Profession: Musician
Place/Date of Birth: Pinner, England, 25 March 2020
Associated with: David Furnish

Princes ask for Diana funeral song - June 29 2007 Sir Elton John is expected to play his heart-rending tribute song to Diana - Candle in the Wind - at the concert being staged in her memory after a request from Princes William and Harry. The brothers have asked the singer to perform the piece at the special dance and music extravaganza being staged at Wembley stadium on Sunday. Among the stars taking part will be favourites of Diana and new acts that the Princes believe their mother would have liked. Take That, Duran Duran, Rod Stewart, Lily Allen, Kanye West, Natasha Bedingfield and James Morrison are among the artists taking to the stage on July 1, which would have been the Princess’s 46th birthday. Sir Elton, a close friend of Diana, provided one of the most moving moments at the Princess’ funeral in 1997 when he sang Candle in the Wind. After the performance he vowed never to play the song again but it is thought he will for Sunday’s concert. Harry, speaking during a BBC interview with his brother, was asked if Sir Elton had helped with the planning of the event. He said: "He’s helped massively just by saying yes and obviously a personal request from us is to do Candle in the Wind again. So hopefully he’ll be playing that." The piece was originally written in memory of Marilyn Monroe, but after Diana’s death the lyrics were reworked by Bernie Taupin in her honour. Sir Elton played the piano and sang the new words at the Princess’s funeral at Westminster Abbey. He began with the opening line "Goodbye England’s Rose", changed from "Goodbye Norma Jean". The 1997 record remains the biggest-selling single of all time. Elton and his red piano come to London - June 19 2007 Elton John will bring his flamboyant Red Piano Show to Britain this September, it has been announced. The gig, taking place at the O2 Arena on September 5, will continue the 2007 celebrations of the singer’s 60th birthday and 40 years of touring. The colourful show, which has been running at The Colosseum, Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, is designed by acclaimed photographer and Elton’s pal, David LaChapelle and includes his iconic Yamaha red grand piano, state-of-the art effects and high-end imagery. Fans will be treated to live performances of Elton’s back catalogue, including hits such as Rocket Man and Candle In The Wind. He said: "I’m really pleased to be coming home with this show. The show is all about love. We have so many things thrown at us in our everyday lives that are so upsetting that no one really ever concentrates on the positive things in life - we only read about the horrible things that go on. But you know, I believe in love." David added: "The show is a visual extravaganza, a collage of all the outrageous and beautiful images Elton has been responsible for in his career. I just wanted it to sparkle and shine and just be lush. Almost edible, like looking at a candy store."... read more [1] 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10     next (5) next

	When you think of Elton John what comes to mind? Probably his flamboyant personality and dress sense that have made him an icon for three decades, his parties attended by Posh ’n’Becks, documented by OK! and Hello!, and his ever-present ’partner David Furnish’. Then there is his seemingly endless love affair with shopping, as revealed in that recent court case, where the world found out that Elton spent about ?250,000 a year on flowers, and didn’t even notice that ?10million was missing from his account. He even takes the mickey out of own spending habits in a new advert for the Post Office. So what if Elton doesn’t believe in saving and hoarding money, he has no children or family, so he spends. Big deal. He spends on himself, yes, but also huge amounts are showered on others and on charities, particularly his AIDS charity. He recently told Heat magazine that he’d leave everything to David, his partner of nine years. Amongst the tantrums and tiaras it’s too easy to forget that the fact that he’s got so much money to throw around in the first place, is that he’s one of the world’s most commercially successful entertainers of the last 30 years, and writes a cracking good tune to boot. Elton John was born Reginald Dwight (!) on March 25, 2020 to a middle-class family living in Pinner, England. He won a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music but dropped out shortly before graduation, to tour England with Bluesology who were backing bigger-name blues performers. In 1967 Elton met lyricist Bernard Taupin through a newspaper ad, and the duo became a professional song writing team and went on to have million selling worldwide hits. Working with producer Gus Dudgeon, Elton and Taupin released a new album for MCA Records in 1970, Elton John, with which he first found fame. His 1971 follow-up, the concept album Tumbleweed Connection, was another big hit, reaching the Top 10. The prolific pair put together several more albums during 1971-72, culminating in 1972’s Honky Chateau, John’s first No.1 album. Its big single, "Rocket Man", inaugurated a string of hits for the singer-pianist, who scored 16 consecutive Top 20 hits between late 1972 and mid-1976, releasing up to three albums a year. Hits like "The Bitch Is Back," "Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting," "Bennie and the Jets," "Yellow Brick Road," "Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me," "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" and "Crocodile Rock" became pop classics, turning Elton John into a bona fide superstar. 1975’s Captain Fantastic became the first album ever to debut at No.1. In 1977 John announced that he would no longer perform live, due to ’exhaustion’, and would limit his record output. In the light of recent revelations from Elton about this period of his life, it’s probably closer to the truth to say he was close to killing himself, through drugs or other means. Also, he and Bernard Taupin had fallen out and had ceased working together, with Elton bringing in other songwriters and Taupin penning lyrics for other artists. In the 80’s Elton continued to have hits such as "I Guess That’s Why They Call it the Blues" and 1984’s "Sad Songs (Say So Much)," but moved from rock/pop to a more mellow adult contemporary sound. He also took an interest in AIDS research, forming the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1991; he also announced that he would donate all future royalties from his singles to AIDS charities. John mounted another comeback with 1992’s The One, which went double platinum. That same year he and Taupin signed a publishing deal with Warner/Chappel Music for nearly $40 million. In 1994 Elton John scored his biggest hit in years with "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from The Lion King soundtrack, winning five Grammy nominations and three Oscar nominations. That same year, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Elton John released the album The Big Picture in September 1997. Earlier that month, he captured the hearts of millions when he sang a re-written version of "Candle in the Wind" at the funeral of Princess Diana. A recording of the song, released as "Candle in the Wind 1997" became the first single to outsell Bing Crosby’s "White Christmas." All proceeds from the sale of the single were donated to the Princess of Wales Memorial Fund. His latest, Songs From The West Coast, came out in 2001, and has widely been seen as a return to form, back to the Elton of old, an album full with really, really good tunes. He too seems to be happier than ever, touring, performing, collecting art, clothes, cd’s and shoes, buying flowers, appearing in ads for the Post Office, getting teen idols like Justin Timberlake to play him in his videos, and of course spending time with David. Bless. Biography by Liz McGrath 04/02 June 2007

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