0:00:00 > 0:00:02This programme contains some strong language
0:00:02 > 0:00:04The gentleman you have all been waiting for,
0:00:04 > 0:00:08the biggest, most colossal, gigantic,
0:00:08 > 0:00:12fantastic Elton John!
0:00:16 > 0:00:20Sir Elton Hercules John, flamboyant piano man, campaigner,
0:00:20 > 0:00:23collector and a national treasure.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26Possibly the most successful male solo artist of all time,
0:00:26 > 0:00:29he's squeezed a lot into his 63 years.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32But this is the story of the Elton we sometimes forget,
0:00:32 > 0:00:38the singer-songwriter who quietly emerged on to the music scene exactly 40 years ago.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41To the bemusement of his songwriting partner, Bernie Taupin,
0:00:41 > 0:00:47he shot to fame in America and in a few crazy years became the biggest popstar on the planet.
0:00:47 > 0:00:53It is kind of tragic that when you ask the general public the question "Elton John"
0:00:53 > 0:01:00they think of big glasses and The Lion King and Crocodile Rock. It's all quite wrong, really.
0:01:00 > 0:01:06But now Elton's heading in a new direction and that's back, back to where it all began.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10To go forward in my career as a recording artist, I've got to go back.
0:01:10 > 0:01:16I've got to revisit what I did. That's where my heart was, in the soulful, joyful, country,
0:01:16 > 0:01:22gospel, funky rock 'n' roll, that element of the South, that's where I am. That's my true spirit.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25# Saturday, Saturday, Saturday
0:01:25 > 0:01:30# Saturday, Saturday, Saturday night's all right
0:01:30 > 0:01:33CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:01:42 > 0:01:46Hugh Nurial from Harrow draws the train.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48On and on north-westwards.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51London far away
0:01:51 > 0:01:56and stations start to look quite countrified.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59Pinner, a parish of 1,000 souls
0:01:59 > 0:02:04till railways gave it many thousands more.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08Growing up the only child of a troubled marriage in post-war Pinner,
0:02:08 > 0:02:12young Reg Dwight used music as a way of escape from his solitary life.
0:02:12 > 0:02:17I used to find solace in music. When my parents used to argue,
0:02:17 > 0:02:20I used to go in my room and listen to Radio Luxembourg.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23Radio filled my head with dreams.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27I had a few friends, I had my cousins and stuff like that,
0:02:27 > 0:02:31but music was my best friend and I lived and breathed for it.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34PIANO PLAYS
0:02:36 > 0:02:40I grew up playing by ear at a very early age.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43I could pick up any tune and play it.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47And when I started playing the piano by ear, it was Winifred Atwell and people like that.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50SHE PLAYS FAST-PACED JAZZ
0:02:52 > 0:02:56My parents, thankfully, asked me to have lessons when I was seven
0:02:56 > 0:03:00and I did and I won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music.
0:03:03 > 0:03:0711-year-old Reg joined the academy's junior exhibitioner scheme
0:03:07 > 0:03:11for state school children who showed an exceptional gift for music.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17It's funny, I've had hundreds of pupils
0:03:17 > 0:03:22and yet I remember him so clearly.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25He was a dear. I was very fond of him.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28He had such a marvellous ear.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31But I do remember that he couldn't read music.
0:03:31 > 0:03:36So I gave him these books to catch up on being a pianist.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41Also at the academy, he learnt how to construct music.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44He learnt about the chords and phrases
0:03:44 > 0:03:49and how different composers constructed their music
0:03:49 > 0:03:55and everything that would help him if he wanted to write his own music.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58THEY PLAY FAST-PACED ROCK 'N' ROLL
0:03:59 > 0:04:05But by the late 50s, British teenagers had other ideas of how to tinkle the ivories.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10Rock 'n' roll arrived and changed the world. It changed my world.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12# Well, come on over, baby
0:04:12 > 0:04:16# We got chicken in the barn, whose barn, what barn, my barn
0:04:16 > 0:04:20Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Ray Charles, Fats Domino came into play
0:04:20 > 0:04:22and so it was a whole new ball game.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25# Whole lot of shaking going on
0:04:25 > 0:04:28He hadn't been showing such enthusiasm for the last year, I should say.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32I didn't know that he'd formed his own band
0:04:32 > 0:04:38and that he had a quite different love of music from mine.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40# Shake
0:04:41 > 0:04:43# Shake
0:04:44 > 0:04:46# Shake, baby, shake, baby
0:04:46 > 0:04:50I formed a band at 15 called Bluesology with a couple of friends.
0:04:50 > 0:04:55I still didn't know what I wanted to do. I knew I wouldn't be a classical pianist. I didn't want to be.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58I just wanted to be in a band and play rock 'n' roll.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03Bluesology were a collection of like-minded lads
0:05:03 > 0:05:07from the Pinner and Northwood Hills area of Northwest London.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10# Getting tougher than tough
0:05:10 > 0:05:13# This thing's getting rougher than rough
0:05:15 > 0:05:21Reg was square compared with the other people that were in our band.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25Very short hair, little round glasses.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28He didn't look the part at all.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34We didn't see a great deal of him socially.
0:05:34 > 0:05:40But when he got down and played, everything else was just put aside.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43He was... He obviously had an immense talent.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55He could do anything. He could sit down with a stack of music
0:05:55 > 0:05:58and work his way through it, he could play rock 'n' roll,
0:05:58 > 0:06:00boogie-woogie, jazz, you name it.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04We couldn't have done what we did without him.
0:06:04 > 0:06:09Because of his musical knowledge, he was the person to knit it all together.
0:06:09 > 0:06:15I always got the impression that he wanted to progress his career
0:06:15 > 0:06:19probably more than other members of the band
0:06:19 > 0:06:23and this was just a stepping stone.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25By the age of 17, young Reg
0:06:25 > 0:06:30was set on his path as a musician and school had become something of a distraction.
0:06:30 > 0:06:35My headmaster at Pinner County was Mr Westgate-Smith. I was petrified of him.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39And I knocked on his door and I told him the story of why I wanted to leave and he said,
0:06:39 > 0:06:42"I know how much music means to you.
0:06:42 > 0:06:47"I give you my blessing but make sure you work hard at everything you do."
0:06:50 > 0:06:54Taking the lead, Reg set to work writing Bluesology's first single.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59I wasn't the lead singer but they didn't like the lead singer's voice so I had to sing
0:06:59 > 0:07:02which went down well with the lead singer.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05# Come back baby
0:07:05 > 0:07:09# Come back to me, yeah
0:07:09 > 0:07:11Now armed with their first seven-inch,
0:07:11 > 0:07:15the band's next step on the road to turning pro was to pay their dues
0:07:15 > 0:07:18backing R'n'B acts for the infamous Roy Tempest agency.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21Tempest had hit on the wonderful idea
0:07:21 > 0:07:29of importing acts into the UK whose careers were a little bit on the downward slop
0:07:29 > 0:07:32because they could get them cheap and by the time they got here
0:07:32 > 0:07:35they were in for two weeks of solid hard work.
0:07:35 > 0:07:40# I give you all I have baby
0:07:40 > 0:07:44# But when you leave my arms I know...
0:07:44 > 0:07:50These gigs turned out to be a master class in stage craft from the seasoned veterans.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53Patti LaBelle and Billy Stewart, Major Lance, The Ink Spots,
0:07:53 > 0:07:57they were all great. Major Lance. Billy Stewart,
0:07:57 > 0:08:02one of the greatest underrated R'n'B stars of all time, enormous big man.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04HE ROLLS HIS TOUNGUE
0:08:08 > 0:08:11- The way he carried himself and the way he sang... - HE ROLLS HIS TONGUE
0:08:11 > 0:08:14In the summertime. He was fantastic.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17# Summertime
0:08:18 > 0:08:21# And the living is easy
0:08:22 > 0:08:27It was that era of R'n'B where they all did the movements
0:08:27 > 0:08:32and they knew how to do a show, whether it was 30 minutes, 45 minutes, an hour or ten minutes,
0:08:32 > 0:08:35they knew how to get the audience. You just watched.
