Noel Sullivan is a man who wants to be taken seriously. Having risen to prominence with Hear’say back in 2001 he has been working desperately hard ever since to prove there’s more to him than fabricated pop.

And, after landing the lead role in Flashdance – The Musical, has finally got the chance to prove it. The 28-year-old is perfect for the job, having the voice and the looks for the part. But he had to work hard to get it, attending eight auditions over 10 weeks before he finally landed the role of Nick Hurley. Flashdance was the perfect vessel for him.

“It’s brand new, so I won’t be ex-popstar 384, playing a part that’s already been done to death by endless other people. I can make it mine.

“And I’ve done my time. I’ve spent five years in shows and musicals building up my stamina because you need to be so fit to do two shows a day and tour. With Hear’say we only did one arena show but this is so full on in comparison.

So what does he think of the adaption? “Flashdance the film was more about style over substance but now it has a heart,” he says. “And I’ve been in Fame and seen Footloose on stage and this has got something more to offer,” he promises.

“It is still relevant today, because it’s about a steel factory closing down. But it’s also got those seminal moments from the film with the welder and the Maniac routine, yes and the leg-warmers,” he grins.

The Flashdance tour kicked off in June and Noel is signed up for a year, when the cast then hopes to take it to the West End and maybe even Broadway.

So the 28-year-old is going to be busy, then? “Yes, but I still get time to play with my 10-piece funk band occasionally and pop home now and again.

“I have amazing friends and family. There was a time when I lost my voice and therefore the one thing in life I really enjoyed doing, and they made sure I never wavered, so I can never thank them enough. But then if it wasn’t for that experience, and the lessons I learned, I wouldn’t be who I am now.

“Because although the Hear’say phenomenon was huge, after the acrimonious split we then had to go back to our old lives and just carry on, and that was really hard. But musical theatre is always what I wanted to do, long before Hear’say came along, so I’m having such a good time. I’m surrounded by these beautiful talented people every day doing what I love best and exploring new towns and cities along the way.”

There were times when Christopher Malcolm despaired of Flashdance – The Musical ever seeing the cold light of day.

Not only was the idea taken from right under his nose on two occasions, but then Paramount gave him and his team one year to get the whole show up-and-running, a mammoth task by any stretch of the imagination.

“Paramount was understandably suspicious because two other teams had already failed where we were hoping to succeed. But we knew where they had gone wrong – they had veered too far from the original story.

“And I was like a dog with a bone. I would not let go, although there were moments when I nearly gave up on the whole thing,” he recalls.

“And then when Paramount went with our plan we only had 12 months to implement it. We didn’t even have a cast or a venue, but we did have a lot of great ideas and a wealth of experience,” chuckles Christopher, who was responsible for bringing The Rocky Horror Show to the stage.

“But Flashdance was another show where the stars had to sing, dance and act in equal measure. It’s a big dramatic story and a huge dance show. But once Arlene Phillips had committed to the choreography, we knew we were onto a winner.

“As for the celebrity led cast, it’s a very difficult balance. On tour you need names because you are only there for a week, but we went for an unknown in the main female role which was a risk, but Victoria Hamilton-Barritt is doing so well. And Bruno and Noel have really developed. They have a lot of talent.”

So how does Flashdance – The Musical differ from the film?

“We have filled in the details of the main character Alex’s friends, and added more background into the politics of the time, as well as keeping in all the classic moments from the film,” Christopher explains.

“But we didn’t know we’d got it right until the opening night in Plymouth when we got a standing ovation. And now we want to take it to the West End and America is interested too, because that’s where its home is – that would be the cherry on the icing.”