Reginald Kenneth Dwight was born on 25th March 1947. Dwight began playing piano at the age of four, and when he was eleven he won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. After studying for six years, he left school with the intention of breaking into the music business. In 1961 he joined his first band called Bluesology.

In 1967 Dwight met lyricist Bernard Taupin through a newspaper advertisement, and the duo became a professional song writing team for Dick James new label DJM bringing out up to 10 songs a day. Taking the stage name Elton Hercules John, from the first names of Bluesology's vocalist Elton Dean and saxophonist Long John Baldry, Dwight embarked on a solo career in mid 1968, performing songs he had written with Taupin.

Elton John's first No. 1 album. Its big single, Rocket Man, inaugurated a string of hits for the singer and 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, Bernie and the Jets, Yellow Brick Road and Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me.

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.

Sir Elton John, few artists are more deserving of the title. The piano man from Pinner has long been one of the solid-gold superstars of the world stage, surviving every controversy that has befallen him. 2002 finds him at a new creative peak, with one of his most critically and commercially acclaimed albums in decades, Songs From The West Coast, and a nomination as Best British Male Solo Artist at the BRIT Award.