0:08:35 > 0:08:40# Get enough then I'm going to Hollywood
0:08:40 > 0:08:44Nothing's better for you than to go out and play live, even to 20 people.
0:08:44 > 0:08:49It gives you resolve, it hardens you up and it makes you a better songwriter,
0:08:49 > 0:08:52it gives you the experience, the backbone.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55# Well, you know the night time
0:08:55 > 0:08:57# Oh, the right time
0:08:57 > 0:09:00Having made a name for themselves as a backing band,
0:09:00 > 0:09:04Bluesology's next gig came from a little closer to home.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08We joined Long John Baldry. John was a blues singer
0:09:08 > 0:09:11so we were doing Della Reese and Nina Simone songs. Great.
0:09:11 > 0:09:15We're talking about Mr Long John Baldry!
0:09:15 > 0:09:18He was pretty well established on the blues scene, Baldry.
0:09:18 > 0:09:23And subsequently he had a big number one hit in 1967.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26A dreadful toe-curling record.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28Let The Heartaches Begin. HE LAUGHS
0:09:28 > 0:09:34# So let the heartaches begin
0:09:36 > 0:09:40Consequently, dates changed. We were playing in supper clubs and it was cabaret.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43And I was playing and I was getting more and more depressed
0:09:43 > 0:09:48and I thought, "This isn't the reason I wanted to play in a band, I hate this."
0:09:50 > 0:09:53There was one time we were playing in this club in London
0:09:53 > 0:09:57and Reg got so hacked off with it, we were in the middle of a song
0:09:57 > 0:10:02and all of a sudden you can hear this racket going on at the back.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06And I turned round and there's him just completely lost his bottle,
0:10:06 > 0:10:11tipped the organ up, he's fuming around, "I've had enough!"
0:10:11 > 0:10:15And Baldry's still trying to sing... # Let's the heartaches begin
0:10:17 > 0:10:19HE LAUGHS
0:10:20 > 0:10:24It was time to go then, yeah.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28If I don't go, I'm going to be stuck here or work in a record shop.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31There's no future in this.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33There's no future whatsoever.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37So I answered that infamous advert from Liberty Records in the NME
0:10:37 > 0:10:40wanting talent and songwriters.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52Another response to the talent-wanted ad came from a lonesome poet from Lincolnshire
0:10:52 > 0:10:55with aspirations of making it as a songwriter.
0:10:55 > 0:11:00# If you're travelling in the north country fair
0:11:00 > 0:11:04Bernie came down from Lincolnshire and he was this very young boy with long hair,
0:11:04 > 0:11:07very attractive, big reader,
0:11:07 > 0:11:09huge Dylan fan.
0:11:09 > 0:11:14He got me into Dylan far more than I was before.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17And we started writing together and it felt comfortable straight away.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20It was like a hand in a glove.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24I just remember that we were both very shy, you know?
0:11:24 > 0:11:30Being an only child, I think, gave him a certain way of being
0:11:30 > 0:11:35and for me, being a country kid in the big city,
0:11:35 > 0:11:41I was sort of out of my depth, so I think we were both swimming in deep water
0:11:41 > 0:11:46and basically trying to find something to hang onto and we found each other.
0:11:48 > 0:11:54Bunking at Reg's mum's house in Pinner, the new best friends settled into a daily routine.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57Commuting from the suburbs to swinging Soho.
0:11:57 > 0:12:02# I live on the corner of the 99th floor of my block
0:12:02 > 0:12:05Denmark Street, on any given day,
0:12:05 > 0:12:09you could see pretty much anybody going through there.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13So bands like The Kinks, The Stones, Donovan,
0:12:13 > 0:12:18they'd be doing publishing deals and recording demos, so there was all this activity going on.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22In contrast to this youthful scene, Reg and Bernie's destination
0:12:22 > 0:12:26was an apprenticeship in the old world music biz Mecca known as Tin Pan Alley.
0:12:26 > 0:12:32"London's Tin Pan Alley, birthplace of melodies which have kept Britain singing to good times and bad.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35"Just 60 yards of plate glass windows..."
0:12:35 > 0:12:39The pair were fixed up with a job as staff writers at the Beatles' veteran song publisher
0:12:39 > 0:12:41Dick James Music.
0:12:41 > 0:12:47It was a very old-school environment. Dick was a hard-line
0:12:47 > 0:12:49Jewish music-business man
0:12:49 > 0:12:55and he ran an office that was a little bit old-fashioned in a way.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57It was like the changing of the guard.
0:12:57 > 0:13:03It was so funny cos a lot of the guys that had these office cubicles within Dick James' office,
0:13:03 > 0:13:09they were like artefacts of the music hall days, you know?
0:13:09 > 0:13:14We'd hang out in the pubs and listen to all the old cronies talk about the good old days
0:13:14 > 0:13:18and have them point fingers at us and say, "You're not professionals!
0:13:18 > 0:13:22"You've got to be around for a long time to be called a professional!"
0:13:22 > 0:13:26And now, ladies and gentlemen, A Song For Europe.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29And tonight, song number four,
0:13:29 > 0:13:32written by Bernie Taupin and Elton John.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36Lulu sings I Can't Go On Living Without You.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40# I once said I could go on
0:13:40 > 0:13:42# Without your love
0:13:43 > 0:13:47# I would be strong but things have changed
0:13:47 > 0:13:50# And heavens above
0:13:51 > 0:13:53# I know that I need you
0:13:53 > 0:13:58Bernie and I started off as songwriters that wrote hits for other people and we were terrible.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01# I can't go on living without you
0:14:01 > 0:14:04# Oh, no, my love
0:14:04 > 0:14:08Reg and Bernie spent two fruitless years trying to churn out hits
0:14:08 > 0:14:11for popstars like Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14They never quite got it right.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17# Living without you, ohh
0:14:17 > 0:14:21Bernie and I had so many times where we felt like jacking it in.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24We would come back on the train to my parents' flat
0:14:24 > 0:14:30and we'd sit down with my mum and say, "Oh, no-one's covered our song, I think we'll chuck it in."
0:14:30 > 0:14:36She said, "You get paid every week. Go and work in the greengrocers, then. What would you rather do?"
0:14:37 > 0:14:42Since their partnership began, Reg and Bernie had been recording demos of their own songs
0:14:42 > 0:14:45for Reg to one day perform himself.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48Reg came into my office one day and said,
0:14:48 > 0:14:51"We've more or less laid down an album
0:14:51 > 0:14:56"and we're looking to release it on the DJM label."
0:14:56 > 0:15:00I said to him, "We can't put it out under the name Reg Dwight.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03"It's not a very awe-inspiring name."
0:15:03 > 0:15:10Simply combining the names of Long John Baldry and Elton Dean, the sax player in Bluesology,
0:15:10 > 0:15:12Reg came up with Elton John.
0:15:13 > 0:15:19# Fly away skyline pigeon fly
0:15:19 > 0:15:24Empty Sky was released in June 1969 but went largely unnoticed.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27Empty Sky did have a proper release
0:15:27 > 0:15:29and I'm sure review copies were sent around,
0:15:29 > 0:15:31but nobody paid any attention to it at all.
0:15:31 > 0:15:36And in musical terms, it was really not much more than demos.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40Reg's creation Elton John was still a work in progress.
0:15:41 > 0:15:46He's not really Marc Bolan, is he? That was my immediate thought.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48I thought, "He's a bit short and a big chubby
0:15:48 > 0:15:51"and I don't know whether he's got the wherewithal
0:15:51 > 0:15:55"to be an artiste."
