Elton John didn’t exist, so it was necessary to create him. One of the world’s least likely superstars, he started with bad hair and dweeby glasses and evolved into a rotund middle-aged man who wrote soundtracks to Disney films. Now he’s a happily married father of two surrogate-born children.
None of this screams cool, but through a combination of hard work, popular songs and outrageous antics that have made delicious tabloid fodder — plus more than a dash of ego — he has forged a career that is closing in on the half-century mark. Millions of records sold, Oscars, Tonys, Grammys and more have come his way, and in 2013 Billboard named him the most successful male artist of all time (The Beatles and Madonna edged him out overall) in terms of the charts.
He’s back in Bangkok next Sunday as part of the “All the Hits” tour, and you can guess what he’ll be delivering. Hint: expect to hear Rocket Man, Candle in the Wind, Crocodile Rock and something from The Lion King.
He has a long line of hits dating back to 1970’s breakthrough single Your Song. But how did Elton John become, well, Elton John? Discounting the songs, which everyone will have an opinion of, here are a few essential factors behind his success.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Born Reginald Kenneth Dwight, it didn’t take musical or any other form of genius to figure out a name like that would not capture the public’s imagination. It’s pretty hard to imagine the words “Reginald Dwight” on a record cover, and certainly not on one you’d want to buy.
A child prodigy on the piano, when he first played in pubs, before he reached drinking age, he went by Reggie. Even when he was first employed as a songwriter by Liberty Records he was going by his original name. He later told Elvis Costello he came up with his moniker in homage to Blues saxophonist Elton Dean and singer Long John Baldry.
The name Elton John stuck. Reggie no more, John legally changed his name in 1967, before his first album. He also gave himself a middle name: Hercules. As you do.
HE HAS THE LOOK
John was never going to be called up for boy band duties: even as a young man he never really had the look of a conventional pop star. He needed a distraction, and came up with a series of looks that at times threatened Dolly Parton’s rhinestone monopoly and at others appeared as though he’d woken up hungover in Liberace’s closet.
Arguably it reached its zenith in 1986 with Live in Australia, during which he appeared dressed as Liberace and had the backing of a symphony orchestra.
The outrageous costumes, and glasses of incredible impracticality, all came at a time when John was in the closet himself, which brings us to ...
WEDDED BLISS
It seems to be a case of third time lucky for John, who married David Furnish as soon as they were legally able.
The first attempt never made it to the altar, an engagement in the late ’60s to his first lover, a secretary named Lisa. The second effort also fooled nobody, his marriage to German recording engineer Renate Blauel in Sydney on Valentine’s Day 1984 was widely thought to be not only a cover but overcompensation for his homosexuality. After their divorce in 1988 he came out, and has since been an advocate for gay rights and vocal in the fight against HIV/Aids.
John and Furnish have been in a relationship since 1993, and entered one of the first civil partnerships when the law was changed in the UK. The relationship, and their family life, has been credited with keeping John healthy: his days of drug overdoses and bulimia are behind him.
THE DIANA FACTOR
From the 1990s, John was prominent in the fight against Aids, and established a foundation which raises money most famously through an Oscars after party. More than $200 million, or 7.2 billion baht, has been given to organisations in 55 countries.
One of his regular charity collaborators was Princess Diana, at whose funeral he famously sang Candle in the Wind. The two had a falling out about a year before her death, because “we were both pretty stubborn”.
“It was one of her charity things that I’d organised, and she pulled out of it,” John told Larry King in 2002. “And I wasn’t too happy, and I let her know that. And then she wrote me a very terse letter. And it was only really when Gianni Versace was murdered that we both got on the phone to each other and said, this is so stupid.
"We haven’t talked, you know. It’s one of those things that friends sometimes do. You know, they’re too proud to pick up the phone.”
FEEL THE BERN
The one constant through John’s career has been his lyricist, Bernie Taupin. The two have collaborated on 33 studio albums — the latest is coming in February — over the course of 48 years. It started when they were put together by a studio in 1967, where they wrote songs for other artists, including a Eurovision entry, but never looked back.
The secret to their successful formula seems to be staying apart: Taupin enjoys life at home painting most of the time, and writes lyrics for a few months every three or four years. He visits John in the studio when it comes time to record, but once he’s written the words tends to leave the music alone. In the past, Taupin told Rolling Stone last week, he would fax lyrics to John, but the internet-averse star has been dragged into the modern world. They now email each other.
“I don’t want you to think it’s a cold connection,” he told the magazine. “We do get together and discuss things.”
Despite the two both having young children and having shared a long and fruitful collaboration, one has revelled in celebrity and fame while the other has immersed himself in artwork and shied away from the spotlight.
“But I couldn’t live his life. I would rather drill myself in the head with a nail gun than do what he does,” Taupin said.
“And it’s what keeps him young. It’s what keeps him going. I’m sure he gets very tired at times. It’s got to run him down, but he doesn’t play to make a living. He plays because he loves to do it. He loves to be in front of that crowd. The more they give him, the more he gives back. That’s the drug he’s on right now.”
Elton John performs at Impact Arena, Muang Thong Thani, next Sunday. Doors open at 8pm. Tickets cost between 2,000 and 6,000 baht and are available from thaiticketmajor.com.
