It's a whole genre of music that I'm not that familiar with but I loved the songs

Marti Pellow

He admitted he was delighted to be given his first acting role.

Pellow said: "I'm very excited about it. I'm sure I'll take to it like a duck to water.

"But at the end of the day it ain't rocket science, it's just entertainment."

'New thing'

The singer said he had been approached by the producers after a charity gig he performed at the Royal Albert Hall last month.

"At first I thought 'Whoa, this is a new thing for me'. But I went to see the show and I thoroughly enjoyed it," said Pellow.

"It's a whole genre of music that I'm not that familiar with but I loved the songs, the arrangements and the rhythm with which it flowed."

He had a string of hits with Wet Wet Wet in the 1980s and 1990s including Love is All Around from the film Four Weddings and a Funeral, which spent 15 weeks at number one in 1994.

Denise Van Outen has been a huge success in the show

After leaving the band in 1999, Pellow admitted he had a heroin addiction in September 2000 after spending time in rehabilitation clinics.

He relaunched his recording career last year with debut album Smile, which made the UK top 10.

Chicago has seen a succession of big name stars taking to the West End stage.

TV presenter Denise Van Outen was a huge hit when she starred as Roxie Hart in the show last year and this week began a run on Broadway.

She is due to return to the Adelphi Theatre on 29 April but her five-week return will be over by the time Pellow begins on 10 June.

Other names to have appeared in the musical include Les Dennis, Claire Sweeney and Alison Moyet.

Chicago has been running for more than four years and has won a Laurence Olivier award for outstanding musical production.