0:15:56 > 0:15:59Taking all his musical experience,
0:15:59 > 0:16:01a batch of new and improved lyrics from Bernie
0:16:01 > 0:16:06and the production team behind David Bowie's hit Space Oddity,
0:16:06 > 0:16:09Elton was about to seize his moment.
0:16:11 > 0:16:16Elton told Gus and me explicitly and specifically,
0:16:16 > 0:16:20"You have carte blanche, we want you to do your own thing."
0:16:20 > 0:16:23Gus came in with my father and myself
0:16:23 > 0:16:25and asked for quite a high budget.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29And having heard the songs, wanted to orchestrate them.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32We were looking at a very high budget
0:16:32 > 0:16:35and we decided to take the gamble.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38ORCHESTRA PLAYS
0:16:44 > 0:16:49We were very careful to create a beautiful soundscape,
0:16:49 > 0:16:53knowing that it was going to sound really nice.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56Maybe lovely is a nice word.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02# Peering out of tiny eyes
0:17:02 > 0:17:05# The grubby hands that grip the rail
0:17:05 > 0:17:08# Wiped the window clean of frost
0:17:08 > 0:17:11# As the morning air
0:17:11 > 0:17:13# Laid on the latch
0:17:15 > 0:17:17It all went very smoothly.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20Dick James was overjoyed and we just got more and more excited
0:17:20 > 0:17:24as to the prospects of the success of this record.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30Here was Elton John reborn as the profound singer-songwriter,
0:17:30 > 0:17:33complete with orchestral arrangements, heartfelt lyrics
0:17:33 > 0:17:36and now the look to carry it all off.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38# I have been removed
0:17:38 > 0:17:42Singer-songwriters at the time were fairly moody characters
0:17:42 > 0:17:46and Elton seemed like quite a shy little fellow when you met him.
0:17:46 > 0:17:55And Bernie's words were very much in this singer-songwriter mould at the time, so that suited him.
0:17:55 > 0:18:00I was on the undercurrent. I hadn't had a chart success but I was on the verge.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03# Been removed
0:18:04 > 0:18:10We got some airplay. I don't remember it breaking into the top 30.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12And we, to be blunt, were struggling.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16# I have been deceived
0:18:16 > 0:18:18The Elton John album wasn't selling in Britain,
0:18:18 > 0:18:21so desperate to secure any return on his investment,
0:18:21 > 0:18:25Dick James hawked the record to his contacts across the pond.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29In the post comes this Elton John album.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32So I take it out and I put it on my turntable
0:18:32 > 0:18:35and I listen to this great album
0:18:35 > 0:18:38and I said, "Thank you, God! This is incredible!"
0:18:38 > 0:18:44It was one of the greatest...pieces of music I'd ever heard in my life!
0:18:44 > 0:18:48# He's my brother
0:18:48 > 0:18:50# Let us live in peace
0:18:50 > 0:18:53So then I said, "We have to bring him to America
0:18:53 > 0:18:56"and break him here in America."
0:19:02 > 0:19:07This enthusiasm from the Americans was enough to persuade Dick James
0:19:07 > 0:19:09to fund one last attempt to launch Elton
0:19:09 > 0:19:12by sending him and his band to LA.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15Dick sent them over there
0:19:15 > 0:19:18and it basically was sink or swim.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22This was the last... This was it.
0:19:22 > 0:19:27Touching down in Los Angeles was the stuff of dreams for Elton and Bernie
0:19:27 > 0:19:31and a far cry from their shared bedroom in the London suburbs.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35I was just interested in going because it was America.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38I'd always wanted to come here. It was a dream.
0:19:39 > 0:19:45The band were met by a welcoming party intent on presenting Elton as someone who was already a star.
0:19:45 > 0:19:49We were driving from the airport down the freeway
0:19:49 > 0:19:54and then we got to the Sunset Strip and it was like being on parade.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58It was just unbelievable. The California sunshine
0:19:58 > 0:20:01and pretty girls all over the place. It was amazing.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08There was still a transition from the 60s going on.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12There was still the singer-songwriter era
0:20:12 > 0:20:16and flower power and that whole summer of love and all that stuff.
0:20:16 > 0:20:21It started in LA. So he came into a very vibrant scene.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30The US label men made sure the great and the good of LA's music scene
0:20:30 > 0:20:34were assembled for Elton's week-long stint at the Troubadour Club.
0:20:34 > 0:20:40It was brilliant that Russ Regan, the head of UNI Records, put him in this club rather than The Whisky
0:20:40 > 0:20:42cos the rock acts were playing The Whisky.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46This was the songwriters' club. This was where you sat every week
0:20:46 > 0:20:50and you saw Joni Mitchell and James Taylor and Tim Hardin and those guys.
0:20:50 > 0:20:55So he was putting Elton John in that company.
0:20:55 > 0:20:59# Senorita play guitar
0:20:59 > 0:21:02# Plays it just for you
0:21:02 > 0:21:06# My rosary has broken...
0:21:07 > 0:21:09Elton fitted right in at the Troubadour
0:21:09 > 0:21:14but had a lot more to offer thanks to his apprenticeship in rock 'n' roll and rhythm and blues.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17All of a sudden, he jumps up from the piano,
0:21:17 > 0:21:23he kicks the thing and I go, you're always relating to things, "This is Jerry Lee Lewis!"
0:21:24 > 0:21:27I was having a ball. And we rocked. Had a great three-piece band
0:21:27 > 0:21:31and I came out and did 60 Years On, but it wasn't really like the record,
0:21:31 > 0:21:33it was more like an extended jam version.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36# 60 years on
0:21:36 > 0:21:42He had terrific songs of a wide range. He was not copying what other people were doing.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45So by the end of the evening, the place was a buzz!
0:21:45 > 0:21:47It was like, "Can you believe what you just saw?"
0:21:47 > 0:21:51And I couldn't wait to run to the typewriter and write.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54That one night and that one review saved me a year's work.
0:21:54 > 0:21:59I mean, there was no internet, but it flew, word of mouth.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02# Burn down the mission
0:22:02 > 0:22:07Overnight, Elton had gone from the last chance saloon to the talk of the town.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09It was so exciting for us.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13We could see in the audience these people. Steve Stills was there.
0:22:13 > 0:22:18Some of the Three Dog Night guys were there. I think even Diana Ross was there.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20Hey, Leon!
0:22:21 > 0:22:28Also in the crowd was the songwriter and piano man of the times that Elton admired the most.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32The second night at the Troubadour, I was halfway through Burn Down The Mission
0:22:32 > 0:22:35and then I saw Leon in the second row,
0:22:35 > 0:22:39the long grey hair and the aviator glasses, and I totally froze
0:22:39 > 0:22:46because he was, at that particular time in my life, he was my idol. Without question.
0:22:47 > 0:22:53# Please don't ask how many times I found you
0:22:54 > 0:22:57Leon Russell was a cult figure on the American music scene,
0:22:57 > 0:23:00a sought-after session man and songwriter.
0:23:00 > 0:23:05I was petrified meeting him afterwards cos I thought he was going to tie me to a chair and say,
0:23:05 > 0:23:09"This is how to play". And, of course, he embraced me and was very complimentary.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12He was quite a beautiful soul singer,
0:23:12 > 0:23:17had a huge blues awareness that I found interesting.
0:23:17 > 0:23:19I thought my career was over
0:23:19 > 0:23:23cos he was a lot more active, a lot more showmanship.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26So I figured I'd had it.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29That's what I was getting in those early shows at the Troubadour,
0:23:29 > 0:23:34musicians that I respected coming up to me and saying, "This is really great".
0:23:34 > 0:23:39So I knew I was doing the right thing. And my music at that point was more American anyway.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41APPLAUSE
0:23:41 > 0:23:45Ladies and gentlemen, a few months ago, a young man came over from England
0:23:45 > 0:23:47and he shot right to the top of the pop music field.
