Roy Orbison returns to the stage - 30 years after his death

Thirty years after his death, fans of Roy Orbison will be able to see him on tour. In what is being billed as a first of its kind, a hologram of the late star will perform a series of arena concerts around the UK.

He will be backed by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra on hits including Pretty Woman, You Got It, Crying and Only The Lonely.

The technology has been used before for one-off performances - rapper Tupac Shakur was resurrected for the Coachella Festival in 2012, and a likeness of Michael Jackson appeared at the 2014 Billboard Awards - but not for a full-length gig or tour.

Peter Cushing's Star Wars character, Grand Moff Tarkin, was also brought back for the recent Rogue One film.

Rather than use old footage, Roy Orbison In Dreams: The Hologram UK Tour will use a combination of techniques to create a ‘new’ Orbison performance, including CGI.

Orbison’s family have endorsed the tour. Alex Orbison, president of Roy Orbison Music, said: “My dad was one of the first people to combine rock and roll with orchestral sound, so to see the full meal deal of having the big orchestra with my dad is really a dream set-up.”

The promoter, Danny Betesh, who promoted Orbison’s shows in the 1960s, said: “It’s immensely exciting to see Roy back on the stage in such a modern and creative way. His music never went away and now fans can enjoy seeing the live show and hearing all those much-loved songs.”

Orbison had 31 Top 40 hits in the UK, including three number ones. In his later years he was a member of the Traveling Wilburys supergroup with Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne.

He died of a heart attack in 1988, aged 52.

The tour begins at Cardiff Motorpoint Arena on April 8 next year before moving to Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Nottingham, Liverpool, London and Bournemouth. Tickets go on general sale on Friday October 27.

Sony Music are also releasing an album, A Love So Beautiful: Roy Orbison with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

In collaboration with Orbison’s Estate -- managed by the late singer’s sons under the name “Roy’s Boys” -- a new subsidiary of Base Entertainment called Base Hologram is taking a virtual Orbison on an international tour with local symphony orchestras. The tour is titled "In Dreams," named after Orbison’s hit single, and the hologram will make its first-ever public appearance at the APAP Conference this Sunday (Jan. 14).

One might be skeptical about demand for a concert performed by a laser projection, but the U.K. leg of "In Dreams," which begins in April, has already sold over 70 percent of its tickets. After the U.K., the hologram will play a total of ten additional shows in Europe and Australia, before embarking on a three-month North American run in fall 2018.

Base Hologram is neither a lone soul nor a pioneer per se in the holographic concert arena. One of its biggest rivals, Hologram USA, just opened its own hologram theater in Los Angeles where you can watch weekly, virtual performances by Ray J and the late Billie Holiday for $30 a pop. Another competitor, Eyellusion, is currently taking a hologram of Dio and Black Sabbath frontman Ronnie Dio on a world tour, with the goal of booking as many as 100 total shows this year. Even ABBA is plotting their own holographic tour for 2019, working with veteran producer Simon Fuller.