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Sir Elton John

Sir Elton John shares his musical milestones with Matt Everitt in a programme first broadcast in 2016.

Sir Elton John shares his musical milestones with Matt Everitt in a programme first broadcast in 2016.

He's sold more than 250 million records worldwide, holds the record for the biggest selling single of all time and is the third most successful artist in the history of the American charts, just behind Elvis Presley and the Beatles.

In an interview recorded as he prepared to release his 33rd studio album Wonderful Crazy Night, he looks back at his early ragtime influences and how that grew to become an obsession with playing piano and listening to albums. He also talks us through some of the remarkable musical moments in his life - such performing with John Lennon at his last ever show and staging Nina Simone's final concert. He also discusses how music helped him through his battle with drug addiction, his appetite for new music and his obsessive love for Blur, John Grant and New Order and whether he'll ever play the Glastonbury Festival.

Available now

33 minutes

Last on

Sat 13 Jun 2020 04:00

Music Played

  • Elton John

    ROCKET MAN

    • ROCKET MAN - THE DEFINITIVE HITS.
    • MERCURY/UNIVERSAL.
    • NA-NA.
  • Danny & the Juniors

    AT THE HOP

    • That's Rock'n'Roll (Various Artists.
    • EMI.
    • CDEMTVD-100*.
  • Jackie Wilson

    REET PETITE

    • JACKIE WILSON HIGHER AND HIGHER.
    • CHARLY.
    • CPCD-8005.
  • Winifred Atwell

    HAMP'S BOOGIE WOOGIE

    • Hamp's Boogie.
    • London.
    • 45-1704.
  • John Grant

    SWEET PAINTED LADY

    • Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (40th Anniversary Edition).
    • Mercury Records.
    • 753489-2.
  • Elton John

    YOUR SONG

    • THE VERY BEST OF ELTON JOHN.
    • ROCKET.
    • 846947-2.
  • Tupac and Elton John

    Ghetto Gospel

    • Ghetto Gospel.
    • Interscope.
    • 988-3032.
  • Elton John

    TAKE ME TO THE PILOT

    • ELTON JOHN.
    • DJM.
    • DC-8.
  • Elton John & John Lennon

    whatever gets you through the night

    • Here and There.
    • Rocket.
    • 528-1642.
  • Nina Simone

    HERE COMES THE SUN

    • FEELING GOOD : THE VERY BEST OF NINA SIMONE.
    • VERVE.
    • 522-669-2.
  • Kraftwerk

    TRANS EUROPE EXPRESS

    • TRANS EUROPE EXPRESS.
    • Capitol.
    • CDP 7-46473 2.
  • Elton John

    Levon

    • MADMAN ACROSS THE WATER.
    • MERCURY.
    • 528-161-2.
  • Blur

    My Terracotta Heart

    • The Magic Whip.
    • Parlophone.
    • lc30419.
  • Elton John

    BENNIE & THE JETS

    • THE VERY BEST OF ELTON JOHN.
    • ROCKET.
    • 846 949-2.
  • Elton John / Bernie Taupin

    Guilty Pleasure

    • Wonderful Crazy Night.
    • Virgin.
    • 1.
  • Big Audio Dynamite

    V. Thirteen

    • CBS.

Broadcasts

  • Sun 24 Jan 2016 13:00
  • Fri 9 Feb 2018 01:00
  • Sat 13 Jun 2020 04:00

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A selection of major artists reveal their first musical purchase.

Podcast