0:23:47 > 0:23:52His first album is hit, his first single is a hit
0:23:52 > 0:23:54- and I hate him. - LAUGHTER
0:23:54 > 0:23:58- No, I really like him. I mean, I really like him. - LAUGHTER
0:23:58 > 0:24:03Elton didn't fight his way in, he just exploded into the charts. There was a door waiting for him.
0:24:03 > 0:24:08The 60s were winding down and you didn't know what the 70s were going to be, you know?
0:24:08 > 0:24:13The Beatles are breaking up, right? Was rock 'n' roll over? Where was it going to go?
0:24:13 > 0:24:15# It's a little bit funny
0:24:17 > 0:24:20# This feeling inside
0:24:21 > 0:24:24# I'm not one of those who can
0:24:24 > 0:24:27# Easily hide
0:24:28 > 0:24:32# I don't have much money but...
0:24:32 > 0:24:37Your Song was just one of those songs that came at a time when people were reaching for something that felt real
0:24:37 > 0:24:42and Your Song was such a sweet song, it was like expressing love
0:24:42 > 0:24:45with the inarticulateness of young people.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48# So excuse me forgetting
0:24:49 > 0:24:52# But these things I do
0:24:52 > 0:24:56# You see, I've forgotten
0:24:56 > 0:25:00# If they're green or they're blue
0:25:01 > 0:25:02# Anyway, the thing is
0:25:03 > 0:25:08It was written out of pure innocence. I mean, when you listen to the lyric of that song,
0:25:08 > 0:25:13you can tell that it's written by somebody who's very naive and very young and I was.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17I mean, I was 17 years old, never been kissed.
0:25:17 > 0:25:22Well, I don't know about that, but pretty much.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27# And you can tell everybody
0:25:28 > 0:25:30# This is your song
0:25:32 > 0:25:35With Your Song, Elton and Bernie finally found their voice
0:25:35 > 0:25:38and back home it became their first top-ten hit.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42"Elton John, a remarkable man from the world of pop
0:25:42 > 0:25:46"who some would claim to be Britain's newest musical superstar."
0:25:46 > 0:25:52The boys who'd shared a room and a dream of becoming famous songwriters returned home men
0:25:52 > 0:25:55where they were now being compared to their heroes.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59"Songs like 60 Years On are prompting American as well as British critics
0:25:59 > 0:26:02"to suggest that Elton John and his partner Bernie Taupin
0:26:02 > 0:26:07"could well be the most inventive and original team of songwriters since Lennon and McCartney."
0:26:07 > 0:26:10# How wonderful life is
0:26:10 > 0:26:14# While you're in the world
0:26:14 > 0:26:19Elton, once the shy and retiring songwriter, now had a new air of confidence.
0:26:20 > 0:26:25When it happened, it happened so fast and I was surprised myself
0:26:25 > 0:26:29at how he suddenly took off and became this other person.
0:26:33 > 0:26:38I happened to be, it must have been about 1970, 1971,
0:26:38 > 0:26:41and I was watching TV
0:26:41 > 0:26:45and they introduced him as Mr Elton John
0:26:45 > 0:26:49and I didn't take... Then I peered at the television set
0:26:49 > 0:26:53and I thought, "That's not Elton John, that's Reg Dwight".
0:26:53 > 0:26:57# Well, my baby left me and never said a thing...
0:27:01 > 0:27:04There was now little of the old Reg Dwight on show
0:27:04 > 0:27:07and Elton's stage presence had also grown.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12I always say I was a bit like the Jimi Hendrix of the piano
0:27:12 > 0:27:18because I was just... I had freedom. I could do exactly what I wanted. I couldn't throw it in the air,
0:27:18 > 0:27:22play it behind my back, but I could certainly fly on it and do handstands on it.
0:27:24 > 0:27:25# All right
0:27:27 > 0:27:32He loved all that early success and it was just so much more fun
0:27:32 > 0:27:36and he was having a good time and he was making a few bob.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39And there's nothing like a bit of success, is there? You know?
0:27:39 > 0:27:43It's a pretty good drug. HE LAUGHS
0:27:45 > 0:27:51When he became Elton John, he was rebelling against everything he wasn't allowed to do as a child.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55So it was like he was escaping this repression
0:27:55 > 0:27:58that was forced upon him when he was younger.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00Thank you.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03By this time, he had come out.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06Not publically but to himself.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09So that made him more comfortable in his own skin.
0:28:09 > 0:28:16And by this time he had met John Reid and they were a pretty formidable team.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18They were out to conquer the world.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24John Reid, a precocious young record label exec,
0:28:24 > 0:28:29became Elton's partner and manager through the most prolific period of his career.
0:28:29 > 0:28:35Alongside constant touring, Elton would release seven albums in the next three years.
0:28:35 > 0:28:37I look back on it now and I think
0:28:37 > 0:28:42it's a lot of young adrenaline and you only have that adrenaline for a certain part of your career.
0:28:42 > 0:28:47But the most important thing was that we had to do, under contract, two records a year.
0:28:47 > 0:28:52The follow-up to the Elton John LP was already finished and ready to release.
0:28:56 > 0:29:02Tumbleweed Connection, born out of Elton and Bernie's shared love for all things American,
0:29:02 > 0:29:05seemed perfect for their new audience stateside.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11# I pulled down the Stage Coach Times
0:29:11 > 0:29:14# And I read the latest news
0:29:14 > 0:29:19I don't know if we knew when we started doing the Tumbleweed album
0:29:19 > 0:29:24that it was going to be such a conceptualised Americana piece.
0:29:24 > 0:29:29That album was recorded before we even went to the States.
0:29:29 > 0:29:36Bernie's inspiration for this ode to America came from a childhood spent dreaming of the promise land,
0:29:36 > 0:29:40a world of wide-open spaces and saloon-bar shoot-outs.
0:29:42 > 0:29:44GUNSHOTS
0:29:44 > 0:29:46# I won't run
0:29:47 > 0:29:50# I'm tired of hearing
0:29:52 > 0:29:57# There goes a well-known gun
0:29:57 > 0:30:01He was someone who was destined to become American.
0:30:01 > 0:30:04Even though he lived in Owmby by Spital in Lincolnshire.
0:30:04 > 0:30:11From the day I met him, he was obsessed with Americana, the Wild West, Marty Robbins,
0:30:11 > 0:30:14and, to be honest, he's never changed.
0:30:14 > 0:30:20# And it's good old country comfort in my bones
0:30:22 > 0:30:27# Just the sweetest sound my ears have ever known
0:30:28 > 0:30:31Bernie's lyrics were straight out of the Wild West
0:30:31 > 0:30:35and were complimented by Elton's bluesy southern-rock style.
0:30:36 > 0:30:40The music was so different. It was a combination...
0:30:40 > 0:30:47He locked into that southern thing and the rock thing, the soul thing.
0:30:47 > 0:30:52But he put his own unique take on all that music.
0:30:52 > 0:30:57# Just the sweetest sound my ears have ever known
0:30:59 > 0:31:04Gospel and soul and country, basically, that's my favourite kind of music.
0:31:04 > 0:31:08American music that embraces all those three, like Elvis Presley did.
0:31:08 > 0:31:12He came from R'n'B, gospel and country. You fuse those together
0:31:12 > 0:31:15and you've got a pretty soulful combination.
0:31:15 > 0:31:18# Yes, it is, country comfort
0:31:18 > 0:31:21# In a truck that's going back home
0:31:21 > 0:31:23# Yes, it is
0:31:23 > 0:31:28# Country comfort in that truck that's going back home
0:31:28 > 0:31:31If Tumbleweed Connection was their American dream,
0:31:31 > 0:31:35the next album became a document of their new reality
0:31:35 > 0:31:37as Elton and his band took to the road.
