By BRIAN BEACOM

ELTON John’s Your Song is most likely the best pop song ever recorded.

However, Martin Kaye’s appreciation of the classic goes way beyond the delight most of us have had from hearing it.

Manchester-born Martin reveals playing the song has led to his starring as Jerry Lee Lewis in the Broadway hit musical, Million Dollar Quartet, for the past five years.

The performer, who appears with the show at the King’s Theatre next week, explains how the Elton song proved to be an incredible stepping stone during his life.

“At six years old I was learning to play classical piano and really bored and I stopped the lessons,” recalls the thirty two year-old smiling.

“But I had this piano book and one day I opened it up at the first page, which happened to be Your Song. It turned out to be the first song I learned to play off my own back and I loved it so much I went back to the piano.”

Martin attempted to study French and Spanish at Leeds University but quit the course to follow the musical dream.

He worked in piano bars, developing an act which featured off-the-wall comedy and song.

Then eleven years ago he took a cruise ship holiday with his parents, and his life changed dramatically. Again, with Elton helping out.

“We came across the piano bar one night and I went up to the guy who was performing, the piano man, and asked if I could play a song.

“I played Your Song and it worked out great and it turned out he would ask me up to play or sing every night. And at the end of the week he suggested I get in touch with his agent in London.”

Martin did, and he became a full time piano man on the cruise ships.

Fast forward four years and one night a passenger heard him play and asked Martin to get in touch with him when he landed in New York.

“That was how I got my New York agent, which led to an audition for Million Dollar Quartet.”

Million Dollar Quartet tells the fifties story of legendary record producer Sam Phillips, the founder of Sun Records in Memphis and the man responsible for the launch of the careers of the likes of Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis.

In December 4, 1956 however Phillips brought about a jam session which came to be known as the Million Dollar Quartet, featuring Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins.

But why was Martin chosen to play Lewis, given there must have been thousands of American performers who could play and sing Great Balls of Fire?

“I thought exactly the same thing,” he says, grinning. “I’d only ever appeared in amateur shows as a kid. I was not in any way a professional actor at this point.

“And this show had just come off Broadway. It was huge.

“So I’m thinking ‘There is no way I’m going to get this. And I’m English. There are bound to be Americans out there who they don’t have to factor in the visa situation for, or whatever’.”

But Martin landed the role on the first North American tour of Million Dollar Quartet, which, after a year and a half, led him to open the Las Vegas Production at Harrah’s and achieve countless accolades for his performance.

In the process, Martin bought his own home in Vegas and now lives there with wife, Holly.

“It was a complete shock for me to get the part, but I think some of the reason for the success was I didn’t expect it.

“I just went in there with the idea of having a load of fun.”

Martin ticked the boxes; he played great piano, could sing and look like Jerry Lee and he had that madcap performance note he could access.

And he easily managed to grab the accent and run with it.

“I love accents, and messing around with characters. And luckily the Southern accent is one I can do really well.

“In fact, people from Ferriday Louisiana, (a tiny little town of 1100 where Lewis grew up) said they believed I was from the town.”

What did he make of Jerry Lee once he immersed himself in the character”?

“I didn’t really know what to expect but when I read his biography every page produced a ‘What!’

“He had such an interesting, crazy and surreal life. For example there was one night he almost killed his bass player when drunk in his dressing room he fired it and the bullet soared past the bass player’s ear.

“There’s the time he arrived at Elvis’s house, again drunk, and crashed through the gate.

“And there are the wives. He’s on his seventh now. But musically when I studied the guy I felt it was me. I totally relate to that side.”

In 2017, Martin will front his own stage show in Las Vegas.

“It’s called Odd Socks, an autobiographical one man show taking an audience through my musical adventures, all backed with a ten piece band.”

Meantime, he’s playing up and down the country. “He’s not my idol, that’s Elton when it comes to the piano songs.

“But I would love to meet Jerry Lee Lewis. He’s the rock n’roll king and a legend. And to meet the guy I’ve been playing for five years would be awesome.”

• Million Dollar Quartet, the King’s Theatre, November 14-19.