Becoming the Piano Man
MORE than 20 years ago, an excited father called his seven-year-old son into the living room to watch footage of Billy Joel playing live.
The boy was singer James Fox and that moment sparked a lifelong love of the American performer.
"He was completely captivating," explains Fox. "I couldn't take my eyes off the television. I wanted to be this guy. I had piano lessons that week so I've got a lot to thank him for."
So it seems fitting the 30-year-old is now spending his evenings reviving the songs of Joel as part of theatre show Movin' Out.
After a year-long stint in the States - both on Broadway and touring - playing the Piano Man, the Bargoed-born singer is now making his home in London's West End.
"I've only been back from America for two or three weeks so I've just moved into a new flat and then we have rehearsals for the show.
Now I'm looking forward to starting again and playing the show to a UK audience."
Fox takes centre stage in the highly successful show which tells the story of a group of firm friends facing two turbulent decades together in the USA through the music of Billy Joel. As the show's only vocalist, Fox admits, he doesn't have to do any of the intensive dancing.
"I'm high up on this platform with an 11-piece band and you get to watch everyone dancing down below," he says. "That just blows me away. For a die-hard Billy Joel fan it is just amazing."
He might be loving the role now but the step into musical theatre wasn't something he had always foreseen in his career plans.
"After Eurovision I did a six-month run in Jesus Christ Superstar. I thought it was a bit of a sideways step because I hadn't thought of doing musicals before."
Of course, in a former life, the singer had been used to a very different stage full of cabaret acts and working on cruise ships. In that life, his most embarrassing moments included dressing up as a teapot or donning a sequined jump suit.
But it was a meeting with legendary lyricist Tim Rice after his performance in Superstar that lead him straight to the door of the producers of Movin' Out.
He says, "I got the part through bribery basically. One night Tim Rice came to see Superstar and said if he could ever do anything for me to give him a ring.
"So I then said about the Billy Joel show which was running in America and he got me to meet with the producers.
"I don't think he really meant me to actually call him but it all worked out well. I suppose it's good being cheeky," he jokes.
The meeting with the producers won Fox the part, sending him across the world to sing the hits like Uptown Girl, We Didn't Start the Fire and She's Got a Way, accompanied by former members of Joel's band.
Suddenly the singer - who in the UK was most known for being evicted from talent show Fame Academy in the ninth round and coming 16th in 2004's Eurovision with Hold Onto Our Love - was impressing sell-out American audiences with the Tony Award-winning show.
He says, "It was crazy, we did it on Broadway and then we toured the States playing to 2,000-4,000 people and it was full every night.
"It's like a big rock show."
If he stayed in the UK his career might have taken a different turn after offers to appear on I'm A Celebrity..., The Games and The Farm, all of which Fox turned down. Quite rightly too because the singer has won rave reviews for his part in Movin' Out and he got the chance to finally meet his childhood idol.
"I met Billy Joel for the first time in Florida," he says. "But I was just a wreck and I couldn't find the words to say to him. He's a really shy man and because I didn't know what to say to him not a lot happened.
"I did get another chance to meet him when he was performing and I got to go on stage with him and play his piano."
But he is saddened by the fact that he could never share this moment with the person who first introduced him to Joel.
"My dad passed away two years ago but he would have been very pleased with the Billy thing."
But he's lucky that the rest of his family come to the show.
"Friends, family and a few fans came over to America to see the show and I don't mind that at least I know someone will be clapping that night."
The run continues in London until July 17 before heading to out to Europe but Fox is finding time in his schedule to fit in some of his own music.
He says, "This job is kind of open-ended but I am hoping to get another single out in July. If I got a chance to do that this summer it would be great."
Quiet hotel rooms have been the perfect way to force Fox to write while on tour and music is where his heart clearly lies.
He says, "As long as I am doing music every day, whether on the BBC on a Saturday night or just playing the piano in a theatre I'll be happy."
Movin' Out runs at Apollo Victoria Theatre, London, from now until July 17. Box Office: 0870 4000 889
james fox will play idol billy joel as movin' out opens in uk
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