0:31:41 > 0:31:45The next song is about travelling in America.
0:31:45 > 0:31:48# Boston at last
0:31:48 > 0:31:51# And the plane's touching down
0:31:54 > 0:31:56# Our hostess...
0:31:56 > 0:32:02Being on the road was wonderful. He was very well received whatever city we went to.
0:32:02 > 0:32:05The press were really smitten with Elton John.
0:32:05 > 0:32:09So it was a very, very happy time.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12# It's a ten-minute ride
0:32:12 > 0:32:14# To the Holiday Inn
0:32:18 > 0:32:23# Boredom's a pastime that one soon acquires
0:32:25 > 0:32:30# Where you get the stage where you're not even tired
0:32:30 > 0:32:36We were always in the studio or on the road and it just got bigger and bigger and bigger.
0:32:36 > 0:32:39When we were coming over and doing these tours,
0:32:39 > 0:32:44I was always regarded as part of the band, only I just didn't perform.
0:32:44 > 0:32:47HE LAUGHS I was just a hanger-on, man.
0:32:47 > 0:32:49I don't know. I was sort of a groupie, I guess.
0:32:51 > 0:32:53# Slow down, Joe
0:32:53 > 0:32:56# I'm a rock 'n' roll man
0:33:00 > 0:33:06It was such a whirlwind that I don't remember ever having time to breathe.
0:33:06 > 0:33:08It was just an extraordinary time.
0:33:08 > 0:33:15Elton became part of a scene that found him rubbing shoulders with many of his rock 'n' roll heroes.
0:33:15 > 0:33:17You go to a party on the Sunset Strip
0:33:17 > 0:33:22and I go into the party and it's Bob Dylan singing on the piano.
0:33:22 > 0:33:24All the English bands were coming into town
0:33:24 > 0:33:27so there's just energy.
0:33:27 > 0:33:31On my second trip, Bernie and I went with Danny Hutton to meet Brian Wilson.
0:33:31 > 0:33:38So you can imagine! We met Dylan and he said, "I really like that song Ballad Of A Well-Known Gun".
0:33:38 > 0:33:40We were like... We couldn't hardly speak.
0:33:40 > 0:33:45You have to realise that I was meeting, within a period of two months,
0:33:45 > 0:33:49some of the greatest names in the world and it was joyous.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53Ever the fan, Elton was in his element
0:33:53 > 0:33:58and new friends also brought his first taste of the decadent rock star lifestyle.
0:34:00 > 0:34:03I'd become friends with Danny Hutton, who was in Three Dog Night,
0:34:03 > 0:34:08and I went up to his house in Laurel Canyon with his girlfriend June
0:34:08 > 0:34:12and had dinner with him and Van Dyke Parts.
0:34:12 > 0:34:15# This is the craziest party there could ever be
0:34:15 > 0:34:19It was like a little funky Laurel Canyon house with a great vibe
0:34:19 > 0:34:23and Elton played piano all night.
0:34:23 > 0:34:26I left at 7:30 in the morning and I thought,
0:34:26 > 0:34:30"I've never stayed up till 7:30 in the morning but I feel really good"
0:34:30 > 0:34:33and I drove back to the Sunset Hyatt House in my rented car.
0:34:33 > 0:34:36And years later, Danny said, "Well, we put cocaine in your food".
0:34:36 > 0:34:39# Mama told me not to come
0:34:40 > 0:34:43- HE LAUGHS - We all indulged
0:34:43 > 0:34:46and he was just part of indulging with us.
0:34:46 > 0:34:49I might have forgot to tell him.
0:34:50 > 0:34:52# That ain't the way to have fun
0:34:52 > 0:34:58It was a free-wheeling wonderful time, you know?
0:34:58 > 0:35:02- I think it certainly didn't hurt him. - HE LAUGHS
0:35:02 > 0:35:06He went on to be quite successful.
0:35:06 > 0:35:10# We've moved on six miles
0:35:10 > 0:35:13Despite Elton making new friends in high places,
0:35:13 > 0:35:15his true companion remained by his side,
0:35:15 > 0:35:18taking everything in as they toured the States.
0:35:19 > 0:35:22I think Elton was a lot more ambitious than I was.
0:35:22 > 0:35:27I was just riding along on the back of the saddle.
0:35:27 > 0:35:31I was definitely the Tonto, you know?
0:35:31 > 0:35:33He may have felt like the sidekick,
0:35:33 > 0:35:36but new experiences fuelled Bernie's writing,
0:35:36 > 0:35:40ensuring a healthy flow of lyrics for Elton to turn into songs.
0:35:40 > 0:35:42The songwriting thing is very 50/50.
0:35:42 > 0:35:47I mean, he's the artist, but you have to remember, he's singing my thoughts.
0:35:47 > 0:35:51I love getting the lyrics from Bernie. I love seeing what he comes up with.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54I love going into the room and creating something musical
0:35:54 > 0:35:58to his imagination. I've never gotten tired of that.
0:35:58 > 0:36:03I just sift through them. There's one here that I've done the other day called Tiny Dancer,
0:36:03 > 0:36:06which is about Bernie's girlfriend.
0:36:06 > 0:36:09Look at the words, "Blue jean baby, LA lady,
0:36:09 > 0:36:12"seamstress of the band, pretty eyed, pirate smile,
0:36:12 > 0:36:14"you'll marry a music man, ballerina..."
0:36:14 > 0:36:18When you get to the word ballerina, you know it's not going to be fast.
0:36:18 > 0:36:20It's got to be gentle and quite slow.
0:36:20 > 0:36:24They were so different in terms of a songwriting partnership
0:36:24 > 0:36:28cos they never actually sat down together.
0:36:28 > 0:36:32Lennon and McCartney sat down around a piano or guitar
0:36:32 > 0:36:34and worked stuff out together.
0:36:34 > 0:36:36Extraordinary when you think about it.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39We've been together for 43 years now, Bernie and I,
0:36:39 > 0:36:42and still haven't written a song in the same room.
0:36:42 > 0:36:45# Blue jean baby
0:36:46 > 0:36:49# LA lady
0:36:49 > 0:36:53# Seamstress for the band
0:36:56 > 0:36:59I think there was a substance to him. He was a terrific songwriter
0:36:59 > 0:37:07and Elton could take that song and put it together in a way that just made it seem irresistible.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12# Ballerina
0:37:12 > 0:37:14# You must have seen her
0:37:16 > 0:37:19# Dancing in the sand
0:37:22 > 0:37:25We've never had an argument over a song and that's to his credit
0:37:25 > 0:37:30cos there must have been instances where I've written melodies to his song that didn't go.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33I don't tread on his toes and he doesn't tread on mine.
0:37:33 > 0:37:37And it's a matter of trust and love. The love we have for each other and a respect.
0:37:37 > 0:37:41And if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
0:37:41 > 0:37:45# Hold me closer, tiny dancer
0:37:47 > 0:37:51# Count the headlights on the highway
0:37:53 > 0:37:57# Lay me down in sheets of linen
0:37:59 > 0:38:04# You had a busy day today
0:38:04 > 0:38:05# Oh, oh, oh
0:38:05 > 0:38:08Elton and Bernie had mastered the art of the rock ballad.
0:38:08 > 0:38:14But in late 1971, there weren't many sensitive singer-songwriters on Top Of The Pops.
0:38:17 > 0:38:20Here is the only group to have two number ones last year.
0:38:20 > 0:38:24You saw them singing on Christmas Day and here's the other one, T-Rex and Get It On.
0:38:24 > 0:38:27APPLAUSE
0:38:30 > 0:38:33While Elton was across the water,
0:38:33 > 0:38:40back in the UK, Marc Bolan had paved the way for a new kind of garish glittering glam rock.
