Rock legend Elton John celebrates his 79th birthday today – but how much do you know about the man immortalised in the film Rocketman?
As rock biopics go, Rocketman is up there with the best. While the movie was great, including fantastical scenes as a dramatic device, the source material was wild enough, telling the story of how a shy boy become the global rock star Elton John.
Now, Elton celebrates his 79th birthday and is held up as a legend in the music business and has been an influence on many artists over the years, as well as raising millions for charity and embracing fatherhood.
But how much do you know about Elton John? Here are some fun facts you might not know.
Elton and his writing partner collaborate alone
Yes, that does sound like a contradiction. But to explain – Elton has worked with his songwriting partner, Bernie Taupin, for more than 50 years – they first collaborated in 1967 – but they have a distinct way of working.
It starts with Bernie writing lyrics on his own. When he is happy with them, he sends them to Elton, who then composes the music for the words alone. They don’t collaborate in the same space at the same time.
It might sound off, but it works for them – and the millions of sales of their singles and albums attests to that.
Elton owns more than 1,000 pairs of glasses
One of Elton’s most distinctive features over the years has been his glasses. At the height of his fame in the 1970s, his eyewear was every bit as outrageous as the rest of his stage costumes.
But Elton started wearing glasses originally to be like one of his idols, early rock n roll star Buddy Holly. He has worn glasses ever since.
Now, Elton is said to own more than 1,000 pairs of glasses.
He had at least one hit every year for 39 years
Elton has been a huge star for more than 50 years, but also a very consistent and prolific one too.
While some artists have had more hit singles and albums than Elton, many take a year or two off – but Elton didn’t. He had at least one entry on the Billboard chart every year from 1970 to 2009 – an amazing record.
In addition, Elton also became the first solo artist to have a top 10 single on the Billboard Hot 100 in six different decades.
Elton has the biggest-selling single of all time
When Diana, Princess of Wales, died in late August 1997, it caused an outpouring of grief across the world. Soon after, Elton asked Bernie to rework the lyrics to their 1973 hit ‘Candle in the Wind’ to honour Diana – and he did in just a couple of days.
At Diana’s funeral on September 6, Elton performed the revised song – and it was the only time he performed it live.
After the performance, there was huge public clamour for Candle in the Wind to be released as a single. It was and ended up selling 33 million copies – making it the biggest-selling single of the chart era.
Elton’s AIDS foundation has raised hundreds of millions
After losing two close friends to AIDS in 1990 and 1991 – teenager Ryan White and Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, Elton founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Since then, the organisation has raised more than $600 million to support HIV-related programmes in 55 countries.
Elton has owned a football club
Well before it became fashionable for famous people to own football clubs (hello Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney), Elton John bought Watford FC – the club he had supported as a boy – in 1976. At the time, Watford were struggling in the four tier of English football, but under Elton’s chairmanship – in tandem with manager Graham Taylor – the club rose through the divisions and in 1983 the club finished second in the First Division (now Premier League).
Elton sold the club in 1987, but bought it back 10 years later. He stepped down as chairman in 2002 as it needed to be a full-time role. He still holds an interest in the club, but is no longer a majority shareholder.
