By Michael Childers

Sir Elton Hercules John CBE (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25 March 1947) is a multiple Grammy and Academy Award-winning English pop/rock singer, composer and pianist.

He has been heavily involved in the fight against AIDS since the late 1980s and was knighted in 1998. He continues to be a champion for the gay rights movement.

In his four-decade career, Elton John has been one of the dominant forces in rock and popular music, especially in the 1970s, selling more than 250 million albums plus hundreds of millions of singles, making him one of the most successful artists of all time.

In September 1997, mourning the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, he performed Candle in the Wind at her funeral in Westminster Abbey. A recorded version, ‘Candle in the Wind 1997’, became the fastest selling single of all time, eventually going on to sell over 30 million copies worldwide, with the proceeds of approximately £55 million going to the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund. He later won the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for the single.

In March 2007 Sir Elton John celebrated his 60th birthday in more ways than one. He engaged in a joint party with artist Sam Taylor-Wood in the East End and performed at Madison Square Garden for the 60th time (which is a record) to mark his birthday. He performed songs including Your Song, Rocket Man, Candle In the Wind and I'm Still Standing.