SINGING sensation The Soldiers will be appearing at Lowestoft's Marina Theatre as part of their first national tour.The three servicemen have been taken to the nation's heart and their debut album Coming Home has dominated the charts in recent weeks.

SINGING sensation The Soldiers will be appearing at Lowestoft's Marina Theatre as part of their first national tour.

The three servicemen have been taken to the nation's heart and their debut album Coming Home has dominated the charts in recent weeks.

Sgt Major Gary Chilton, Sgt Richie Maddocks and L/Cpl Ryan Idzi will also be one of the favourites for the coveted Christmas number one spot when they release their latest single, A Soldier's Christmas Letter, on December 9.

The Soldiers will also be appearing at the both the Children of Courage Awards and the Royal Variety Performance.

The support the three serving soldiers have received from the public has been overwhelming - there is even a Facebook page which receives more than 5,000 hits per day - all willing them to reach the Christmas number one spot over the X-Factor winner.

The Soldiers tour will predominantly be playing only major cities, including Manchester, Liverpool, Cardiff, Birmingham and London's Royal Albert Hall, so the visit to Lowestoft is a major coup for the management team at the venue, which has recently been forced to substantially reduce its programme.

'We are delighted that The

Soldiers will be visiting Lowestoft as part of their tour. I am sure local people will be happy to know that such a popular act has chosen to appear at the Marina Theatre,'

said theatre manager Martin Halliday.

Tickets for the Marina Theatre concert on Friday, April 16, go on sale on Monday at 10am from the box office on 01502 533200. Veterans and service families can obtain a discount on seats at the Lowestoft concert.

Twenty-five pence of each sale of A Soldier's Christmas Letter is being donated to the Army Benevolent Fund (registered charity nos 211645 and SC039189). Donations from the sale of every album and the track Coming Home are also being donated to support three charities - the Army Benevolent Fund, Help for Heroes and Royal British Legion.