0:38:40 > 0:38:46# You're dirty sweet, clad in black, don't look back, I love you
0:38:46 > 0:38:48# You're dirty sweet and you're my girl
0:38:48 > 0:38:53And Elton had his own glam side just itching to get out.
0:38:53 > 0:38:55# Bang a gong, get it on
0:38:55 > 0:38:58# Wahh
0:38:58 > 0:39:04After Tumbleweed and Madman, we went in a whole different direction
0:39:04 > 0:39:09and suddenly overnight we went from being these American FM darlings of folk rock
0:39:09 > 0:39:13suddenly morphed into this other character.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16Elton basically became a popstar.
0:39:17 > 0:39:21# And I think it's gonna be a long long time
0:39:21 > 0:39:24# Till touchdown brings me round again to find
0:39:24 > 0:39:27# I'm not the man they think I am at home
0:39:27 > 0:39:30# Oh, no, no, no
0:39:30 > 0:39:32# I'm a rocket man
0:39:34 > 0:39:39# Rocket man, burning up the fuse up here alone
0:39:42 > 0:39:46Rocket Man was the first big pop single.
0:39:46 > 0:39:49Up to then I'd had Your Song
0:39:49 > 0:39:52and Levon and Tiny Dancer weren't big hits at all.
0:39:52 > 0:39:56So, yeah, that changed everything.
0:39:56 > 0:39:58# Oh, no, no, no
0:39:58 > 0:40:01# I'm a rocket man
0:40:01 > 0:40:06He loved it. He loved it. He had money to spend.
0:40:06 > 0:40:11You see his wardrobe started to become more embellished.
0:40:11 > 0:40:17Oh, no, he took it all in his stride, this is what he wanted. He always wanted to be a star.
0:40:18 > 0:40:23He went from here to here very quickly but he became very flamboyant also.
0:40:23 > 0:40:26All of a sudden, he became this wild and crazy character.
0:40:26 > 0:40:31I think that's what really took him to the superstar area.
0:40:31 > 0:40:34# I remember when rock was young
0:40:34 > 0:40:37# Me and Suzie had so much fun
0:40:37 > 0:40:40# Holding hands and skimming stones
0:40:40 > 0:40:43# Had an old gold Chevy and a place of my own
0:40:43 > 0:40:45I thought he suddenly jumped out of his skin
0:40:45 > 0:40:50and became a giant show business character. He was larger than life.
0:40:50 > 0:40:55And some of the clothes he wore were unbelievably funny.
0:40:57 > 0:41:03- This...is probably the most outlandish one. - HE LAUGHS
0:41:04 > 0:41:07# La-la-la-la-la
0:41:07 > 0:41:11I felt that I could have carte blanche to do what I want and I did.
0:41:12 > 0:41:16I took Legs Larry Smith on tour. Larry would come and tap dance
0:41:16 > 0:41:18wearing a crash helmet with a wedding couple on
0:41:18 > 0:41:24and then we'd use midgets, we had a band of midgets dancing with us. We did all sorts of potty things.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27People would come and think, "What's he going to do now?"
0:41:27 > 0:41:29Elton was having fun.
0:41:29 > 0:41:33The fancy dress and rock 'n' roll pastiche of Crocodile Rock
0:41:33 > 0:41:37were a far cry from the sombre songwriter he appeared to be back in '69.
0:41:37 > 0:41:40And it wasn't to everyone's taste.
0:41:40 > 0:41:44I shook my head and rolled my eyes and thought...
0:41:44 > 0:41:50I don't know if I thought maybe he'll grow out of this. He'll move on. Yeah, it was ridiculous.
0:41:50 > 0:41:54I mean, you don't sing Your Song in a Donald Duck outfit in Central Park.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57It's beyond awful.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00But nobody was really going to tell him no at the time.
0:42:00 > 0:42:06People say, "If you sing something like Your Song, you shouldn't wear this." Fuck off, why not?
0:42:06 > 0:42:09And I think then you become a law unto yourself
0:42:09 > 0:42:12and you say, "There's nothing I can't do or can't get away with."
0:42:18 > 0:42:22When he took off, it was at the same time that
0:42:22 > 0:42:25the music business as a whole was taking off. It was like a rocket.
0:42:25 > 0:42:28Whoosh. Everything was getting bigger.
0:42:28 > 0:42:35More and more money was being made by everybody and nothing was denied you.
0:42:35 > 0:42:40By this time, Elton had become Elton, you know? Spend a lot.
0:42:40 > 0:42:45So everything backstage was always palm trees and God knows what else.
0:42:45 > 0:42:47Lavish.
0:42:47 > 0:42:50# Hey kids, shake it loose together
0:42:50 > 0:42:52# The spotlight's hitting something
0:42:52 > 0:42:55# That's been known to change the weather
0:42:55 > 0:42:58We had this one private plane called the Starship.
0:42:58 > 0:43:01It had a sitting room with a fireplace in it
0:43:01 > 0:43:04and it had a bar on it with an organ.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07Elizabeth Taylor was on there one time.
0:43:07 > 0:43:10Elton was in the back resting.
0:43:10 > 0:43:14That's him in his bedroom in the plane.
0:43:14 > 0:43:19You can see how big the bed is. It took the whole back of the plane.
0:43:19 > 0:43:22And somebody started playing the organ.
0:43:22 > 0:43:25And he shouts out, "Shut that racket up!"
0:43:25 > 0:43:28And he came out and it was Stevie Wonder playing the organ.
0:43:28 > 0:43:30- HE LAUGHS - On our jet.
0:43:31 > 0:43:34It's just insane.
0:43:36 > 0:43:39# B-B-B-Bennie and the Jets
0:43:39 > 0:43:43If you talk about the private planes and the touring parties
0:43:43 > 0:43:48and everybody having their own limousine and their own security,
0:43:48 > 0:43:51yeah, we did all that, but undoubtedly at some point you're going to go,
0:43:51 > 0:43:55"Where do you go from here? I mean, where do you go from here?"
0:43:55 > 0:44:00"In the space of four frenetic years, he has come from total obscurity
0:44:00 > 0:44:04"to three Rolls Royces in the garage of a house named Hercules.
0:44:04 > 0:44:08"Four years, six million records and then they stopped counting.
0:44:08 > 0:44:11"Four years of moving relentlessly across the Never Never Land
0:44:11 > 0:44:14"of sudden wealth, instant failure
0:44:14 > 0:44:17"on a train that never stops except to throw people off."
0:44:21 > 0:44:25At the height of his powers, every night was Saturday night for Elton
0:44:25 > 0:44:29and there was no let up from the relentless live shows.
0:44:31 > 0:44:34Right, I want all you to sing along with me. Come on.
0:44:34 > 0:44:38# Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday
0:44:39 > 0:44:43Problems do come later on when you've had a bit of success for a long while
0:44:43 > 0:44:48and then all of a sudden you get used and you get tired, because it's a bit of a treadmill.
0:44:48 > 0:44:52I want you to sing really loudly, 80,000 of you,
0:44:52 > 0:44:55and we'll make as much noise as we can on stage. Come on, now.
0:44:55 > 0:44:58After four. One, two, three...
0:44:58 > 0:45:00CROWD: # Saturday, Saturday
0:45:00 > 0:45:08There was a price. The price, although I had a house and I bought art, I learnt all about art,
0:45:08 > 0:45:11God knows when I slept, but it didn't take a toll at all
0:45:11 > 0:45:14until I started maybe dabbling with drugs.
0:45:14 > 0:45:18And I didn't really start dabbling with drugs seriously until '73, '74.
0:45:19 > 0:45:22The cocaine crept in.
0:45:22 > 0:45:28I was quite surprised at how quickly it came to be a part of the landscape.
0:45:32 > 0:45:34Whoo!
