Elton John

Sat 14th Feb - 9:00PM

The Rocketman talks candidly about his troubled childhood, years of substance abuse, and the string of tragic deaths in his life, including those of John Lennon and Princess Diana.

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Elton John
born: 25-03-1947
birth place: Pinner, England

The accolades kept coming and he was awarded the Polar Music Prize by the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. In 1996, Elton was appointed a CBE (Commander of the British Empire). On 24 February 1998 he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, becoming Sir Elton John, in recognition of his contribution to music and fund-raising for AIDS charities. Another tireless charity worker was Princess Diana and she and Elton had been friends since they had met in the early 1980s. He had always been supportive of her, and particularly through her divorce from Prince Charles. After Diana’s tragic death in July 1997, Elton captured the hearts of a grieving nation with his tribute, ‘Candle in the Wind’ (1997), with new lyrics written by Bernie Taupin. Sales of this single broke all records and the proceeds went to Diana’s favourite charities.

Once again, Elton had to face health issues of his own, when he had a pacemaker fitted after a worrying angina episode on board an aeroplane in July 1999. This did not prevent him from continuing with his extensive world tours. After releasing the ‘Songs from the West Coast’ (2001) album, Elton declared it would be his last studio album and that he would concentrate on live performances. In 2002, The Music Industry Trusts’ Award was presented to Elton and Taupin for their outstanding contribution to the British music industry. Two years later, Elton released another album, ‘Peachtree Road’ (2004), which received some favourable reviews, but failed to make an impact. Also that year, he received the Kennedy Center Honours and began performing his hit show ‘The Red Piano’, directed by David LaChapelle, at Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas, in 2004.

On 2 July 2005 two major events occurred. Elton performed at the Live 8 concert in Hyde Park, London, and Madame Tussaud’s unveiled his wax likeness, which had taken over 1 000 hours to complete. 21 December 2005 was a very special day, not only for Elton but for the United Kingdom as well. It was the first day civil partnerships were made legal in England and Wales and the day Elton registered a civil partnership with his long-term partner, David Furnish. The low-key ceremony, with only their parents in attendance, took place in Windsor Guildhall, and was performed by Registrar Clair Williams, who also married Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles. They followed this with an extravagant party, with many celebrity guests, at their mansion in Berkshire.

In a recording career which has spanned over 40 years and with an estimated 220 million album sales, this multiple award winning singer keeps up to date with what’s happening in the music world and enjoys such artists as Robbie Williams, Eminem, Coldplay and Radiohead. In fact, Elton not only increased his own ‘street cred’ by dueting with Eminem on ‘Stan’ at the 2001 Grammy Awards, he helped absolve Eminem somewhat of homophobia charges against him. Elton was featured on 2Pac’s posthumous song ‘Ghetto Gospel’ (2005), which sampled ‘Indian Sunset’ from Elton’s ‘Madman Across Water’ (1971) album. The Pet Shop Boys 2006 limited edition album ‘Fundamental’ includes a duet with Elton, ‘In Private’, a new version of the Dusty Springfield single.

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Links relating to this biography:
Elton John Official