89 Facts About Sir Elton John

1. Sir Elton John married his close friend and sound engineer, Renate Blauel, on Valentine's Day 1984—the marriage lasted three years.

2. Sir Elton John formed his own label named The Rocket Record Company and signed acts to it—notably Neil Sedaka (John sang background vocals on Sedaka's "Bad Blood") and Kiki Dee, in whom he took a personal interest.

3. Sir Elton John married his close friend and sound engineer, Renate Blauel, on Valentine's Day 1984—the marriage lasted three years.

4. Sir Elton John formed his own label named The Rocket Record Company and signed acts to it—notably Neil Sedaka (John sang background vocals on Sedaka's "Bad Blood") and Kiki Dee, in whom he took a personal interest.

5. Sir Elton John married his close friend and sound engineer, Renate Blauel, on Valentine's Day 1984—the marriage lasted three years.

6. Sir Elton John formed his own label named The Rocket Record Company and signed acts to it—notably Neil Sedaka (John sang background vocals on Sedaka's "Bad Blood") and Kiki Dee, in whom he took a personal interest.

7. Sir Elton John married his close friend and sound engineer, Renate Blauel, on Valentine's Day 1984—the marriage lasted three years.

8. Sir Elton John formed his own label named The Rocket Record Company and signed acts to it—notably Neil Sedaka (John sang background vocals on Sedaka's "Bad Blood") and Kiki Dee, in whom he took a personal interest.

9. Sir Elton John married his close friend and sound engineer, Renate Blauel, on Valentine's Day 1984—the marriage lasted three years.

10. Sir Elton John formed his own label named The Rocket Record Company and signed acts to it—notably Neil Sedaka (John sang background vocals on Sedaka's "Bad Blood") and Kiki Dee, in whom he took a personal interest.

11. Sir Elton John married his close friend and sound engineer, Renate Blauel, on Valentine's Day 1984—the marriage lasted three years.

12. Sir Elton John formed his own label named The Rocket Record Company and signed acts to it—notably Neil Sedaka (John sang background vocals on Sedaka's "Bad Blood") and Kiki Dee, in whom he took a personal interest.

13. Sir Elton John married his close friend and sound engineer, Renate Blauel, on Valentine's Day 1984—the marriage lasted three years.

14. Sir Elton John formed his own label named The Rocket Record Company and signed acts to it—notably Neil Sedaka (John sang background vocals on Sedaka's "Bad Blood") and Kiki Dee, in whom he took a personal interest.

15. Sir Elton John married his close friend and sound engineer, Renate Blauel, on Valentine's Day 1984—the marriage lasted three years.

16. Sir Elton John formed his own label named The Rocket Record Company and signed acts to it—notably Neil Sedaka (John sang background vocals on Sedaka's "Bad Blood") and Kiki Dee, in whom he took a personal interest.

17. Sir Elton John[Sir Elton John] has such a way with words, and he is like a human firework.

18. Sir Elton John married his close friend and sound engineer, Renate Blauel, on Valentine's Day 1984—the marriage lasted three years.

19. Sir Elton John formed his own label named The Rocket Record Company and signed acts to it—notably Neil Sedaka (John sang background vocals on Sedaka's "Bad Blood") and Kiki Dee, in whom he took a personal interest.

20. Sir Elton John married his close friend and sound engineer, Renate Blauel, on Valentine's Day 1984—the marriage lasted three years.

21. Sir Elton John formed his own label named The Rocket Record Company and signed acts to it—notably Neil Sedaka (John sang background vocals on Sedaka's "Bad Blood") and Kiki Dee, in whom he took a personal interest.

22. Sir Elton John detailed the period in 1990 when he was struggling with drug and alcohol abuse, and he proudly proclaimed the success of battling the spread of HIV with his Foundation.

23. In June 2001 Sir Elton John sold 20 of his cars at Christie's, saying he did not get the chance to drive them because he was out of the country so often.

24. On 8 September 2018, Sir Elton John embarked on his final world tour, Farewell Yellow Brick Road.

25. Sir Elton John married his close friend and sound engineer, Renate Blauel, on Valentine's Day 1984—the marriage lasted three years.

26. Sir Elton John formed his own label named The Rocket Record Company and signed acts to it—notably Neil Sedaka (John sang background vocals on Sedaka's "Bad Blood") and Kiki Dee, in whom he took a personal interest.

27. Sir Elton John is known as a recipient of five Brit Awards and five Grammy Awards.

28. Sir Elton John had learned to play piano since he was a child.

29. Sir Elton John has the record sales of 300 million during his fifty years of career.

30. In 2018 Sir Elton John embarked on what he announced as his final tour, dubbed Farewell Yellow Brick Road and scheduled to last three years.

31. In 1998 Sir Elton John reteamed with Rice to write the stage musical Elaborate Lives: The Legend of Aida, a loose adaptation of the Giuseppe Verdi opera.

32. Sir Elton John has had some of the most celebrated spats in the music industry.

33. Sir Elton John has a net worth of $480 million, making him the second richest singer in UK, behind Paul McCartney.

34. Sir Elton John started wearing glasses to copy one of his idols, Buddy Holly.

35. In 1974, during one of Sir Elton John's concerts at Madison Square Garden, John Lennon joined him on stage to perform three songs.

36. Sir Elton John was extremely close with the late rock singer Freddie Mercury.

37. Sir Elton John is the third most successful artist in the history of the American charts, behind only Elvis Presley and The Beatles.

