FOR one night only Elio Pace will bring the first ever Billy Joel national theatre tour to Redditch.
Building on the success of last year’s tour, the first of its kind anywhere in the world, Elio has set off on another 50 dates, stopping at The Palace on May 16.
The two-and-a-half hour show, The Billy Joel Songbook, will see audiences treated to a high energy performance of 33 hits with Elio dividing the concert into three aspects.
He said: “I will cover how Billy Joel was discovered, how he became a star and why his music, for me, makes him the greatest singer songwriter of all time.”
Elio sees the tour, which is a lifelong ambition, as an opportunity to expose a whole new side of the artist by revealing a secret that once noticed, cannot be ignored.
“Billy Joel started off life as a classical musician. This is his first and last love,” he explained.
“He is a historian – no one else has been able to achieve this most vibrant and colouful mix.”
The tour comes with the blessing of Joel himself who, after seeing a recording of Elio performing with The Original Touring Band, sent a message acknowleding his music was safe in Elio’s hands.
Elio said: “It was a really lovely message from his management saying Billy is grateful that you are keeping his music alive”.
Through the Songbook, Elio wants to expose the younger generation to how diverse pop music used to be.
He added: “I’ve got a bit of a bee in my bonnet about it.
“I want to re-educate the nation, music today is nowhere near as colourful and varied.
“The emphasis has been taken off the quality of composition. Every single song by new young artists have the same four chords.
We are missing gorgeous lovely music – something original.”
Bookings for next year have already started to come in, with Elio having received a standing ovation on every night since its opening night.
He added: “We have a rollocking last 20 minutes of sing-alongs with everyone letting their hair down. It’s an incredible reaction, I am very very proud of it.”
