THE Rezillos, the cult Scottish band who rose to stardom during the punk rock explosion of the 70s, are to reunite for a special one-off performance.

The group, said by some to be one of the all-time great bands to emerge from Edinburgh, have agreed to reform for the city's Hogmanay celebrations and will play in Princes Street Gardens - 23 years after splitting up.

Pete Irvine, director of Unique Events which is organising the world's biggest street party, described the appearance of the band as ''a real coup.''

He added: ''We are thrilled to have the Rezillos playing in the Gardens on Hogmanay. They have agreed to reform for us making this a particularly special night.''

Band members Luke Warm (Jo Callis), Fay Fife (Sheilagh Hynd) and Eugene Reynolds (Alan Forbes) will take the stage as a replacement for the Scottish Fiddle Orchestra which is unable to appear on December 31. They will be a support act to the Proclaimers.

The band, which originally had eight members, came together at Edinburgh Art College in 1976.

The following year, they released the debut single I Can't Stand My Baby and won a major record deal with Sire Records.

At Christmas 1978, the group decided to split. However, their December 23 sell-out show that year at the Glasgow Apollo was recorded and the live album Mission Accomplished . . . But The Beat Goes On reached number 30 in the charts.

Reynolds and Fife, the former lead singer who was brought up in Dunfermline, went on to form The Revillos while Callis, in 1981, joined The Human League.

Reynolds said yesterday: ''Be prepared. We're back to kick in the door to your eardrums.''