie Williams. Gary’s last solo record ’Since I Saw You Last’ sold more than 600,000 copies and was the ninth biggest selling album that year.

In more recent years, Gary has also turned his attention to the world of theatre.

He composed the score for the hugely successful production ’Finding Neverland’, worked alongside screenwriter Tim Firth to write the music and lyrics for musical ’The Girls’ and also worked alongside his Take That bandmates to produce ’The Band’, a record breaking musical featuring the music of Take That.