0:45:34 > 0:45:37When you become that big that fast,
0:45:37 > 0:45:41you stop listening to criticism and you stop listening to the people
0:45:41 > 0:45:45who may have been around you at the beginning who could tell it to you straight.
0:45:45 > 0:45:47And that's when you start to lose your friends.
0:45:50 > 0:45:54In April 1975, Elton sacked the bassist
0:45:54 > 0:45:57and drummer who had backed him since the beginning.
0:46:00 > 0:46:04"It was a rage of egomania. Elton has come to believe his press clippings.
0:46:04 > 0:46:07"He's convinced he's the most powerful...
0:46:07 > 0:46:11"..and almighty...performer in the history of rock.
0:46:11 > 0:46:13"He feels he doesn't need anybody."
0:46:15 > 0:46:21CROWD: We want Elton! We want Elton!
0:46:21 > 0:46:25A few months later, complete with new band,
0:46:25 > 0:46:28Elton returned to play the city that made him a star
0:46:28 > 0:46:30and received the full Hollywood welcome.
0:46:30 > 0:46:34I now want to present a proclamation
0:46:34 > 0:46:38which declares this week Elton John Week!
0:46:38 > 0:46:41The venue he'd sold out for two nights that week
0:46:41 > 0:46:46was a far cry from the cosy Troubadour Club he'd played five years earlier.
0:46:51 > 0:46:55John Reid told me, "I've got to get over to LA to shoot this gig
0:46:55 > 0:46:59"cos it's the biggest outdoor gig ever."
0:46:59 > 0:47:04The first time they'd reopened Dodger Stadium
0:47:04 > 0:47:09to be used for rock concerts since 1966 when they'd shut it down
0:47:09 > 0:47:14at a Beatles concert. So this is a historic event for Los Angeles.
0:47:14 > 0:47:16I mean, everybody you can think of just showed up.
0:47:16 > 0:47:20Cary Grant's walking around backstage with his grandson.
0:47:20 > 0:47:23- It was like, "Whoa!" - HE LAUGHS
0:47:23 > 0:47:27Every celebrity under the sun was there. It was just off the chart.
0:47:28 > 0:47:31There was a carnival atmosphere in the Elton camp.
0:47:31 > 0:47:34The star himself was putting on a brave face
0:47:34 > 0:47:38but underneath, his personal life and particularly his relationship
0:47:38 > 0:47:41with his manager and partner John Reid was in turmoil.
0:47:41 > 0:47:45It's very hard to maintain a lifestyle when you travel so much,
0:47:45 > 0:47:48where you're away from people so much.
0:47:48 > 0:47:50You take hostages, you take them on the road with you
0:47:50 > 0:47:54and then they hate you and it all ends in tears.
0:47:54 > 0:47:57And any relationship that you bring drugs and drink into,
0:47:57 > 0:48:01drugs especially, is doomed to failure.
0:48:05 > 0:48:10There was media coming around and wanting to do interviews with him and cameras and fans lined up
0:48:10 > 0:48:14and there was a trailer and he went there by himself
0:48:14 > 0:48:17and sat in that trailer rather than talk to people
0:48:17 > 0:48:19and shake hands with people and that stuff.
0:48:20 > 0:48:24I thought he was handling it all really well, but beneath that,
0:48:24 > 0:48:27he didn't realise the darker side of what was happening.
0:48:31 > 0:48:34You run away with this thing and enjoy life.
0:48:34 > 0:48:37I don't stop touring or making records.
0:48:37 > 0:48:41But then, at the end of the day, what have you got in your life? You go home to an empty house.
0:48:41 > 0:48:46You go home to your empty house so you get a lot of people down and you do drugs.
0:48:46 > 0:48:50Is that fun? Not after a while, it isn't, no.
0:48:52 > 0:48:56The night before the show, as his family and friends were gathered at his LA home,
0:48:56 > 0:49:01Elton attempted suicide, taking an overdose of pills.
0:49:06 > 0:49:10We didn't know. We were up all night... I mean, everybody...
0:49:10 > 0:49:15It was a very emotional time. And his mum and his grandma were over there at the time,
0:49:15 > 0:49:19he'd brought them over to see this gig.
0:49:19 > 0:49:21That was a touch and go time.
0:49:26 > 0:49:29He never showed it on stage.
0:49:29 > 0:49:33You know that expression "the show must go on"? He did it.
0:49:33 > 0:49:37He got on stage, you would never have known he was depressed or anything.
0:49:38 > 0:49:41It was a wonderful performance.
0:49:41 > 0:49:44- CHEERING AND APPLAUSE - How are you, all right?
0:49:44 > 0:49:47# What do you think you'll do then
0:49:47 > 0:49:50# I bet they shoot down your plane
0:49:50 > 0:49:55# It'll take you a couple of tequila sunrises
0:49:55 > 0:49:58# To set you on your feet again
0:49:58 > 0:50:02# You know you can't hold me forever
0:50:02 > 0:50:05# I didn't sign up with you
0:50:06 > 0:50:10# I'm not a present for your friends to open
0:50:10 > 0:50:14# This boy's too young to be singing
0:50:14 > 0:50:18# The blues
0:50:18 > 0:50:22# Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
0:50:22 > 0:50:28The parallel highs and lows of 1975 marked the end of an era for the 28-year-old Elton.
0:50:28 > 0:50:32In just five years, he'd gone from shy and retiring Reg
0:50:32 > 0:50:36to the Rocket Man, the biggest popstar in the world.
0:50:38 > 0:50:42Elton would never quite match the creative streak of those first five years
0:50:42 > 0:50:45but he and Bernie could still write a hit.
0:50:45 > 0:50:47# Don't go breaking my heart
0:50:49 > 0:50:52# I couldn't if I tried
0:50:52 > 0:50:561976 brought them their first ever UK number one.
0:50:56 > 0:50:59# Baby, you're not that kind
0:51:01 > 0:51:05I'm certainly proud of our back catalogue. We made a lot of crap, too.
0:51:05 > 0:51:10You know, there are things that I find that are sort of fluff in our can,
0:51:10 > 0:51:12things like Don't Go Breaking My Heart.
0:51:12 > 0:51:15But they all served a purpose at the time.
0:51:15 > 0:51:18But do I sit around listening to them? No.
0:51:18 > 0:51:19# Whoo-hoo
0:51:20 > 0:51:23# Nobody knows it
0:51:23 > 0:51:27I think, at that time, he did lose sight of his own talent and his own energy,
0:51:27 > 0:51:32cos the energy was fuelled by drugs and it's a different energy.
0:51:32 > 0:51:36It's not your energy any more, it's substance energy.
0:51:42 > 0:51:46I took a lot of coke and I still worked. I didn't stay at home taking coke.
0:51:46 > 0:51:50I still went out there and played and made records.
0:51:50 > 0:51:54I wasn't on drugs all the time but there were certainly records I made where I was on drugs.
0:51:54 > 0:51:58I wrote on drugs. And you think what you write is much better than it is.
0:51:58 > 0:52:00# Well, look at me, I'm coming back again
0:52:00 > 0:52:02# I got a taste of love...
0:52:02 > 0:52:08The hits were more occasional now but the go-getting 80s suited Elton's new image as a survivor.
0:52:08 > 0:52:10# Don't you know I'm still standing
0:52:10 > 0:52:15In 1984, Elton took his team, Watford FC, to the cup final.
0:52:15 > 0:52:19And surprised many by getting married to Renata Blauel,
0:52:19 > 0:52:23a German sound engineer he'd met the previous year.
0:52:23 > 0:52:26Having come out as bisexual in the 70s,
0:52:26 > 0:52:29Elton was no stranger to speculation about his sexuality
0:52:29 > 0:52:34and by 1987 he became the tabloids' number one target.
0:52:34 > 0:52:38I mean, he went through a lot of upheavals with the tabloids.
