Forget dingy nightclubs or tatty pubs: Mika's first gig was at Ibiza's Manumission.

It seems appropriate that someone who lists his influences as "Beck via Queen and Elton John with a touch of Rufus Wainwright" made his glittering debut at one of the world's most decadent superclubs.

"It was a true baptism of fire,"

he says. "It was at 5.15 in the morning. There was this naked lady on stage actually licking my arm. My mum was there too, probably thinking, What the hell is my son doing up there?'"

The outrageous gig signalled the start of his very first tour.

"Be prepared to see my triumphs and mistakes. I know it's going to be very hyper and very silly and I'll be drunk," he says.

Mika should blend into these shores perfectly. "Brighton is going to be fun as I've got a lot of friends and fans there. One group call themselves the Glitterbugs and they've promised to come along and dress up ridiculously."

The deliciously flamboyant performer is one of the most interesting acts to emerge onto the music scene for some time.

Born in Beruit to a Lebanese mother and American father, his family were forced to flee when Mika was a baby.

They decamped to Paris, but when his father was taken hostage and held at the American Embassy in Kuwait, they settled in London.

The nine-year-old Mika struggled to adjust and was taken out of school.

To keep his mind occupied, his mother organised music lessons and it was then he discovered his unique singing voice.

He won a place in the chorus of the Royal Opera Company in Covent Garden and was signed up to an ad agency, providing the voice for Orbit chewing gum and British Airways.

"I'll never forget phoning up to buy a plane ticket and was put on hold, only to listen to my own voice.

That was a painful eight minutes."

Still unsure of his real vocation, Mika enrolled at the London School of Economics, only to walk out after one morning.

He then won a place at the Royal College of Music and his true personality began to shine through - he spent his student holidays performing at beach clubs in Miami.

Mika's songs are fun. The theatrical Billy Brown is about a married man who has a gay love affair, the Scissor Sisters-esque Relax/Take It Easy is a tribute to London, anthemic Big Girls pays homage to larger ladies and debut single Grace Kelly sticks two fingers up at a previous record label, who tried to mould him into a Craig David-type act.

His background, intellect and originality have made softly-spoken Mika ideal media fodder.

"I've already done loads of photoshoots which are quite humiliating. There's lots of people plucking and picking at you, but not in a nice day-spa kind of way."

With the media attention comes the expected questions about his sexuality. Mika has his response ready: "I've always been afraid of being in a box in my life, personally and musically. Musically, I've got lots of places I can go and the same goes for me as a person."

It seems his lessons in caution came early on: "I was at this masked ball and they had a confession booth.

"The next day everyone on my forum was talking about my confession. So everyone knew I was wearing stolen jewels and women's underwear."

  • Starts 7.30pm, tickets £8. Call 01273 673311.