EIGHTIES pop duo the Pet Shop Boys have announced they will give a free concert for 14,000 fans - in a North-East shipyard.

The electronic music specialists will team up with the Northern Sinfonia orchestra to perform a live version of their soundtrack of the classic film Battleship Potemkin.

Organisers expect the event, on May 1, to attract fans from across Europe, as well as providing a cultural highlight for the region.

The 1925 black and white silent movie is critically acclaimed as one of the cultural highlights of the 20th Century and tells the story of the failed 1904 uprising in Russia by revolutionary sailors.

The Pet Shop Boys' performance in Swan Hunter's shipyard, in Wallsend, North Tyneside, will have a backdrop of at least one modern battleship under construction.

The show, a collaboration between the band, the orchestra and German composer Torsten Rasch, has been put together by the NewcastleGateshead Initiative, which markets Tyneside as a national and international cultural destination.

Singer Neil Tennant, who was born in North Shields and has a home in Weardale, County Durham - where he composed the work - said yesterday he was struck by the venue's beauty during a visit.

He said: "It's an amazing place. When we came here two or three months ago, there were two battleships parked there. It seems a very resonant place to do this in."

He added: "Part of this is a celebration of the industrial past and present of the North-East, which is one reason for doing it in the Swan Hunter shipyard. It has an industrial beauty, with its cranes and these amazing structures.''

Colleague Chris Lowe said: "The music is a combination of electronics and strings, and, although mainly instrumental, includes three songs."

The band has only performed the score live once before when thousands of people saw the event, with projections of the film on to the landmarks in London's Trafalgar Square.

Sage Gateshead general director Anthony Sargent said the Northern Sinfonia would have to beef up its ranks to 51 for the event.

He said: "What is important is you will be hearing the orchestra on a colossal sound system, so it is guaranteed to blow your brains."

Andrew Dixon, chief executive of the NewcastleGateshead Initiative, said: "This event promises to be an amazing and unforgettable audience experience set against the striking backdrop of one of the region's most historic and iconic symbols of its industrial roots."

Information about tickets for the concert are available from the Newcastle-Gates-head website, at visitnewcastlegateshead.com