THE hit Carole King musical, Beautiful, is coming to Bradford's Alhambra theatre, direct from the West End, it has been announced.

The Olivier, Tony and Grammay-winning show, which follows the early life and career of the legendary singer/songwriter, comes to town next year as part of its first UK tour.

The London production continues to play at the Aldwych Theatre, where Carole King attended the opening night in February 2015 and joined the cast on stage for the finale.

The producers of the show said: “We are truly thrilled that Beautiful will be touring the UK next year.

"The response from audiences in London has, and continues to be amazing. We know that the rest of the country will take this great show with the most wonderful songs to its heart."

Long before she was Carole King, the chart-topping music legend, she was an ordinary teenage girl with an extraordinary talent.

Beautiful - The Carole King Musical tells the inspiring true story of King’s remarkable rise to stardom, from being part of a hit songwriting team with her husband Gerry Goffin, to her relationship with fellow writers and best friends Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, to becoming one of the most successful solo acts in popular music history.

The story follows the highs and lows Carole went through as she tried to establish herself as a credible songwriter, for leading artists of the day, before starting out as a performer in her own right. She was still in her teens when she was a bride and mother, and she juggled her rising career with a turbulent domestic life.

Along the way, she wrote the soundtrack to a generation, with countless classics such as You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman, Take Good Care of my Baby, You’ve Got a Friend, So Far Away, It Might As Well Rain Until September, Up on the Roof, Locomotion, It's Too Late, You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling, while Weil and Mann wrote On Broadway and We've Got To Get Out Of This Place.

The lively show features words and music by Gerry Goffin, Carole King, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil.

The production follows a series of smash hit shows which have made their way to the Alhambra. This year audiences flocked to Billy Elliot and Wicked, which was here for five weeks over summer, and Mary Poppins opened this week, running until December 10. The Alhambra is the only Yorkshire date on the tour.

Other hit West End shows which have come to the Alhambra in recent years include War Horse, The Lion King and Shrek the Musical.

* Beautiful: The Carole King Musical runs at the Alhambra from September 9 - 16, 2017. Tickets will be available soon on (01274) 432000. For more information visit beautifulmusical.co.uk/tour