38. Sir Elton John has achieved 37 gold and 27 multi-platinum albums.

39. In 1967 Sir Elton John answered an ad for a songwriter for Liberty Records.

40. Sir Elton John, captivated by the sounds of early rock and roll, wanted to pursue a career in pop music.

41. Around this time, Sir Elton John publicly announced that he was bisexual.

42. Sir Elton John was previously married to Renate Blauel from 1984 to 1988.

43. Sir Elton John threw in some deep cuts to set a balance between popular classics and numbers for his diehard, lifelong fans.

44. Sir Elton John returned in a blue kimono playing "Your Song", solo before the band came up and joined in.

45. In 2013, Sir Elton John received the first Brits Icon award in recognition of his "lasting impact" on UK culture, which was presented to him by his close friend Rod Stewart.

46. Sir Elton John has received five Brit Awards, including the award for Best British Male in 1991, and awards for Outstanding Contribution to Music in 1986 and 1995.

47. Sir Elton John became a recipient of a Kennedy Center Honor in 2004, and a Disney Legends Award in 2006.

48. In October 1975, Sir Elton John became the 1,662nd person to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

49. Sir Elton John was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1995.

50. Sir Elton John was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1994.

51. Sir Elton John described the occasion as "one of the greatest days of my life".

52. Sir Elton John stepped down in 2002 when the club needed a full-time chairman although he continued as president of the club.

53. Every year since 2004, Sir Elton John has opened a shop called "Elton's Closet" in which he sells his second-hand clothes.

54. In 2003, Sir Elton John sold the contents of his Holland Park home—expected to fetch £800,000 at Sotheby's—to modernise the decoration and to display some of his contemporary art collection.

55. In June 2001 Sir Elton John sold 20 of his cars at Christie's, saying he didn't get the chance to drive them because he was out of the country so often.

56. Sir Elton John was estimated to have a fortune of £195million in the Sunday Times Rich List of 2011, making him one of the 10 wealthiest people in the British music industry.

57. Sir Elton John used Paul Buckmaster to arrange the music on his studio albums during the 1970s.

58. Sir Elton John is a fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.

59. In 1992, Sir Elton John was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame.

60. On 24 January 2018, it was announced that Sir Elton John would be retiring from touring and would soon embark on a three-year farewell tour.

61. On 26 January 2017, it was announced that Sir Elton John would be composing the score for the Broadway musical version of the novel The Devil Wears Prada and its film adaptation along with Kevin McCollum as the producer and Paul Rudnick writing the lyrics and story.

62. Sir Elton John had a major role, playing himself, in the action sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circle, which was released in September 2017.

63. In September 2013, Sir Elton John received the first Brits Icon Award for his "lasting impact" on the culture of the United Kingdom.

64. In February 2013, Sir Elton John performed a duet with singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards.

65. Sir Elton John performed his 3000th concert on 8 October 2011 at Caesars.

66. Sir Elton John performed the show at Caesars for the next three years.

67. On 6 June 2010, Sir Elton John performed at the fourth wedding of conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh for a reported $1 million fee.

68. In 2009, Sir Elton John accepted Jerry Cantrell's invitation to collaborate with his band Alice in Chains.

69. On 6 September 1997, Sir Elton John performed "Candle in the Wind 1997" for the only time in a live setting at the funeral of Diana in Westminster Abbey.

70. Sir Elton John performed "Believe" at the 1995 Brit Awards, and picked up the prize for Outstanding Contribution to Music.

71. Sir Elton John placed other hits throughout the 1980s, including "Nikita", whose music video was directed by Ken Russell.

72. Sir Elton John married his close friend and sound engineer, Renate Blauel, on Valentine's Day 1984—the marriage lasted three years.

73. In October 1983, Sir Elton John caused controversy when he broke the United Nations' cultural boycott on apartheid-era South Africa by performing at the Sun City venue.

74. Sir Elton John reported that Thom Bell was the first person to give him voice lessons; Bell encouraged John to sing in a lower register.

75. On 9 August 1975, Sir Elton John was named the outstanding rock personality of the year at the first annual Rock Music Awards at ceremonies held in Santa Monica, California.

76. In 1975, Sir Elton John received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

77. In June 1975, Sir Elton John introduced the line-up before a crowd of 75,000 in London's Wembley Stadium.

78. Sir Elton John formed his own label named The Rocket Record Company and signed acts to it—notably Neil Sedaka (John sang background vocals on Sedaka's "Bad Blood") and Kiki Dee, in whom he took a personal interest.

79. In 1969, Sir Elton John provided piano for Roger Hodgson on his first released single, "Mr Boyd" by Argosy, a quartet that was completed by Caleb Quaye and Nigel Olsson.

80. Sir Elton John showed musical aptitude at school, including the ability to compose melodies, and gained some notoriety by playing like Jerry Lee Lewis at school functions.

81. Sir Elton John's parents married in 1945, when the family moved to a nearby semi-detached house.

82. On 24 January 2018, it was announced that Sir Elton John would be retiring from touring and would soon embark on a three-year farewell tour, which began in September 2018.

83. Sir Elton John has performed at a number of royal events, such as the funeral of Princess Diana at Westminster Abbey in 1997, the Party at the Palace in 2002 and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert outside Buckingham Palace in 2012.

84. Sir Elton John was knighted by Elizabeth II for "services to music and charitable services" in 1998.

85. Sir Elton John was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, is an inductee into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and is a fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.

86. Sir Elton John met his songwriting partner, Bernie Taupin, in 1967, after they had both answered an advert for songwriters.

87. Sir Elton John has composed music, produced records, and has occasionally acted in films.

88. Sir Elton John has sold more than 300million records, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world.

89. Sir Elton John has worked with lyricist Bernie Taupin as his songwriting partner since 1967; they have collaborated on more than 30 albums.