0:52:39 > 0:52:42It got very unpleasant.
0:52:45 > 0:52:47Elton sued The Sun and cleared his name
0:52:47 > 0:52:50but had yet to win the battle with his own demons.
0:52:52 > 0:52:56You could see the road that he was on and I could see it.
0:52:56 > 0:53:00His mood swings were pretty drastic.
0:53:00 > 0:53:05He got really... He went very Judy Garland on us.
0:53:07 > 0:53:10# Goodbye Norma Jean
0:53:10 > 0:53:13# Though I never knew you at all
0:53:13 > 0:53:16# You had the grace to hold yourself
0:53:17 > 0:53:21I was very confused, pretty down on drugs
0:53:21 > 0:53:24and you can't think straight when you're doing that amount of drugs.
0:53:24 > 0:53:30There's got to be a balance. When I became an addict and an alcoholic and went to rehab, blah, blah, blah,
0:53:30 > 0:53:35one of the things that was pointed out was that my whole life was Elton John. There was no other person.
0:53:35 > 0:53:38# It seems to me you lived your life
0:53:38 > 0:53:42# Like a candle in the wind
0:53:42 > 0:53:47# Never knowing who to cling to when the rain set in
0:53:47 > 0:53:51When I met David three years after I got sober, when I was 46,
0:53:51 > 0:53:57I was ready to have a relationship. I wasn't looking for it but I was ready to have a relationship.
0:53:57 > 0:54:01And I was grown up then. I didn't grow up till I was 43.
0:54:01 > 0:54:03Sober and settled with his new partner,
0:54:03 > 0:54:07Elton explored new avenues as a musician
0:54:07 > 0:54:09and ways to put his celebrity to good use.
0:54:09 > 0:54:13"Whether selling off part of his extravagant wardrobe
0:54:13 > 0:54:16"or singing before invited and extremely rich guests,
0:54:16 > 0:54:23"Sir Elton's Aids Foundation has raise £25 million since it was set up a decade ago."
0:54:23 > 0:54:27Elton's dramatic journey, played out in the eye of the British public,
0:54:27 > 0:54:32left him strangely qualified for the role of the Nation's agony aunt in 1997.
0:54:32 > 0:54:35# Goodbye England's rose
0:54:35 > 0:54:38# May you ever grow in our hearts
0:54:38 > 0:54:41# You were the grace that placed itself
0:54:41 > 0:54:44Candle In The Wind seemed the perfect epitaph for Diana.
0:54:44 > 0:54:48But written in 1973 about Marilyn Monroe,
0:54:48 > 0:54:52an icon hounded by the press, a life cut short in its prime,
0:54:52 > 0:54:55its story could easily also have been Elton's.
0:54:55 > 0:54:58Instead, as the soundtrack to England's tears,
0:54:58 > 0:55:03it completed his redemption. Sir Elton, a national treasure.
0:55:03 > 0:55:07# And it seems to me you lived your life
0:55:07 > 0:55:09# Like a candle in the wind
0:55:10 > 0:55:14# Never knowing who to cling to
0:55:14 > 0:55:16# When the rain set in
0:55:18 > 0:55:21# And I would've liked to have known you
0:55:21 > 0:55:24# But I was just a kid
0:55:24 > 0:55:28# Your candle burned out long before
0:55:28 > 0:55:30# Your legend ever did
0:55:41 > 0:55:47I've made a lot of records in my time and the last few records I've made have all been really good.
0:55:47 > 0:55:52But they've always been with the same band, my band. So they've sounded fairly similar.
0:55:52 > 0:55:55And I thought, "I've got to approach making records differently.
0:55:55 > 0:55:59"I've got to make a record when I was to make a record and not just for the sake of it
0:55:59 > 0:56:02"and when I make a record, I want it to sound different.
0:56:02 > 0:56:05# I've been so many places
0:56:05 > 0:56:08# In my life and times
0:56:08 > 0:56:14Last year, a voice from his past inspired Elton's new musical direction.
0:56:14 > 0:56:18David's playing Leon Russell on the iPod and I'm getting ready for lunch
0:56:18 > 0:56:23and he came in and I'm crying, sobbing, and he said, "What on earth is the matter with you?"
0:56:23 > 0:56:27and I said, "This just takes me back to the most wonderful period of my life."
0:56:27 > 0:56:33I don't know whether I suddenly had a touch of mortality ringing in my ears, I don't know.
0:56:33 > 0:56:35But it brought back so many great memories and I said,
0:56:35 > 0:56:40"To go forward in my career as a recording artist, I've got to go back and revisit what I did."
0:56:40 > 0:56:45Having lost contact soon after they first met, Elton tracked down Leon to make him an offer.
0:56:45 > 0:56:50And he called up and said, "Let's just do a duet album together
0:56:50 > 0:56:52"and write some songs for that".
0:56:52 > 0:56:55And I said, "What kind of songs do you want me to write?"
0:56:55 > 0:56:57- He said, "Up-tempo, baby!" - HE LAUGHS
0:56:57 > 0:57:00# If you're looking for the glory
0:57:00 > 0:57:06Elton drafted in the first-choice producer for any band in search of an authentic American sound.
0:57:06 > 0:57:10I thought, well, we'll probably do something like Tumbleweed Connection
0:57:10 > 0:57:14because that's something I can relate to and he can relate to
0:57:14 > 0:57:17and Bernie Taupin can relate to and Leon can relate to,
0:57:17 > 0:57:20it's something that was a touchstone for all of us,
0:57:20 > 0:57:24but it ended up being a flat-out gospel record.
0:57:24 > 0:57:27I went out to the piano and started writing a song
0:57:27 > 0:57:33and Leon came out and started playing with me. That was the first time we played together.
0:57:33 > 0:57:38And everyone's face lit up and we knew this was going to work. The combination of the two pianos
0:57:38 > 0:57:41and his voice and mine, it was fantastic.
0:57:41 > 0:57:45# It's a constant struggle getting up...
0:57:45 > 0:57:49And what of Elton's search for his roots, for his own true spirit as a musician
0:57:49 > 0:57:51beyond his celebrity status?
0:57:53 > 0:57:56He wanted to reconnect with Leon
0:57:56 > 0:57:59and I think he wanted to reconnect with that part of himself.
0:57:59 > 0:58:04I think this record's probably closer to him than anything he's ever done.
0:58:04 > 0:58:08He's not putting on any fine jackets or any flashy glasses, you know?
0:58:08 > 0:58:14It's stripping it of all the trinkets and trappings
0:58:14 > 0:58:19that have tampered with our musical heritage in the past
0:58:19 > 0:58:22and I think he's come full circle.
0:58:22 > 0:58:24Hallelujah.
0:58:24 > 0:58:26In reuniting with Leon Russell,
0:58:26 > 0:58:31Elton has also reached out to the man he was when they first met in 1970.
0:58:31 > 0:58:35Before the hits, before the money, the drugs and the fame.
0:58:35 > 0:58:38And who knows where music will take him next?
0:58:42 > 0:58:46- HE LAUGHS - I really like that.- Amen and Amen.
0:58:46 > 0:58:49What keeps me going is also the unknown.
0:58:49 > 0:58:53The unknown that comes into your life that changes your life.
0:58:53 > 0:58:56Like the Liberty Records thing with Bernie's lyrics,
0:58:56 > 0:59:00like going to the Troubadour, like David putting Leon on his iPod.
0:59:00 > 0:59:05The wonderful little surprises of life. There's always something great round the corner.
0:59:05 > 0:59:09And without music, my life would be nothing. It's given me everything in my life.
0:59:09 > 0:59:12It's nearly taken away everything. But it's given me everything.
0:59:12 > 0:59:17# Beyond the yellow brick road
0:59:18 > 0:59:22# Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
0:59:22 > 0:59:26Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:59:26 > 0:59:29E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk