SOME auditions are tougher than others – just ask Steve Rushton.

The former member of pop-punk band Son of Dork applied to play guitar in the band at Mamma Mia! The Party at London’s O2. It involved playing a host of ABBA songs… to Bjorn Ulvaeus.

“Playing his songs in front of him was something of an ordeal,” admits Steve, who lives in Old Woking. “When I realised it would be in front of Bjorn it was pretty nerve-racking.

“It’s his music that he created and made ABBA mega-stars. I’m very confident in my playing, but you feel like you’re under the microscope.”

Steve impressed the great man and has been playing in the show since April – even taking the lead role at one point.

“When COVID was rife Jonathon Bentley who plays the lead, Adam, got the virus,” he recalls. “I got a call saying ‘How do you feel about going on as the lead?’ and I went on within 24 hours.

“I had seen the show loads of times but not played the part and I had to spend the whole time learning his lines and his dancing. But it was all fine – adrenaline is an amazing thing.”

Created by Bjorn Ulvaeus, Mamma Mia! The Party brings all ABBA’s hits to life over the course of four hours, while guests enjoy a four-course Greek feast and get the chance to join an ABBA disco.

Set in a taverna on the Greek island of Skopelos – where most of the exteriors of the first Mamma Mia! film were shot – it features Nikos and his wife Kate running a restaurant together with their family and friends.

Told through dialogue and ABBA songs, the story unfolds, taking place around the guests as they sit at their tables enjoying a four-course meal.

Despite hitting the charts with Son of Dork through songs like Ticket Outta Loserville and Eddie’s Song, the ABBA project is not Steve’s first venture into musicals. He also appeared in American Idiot, auditioning with no previous theatre experience.

“I haven’t trained in theatre, but I am the biggest Green Day fan in the world. They are my first loves,” he explains. “When American idiot came to town I said I have to see it and I have to be in it. I got into that with pure confidence and that started me theatre career.”

Steve grew up in Shepperton and now lives in Old Woking with his partner and two children. As well as his Mamma Mia! role, he continues to write music for other bands and Disney projects and doesn’t rule out a return to Son of Dork at some point.

Meanwhile he’s concentrating on songs by the Swedish superstars and says: “ABBA re-wrote pop music. They crafted the best pop songs, it feels like they worked and crafted and produced until each song was perfect.

Mamma Mia! The Party – described as a theatrical dining experience – runs at the O2, London, until Sunday 2 October.