Rocket Man

As regular readers of the SGM-FX Daily Brief know, I am a music fan and although not a regular concert goer, I like to go to big name concerts whenever I get the opportunity. Having been a fan of Elton John’s since the early 70’s when he was producing arguably some of his finest songs while writing and working with Bernie Taupin, I have collected his albums over the years.

The first time I managed to see him live was at the Hammersmith Odeon in October 1982 when the crowd went wild and fans feared that the upper tiers were going to come crashing down on the stalls where they were sitting. The next time that I managed to get tickets for an Elton concert was in 1991 for Wembley Arena when he and George Michael duetted on Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.

And so when some tickets came up to see Elton John on Easter Sunday at the o2 in London’s Docklands, not just because I live right across the river from the o2, it seemed too good an opportunity to pass up. The concert was of the highest quality with all of Elton’s very best songs cleverly interwoven with an incredible lightshow and film of Marilyn Monroe and many other film stars as well as footage of characters from all the many decades that he has been performing. Apart from the spectacle of the stage show including Elton’s grand piano moving around and across the stage on a track and percussionist Ray Cooper, guitarist Davey Johnstone and drummer Nigel Olsson among others, the music did not stop for two and a half hours and the atmosphere in the 20,000 seat venue was fantastic.

The one constant with all Elton John concerts is that many fans do not stint themselves when it comes to dressing up, so almost as much fun as the show itself is the sight of plenty of glitter, shimmy, flouncy dresses, and the odd set of angel wings. And the dress code for the Elton John band itself? These days they wear tailored suits and even in some cases, ties, that would not be out of place in the most traditional of City of London boardrooms. As for the Rocket Man himself: Elton John treated us to a 10 minute version of probably his greatest song: wow!