Girls Aloud, who sold out the Metro Radio Arena on their last appearances there back in May, are coming back for not one, but two nights next year.

They will appear at the Newcastle venue on May 24 and 25, and tickets, priced £26, are on sale now from 0844 493 6666.

The tour coincides with the release of the girls' latest album Tangled Up, which entered the charts at No 4 earlier this month.

Produced by long-standing collaborators Xenomania, it sees the feisty five determined to see off the challenge of the reformed Spice Girls for their crown as the UK's leading all-female group.

Cheryl Cole, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh have come a long way since they won ITV1's Popstars: The Rivals back in 2002.

The new album is their fifth, representing amazing longevity in the fickle world of pop.

It has already provided them with two hit singles, Sexy! No No No… and Call The Shots.

The latter was their 17th consecutive Top 10 hit, which earned them a place in the Guinness World Records book.

Demand for tickets to see Girls Aloud, who have sold more than four million albums, is expected to be huge.

They have built a huge following thanks to catchy original songs such as Biology, Love Machine and Something Kinda Ooooh, and well-chosen covers like Jump, I'll Stand By You and I Think We're Alone Now.

2007 has been a good year for the girls: as well as a sell-out arena tour, watched by more than 150,000 people, they signed lucrative sponsorship deals with hair care brand Sunsilk and mobile phone company Samsung.

The new year will see them star in a new ITV2 series, Passions, which will see them try to achieve something they have always wanted to do.

Cheryl will try street dancing in Los Angeles, Kimberley will try her hand at West End musicals, Nicola will create her own make-up range, and Sarah will learn polo in Argentina.

Nadine will not be taking part after the programme's bosses refused to let her do charity work.

Whatever the future holds for the girls – who are still only in their mid-20s – they look like being around for a good while to come.