DUST off your tuxedos and unpack your ballgowns! The spectacular Christmas Tree Ball is back at Blackpool Tower on Saturday, December 22.

But there will be no Cinderella-style running home at midnight. The Ball, which will take over the whole Tower complex, starts at 9pm and continues until 3.30am.

Old Christmas Tree Ball favourites 16 Men Swinging will open the evening with their traditional set, encouraging the first tentative forays on to the spectacular Tower Ballroom dancefloor and taking dancers back to the glamour of the big band days.

Blackpool's own dance monsters Shabby! will follow with a show lasting more than three hours to ensure revellers stay on their feet and keep the dancefloor busy.

But if 21st Century dance music is not your thing, worry not. The Ball has music for most tastes with a cross section of music from the 1940s to the future!

Souls fans are in for a treat in the Hornpipe Gallery where they can relive those Mecca Ballroom and Wigan Casino nights as Atlanta Soul, the 10-piece soul and funk revivalists, are joined by Martin the Mod and his crew for a Northern Soul and Atlantic/Stax revival.

For house fans, the Hornpipe Gallery will buzz with the house and dance music of Nik James prior to the soul takeover.

Nucleus Roots -- one of the big hits of the Summer Ball -- are also booked, along with Manchester-based Lyrica and Mambo Circus. And DJs Pete Haigh and Fez will complete the great line-up which will take over the entire Tower complex.

The Christmas Tree Ball -- now a Blackpool institution -- was started almost 15 years ago by co-organiser Chris Dearden in honour of his grandmother who inspired him with tales of the glittering dances held in Blackpool's Tower and Empress Ballrooms.

"Her favourite music was big band dance, so it was for her I put the first one on. Since then we have always featured a big band and fashion has now caught up with us -- and 16 Men Swinging attract their own fans," he said.

But there is one section of the audience that can't stand any of the music! The Tower's aquarium turtles were unhappy with some of last year's music, so ball organisers have arranged for some mellow, ambient music to be piped into the aquarium so that they can continue to swim in peace.

If you don't want to miss out on the Christmas Tree Ball tickets, at £20 each, are available from the ticket hotline on (01253) 292029, or from leading fashion shops and hair salons throughout Blackpool and the Fylde.