Jason Donovan is in the country to perform in the Million Dollar Quartet.
Relaxing in his dressing room at the Cardiff New Theatre after a run of Million Dollar Quartet, the irony of starring in a musical as a record industry mogul isn't lost on Jason Donovan.
The blue-eyed, blond Australian made a name for himself in the late 1980s playing Scott Robinson in Neighbours and surfed a wave of fame partly due to his relationship with co-star Kylie Minogue and his success as a pop singer.
Fuelled by Neighbours' huge popularity in Britain, he topped the UK singles chart four times; in 1989, his Ten Good Reasons album, written and produced by hit-makers Stock, Aitken and Waterman, was the highest selling of the year.
He may joke that he can't see a SAW the Musical, starring Jason Donovan any time soon, but those days have given the 49-year-old valuable insights into the music business and what it's like to become a household name.
All the better to play pioneering Sun Records owner Sam Phillips in the jukebox musical Million Dollar Quartet. Centred around an impromptu jam session involving Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis at Sun Records Studios in Tennessee in December 1956, Million Dollar Quartet chronicles a significant turning point in rock 'n' roll history (see below).
Written by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux, the story is set against a rousing soundtrack of memorable songs, ranging from Elvis' calling card Blue Suede Shoes to Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison Blues, Carl Perkins' Roll Over Beethoven and Jerry Lee Lewis' Great Balls of Fire.
"It's sort of like a Wikipedia experience in a way," says Donovan. "Sam Phillips was an incredibly brave individual to have done what he did, as he really created the landscape for so many great of the artists of that era."
But it didn't come without risk and sacrifice. In Million Dollar Quartet, the legendary four are at different stages in their respective careers'; Phillips is desperate to keep skin in the game.
"There's a speech in the show where Sam Phillips is completely broke and he says he cannot afford to buy Christmas presents for his wife and kids, as he has taken a lot of risks," says Donovan. "There's another great line 'beware of the curse of the answered prayer', which is indicative of fame and success, and what eventually became of those characters. It's like how I say at the end, 'it's no secret that it turned out pretty good for everyone career-wise, but I just wish they could have had a little more happiness in their lives'."
Ross William Wild as Elvis Presley (seated), Martin Kaye w as Jerry Lee Lewis, Matthew Wycliffe playing Carl Perkins and Robbie Durham as Johnny Cash.
Donovan can relate to the singers' predicaments. With director Ian Talbot comparing the public adulation they received to One Direction, Presley, Cash, Perkins and Lewis were the forerunners of today's boy bands and pop idols.
"It was similar but they weren't actually a band," says Donovan. "But for each individual, once they had achieved the success they had, it was then very hard for them to hold on to their original sense of why they had become successful, as most people rebel from fame to a certain degree.
"They're all cultural icons, but I have an understanding of what it is like to be in that sort of situation. Johnny Cash wrote an incredible catalogue of songs and Elvis Presley was as famous as McDonalds or Coca-Cola, Carl Perkins less so, and Jerry Lee Lewis was an incredible musician. But we all have our place as performers."
Although he is still known best for the four years he spent on Neighbours or for Especially For You, the duet with Kylie Minogue, Donovan says he's happy with where his career has taken him.
"It's been a long time since I did Neighbours but it gave me a great life and I've had a lot of really good opportunities because of it. Everyone has to start somewhere; it's what you do after that ..."
He has appeared in numerous musicals during the past 30 years, but Donovan doesn't wrap his lungs around any of Million Dollar Quartet's many songs, instead concentrating on maintaining Phillips' distinctive twang.
He leaves the vocals in the very capable hands of his young co-stars, which for Million Dollar Quartet's New Zealand tour sees Ross William Wild as Elvis Presley, Matthew Wycliffe playing Carl Perkins, Robbie Durham as Johnny Cash and Martin Kaye as Jerry Lee Lewis.
"There's a good energy about them," says Donovan. "I feel like I'm the elder statesman, as I bring a bit of experience. But they're not doing impersonations; it's more like they're embodying the characters. "
Lowdown
What: Million Dollar Quartet Where and when: The Civic, June 9-15
