AS one of the biggest music stars this country has ever produced with his stellar career spanning almost 50 years, it is hard to believe Sir Elton John gets nervous about playing new songs on tour.

Especially with him having always exhumed confidence on stage and in front of the TV cameras and those songs proving that The Lion King of popular music can still create top tunes at the age of 69.

But living up to his fans’ expectations is the be-all and end-all as far as Sir Elton is concerned, says one of his long-standing band members John Mahon.

The American percussionist has played more than 1,500 gigs all over the world with the iconic singer-songwriter having joined the band nearly 20 years ago.

He considers it an ‘absolute privilege’ to work alongside such a ‘living legend’ and says that music fans need to see him playing live while they still can.

“He a genius and a superstar and he’s not going to be around forever, and we’ll never see an artist like him again with such a long career and 40-odd albums behind them,” John said.

“Record companies nowadays just want to make money on a record and they are on to the next Justin Bieber.

“Someone like Elton came up in the olden days when record companies got beneath their artists, gave them multiple record deals and developed them.

“With his talent, he’s a one of a kind. His back catalogue of songs is up there with the very best, he is still an incredible singer and there is no rock and roll piano player on the planet who comes even close to the way he plays, because it’s a mix of all the people he’s been inspired by.

“There’s the obvious ones like Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard and then there’s crazier and jazzier players.

“Even though he is not a jazz player, Elton loves the rhythmic way that jazz players play and has been inspired by that.

“He is someone you Brits should be very proud of.”

Sir Elton’s talents are showcased to the full with a non-stop more than two-hour set on his current Wonderful Crazy Night Tour, which comes to Widnes’ Select Security Stadium on June 18.

Only two songs from his impressive new Wonderful Crazy Night album feature – Looking Up and A Good Heart – as always eager to please Elton is reluctant to take any of his classics off the set list.

John said: “We play a very long show because Elton is adamant about the audience having a great time.

“He wants people to get their money’s worth and to get hit after hit after hit, because he says there’s nothing worse than going to a concert of a major artist and they don’t play the songs that you want to hear.

“He wants them to go away saying ‘that was the greatest show I’ve ever seen’ – and most people do.

“When we play back-to-back songs like Rocket Man, Candle In The Wind and Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word, people sit back in their seats in amazement in that they can’t believe so much powerful music is coming from one artist.

“But I personally wish we were playing a few more of the songs from the new Wonderful Crazy Night album.

“I think some of the songs on that album are great, classic Elton tunes, I really do.

“He’s still got it as a first class singer-songwriter. A big part of that is he listens to a huge amount of current music and still has so much passion for it. That’s what makes him so good.

“I don’t know if people know this but he tries to buy almost every record that comes out every week. He has a massive record collection.

“He knows music inside and out, probably better than anyone I’ve ever known. He just absorbs it all.

“I know some pretty intelligent musicians, but he’s a step above. There’s no song or recording artist you can talk about that he doesn’t know pretty much everything about.

“But he kills me because he gets nervous about playing his new songs.

“I say ‘Elton, you are a musician, this is what you do’.

“But if the audience doesn’t act like ‘oh my God, it’s the greatest thing I’ve ever heard’ then he doesn’t necessarily want to do it again.

“He so wants to entertain people. He wants that feedback from the audience.

“When we play Crocodile Rock and everyone in the audience goes ‘la, la la la la’, he loves it. He’s looking at us in the band and he’s happy and laughing, even to this day.

“He must have performed that song 3,000 times but he still gets a kick out of it and has fun with it, because the audience loves it.

“On the tour we play two songs from the new album, which are going down really well.

“They are both really good songs and the more we play them the audience’s reaction is getting better and better.”

Having performed with Elton in Liverpool in 2015, John is looking forward to returning to that side of the Runcorn Widnes bridge for the June 18 tour show.

It will be the biggest gig in Widnes since The Stone Roses performed at Spike Island in 1990.

And don’t be surprised to see John doing some sightseeing around town before heading for the stage.

He said: “The Liverpool show last year was great so we are more than happy to be going back to that part of the country for the Widnes gig.

“On this tour we are playing in towns we have never been to before or towns in the middle of nowhere where there’s a little arena and the people in the audience go absolutely bonkers.

“We love playing in new places. It’s cool to see how happy people are to see Elton play for the first time.

“I like to get out and walk around. I’m kind of the explorer. I don’t like to sit around in hotels very often, so I see the town and take a lot of photographs.”

So what’s Sir Elton like to work with and what are the highlights of John’s time with the band?

“It’s always fun working with Elton. He’s very witty and never boring.

“You see him be compelling on talk shows and stuff and he’s kind of like that all the time. He’s always engaging and always wants to have an engaging conversation about music, sports and films.

“He’s so quick witted. If someone throws something at him he’ll throw something straight back that’s equally good or better.

“He can have a pretty harsh sense of humour and you have to be on your toes when you are talking with him.

“He also has no patience if his piano breaks or something. We try to tell him that it’s a mechanical instrument and when you pound on it for three hours a night like he does it’s going to break eventually.

“He doesn’t understand that. He’s like ‘how can that thing break?’.

“But I have loved working for Elton all these years and there have been many highlights.

“We have played at some extraordinary places, including the Colosseum in Rome. That was huge. It was open to the public and we were told there were 250,000 people there.

“Even when we play Hyde Park in London, that is amazing. A big place, a huge amount of people and really great energy.

“Elton doesn’t really like the big festivals and the super gigs as much as the smaller shows we do because he doesn’t get that immediate magnetism.

“He wants to hear the audience. He wants their physical response to the show.

“Not that he needs applause but he wants to see if everyone digs it, and how into it they are.

“I would say that playing with Elton at the Queen’s 50th Jubilee show was particularly cool.

“Not only did we play the show with all these incredible artists like Stevie Wonder, Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox and Kylie Minogue, we got invited to Buckingham Palace for a private party afterwards by Prince William and Prince Harry.

“And on the way out I spoke to Prince Charles. That was incredible.

“At the party Elton introduced me to Prince Harry.

“People see Elton as this pop star who is bigger than life, but we were at that party and he comes in the door and is very pensive with all these strangers there.

“He sees me, a familiar face, so he comes over and we are talking. Then Prince Harry comes over.

“I just back away. It’s Prince Harry and Elton John – I’m going to step away and let them do their thing.

“I am talking to someone else and I look over my shoulder and Elton is calling me over.

“I go over and he introduces me to Prince Harry. He didn’t have to do that.

“He’s a very kind and thoughtful man.”