Elton John celebrates 75th birthday

John celebrates with a variety of activities

Elton John celebrates his 75th birthday today (Fri, Mar 25th) with a raft of activity sure to delight fans new and old alike. As the icon’s critically lauded Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour hits the road again in North America to rapturous response, John’s impact and relevance across all aspects of popular culture has never been greater – a truly astonishing feat as he turns 75.

“I’m not usually one to look back or get nostalgic, but 75 is such a milestone birthday. I’ll definitely find time today to take stock and thank my lucky stars for my wonderful family, friends and career,” John says.

He continues, “I feel unbelievably lucky that at 75 I still love what i do so much – I’m still so energized about music and excited I get to play, listen and talk about this every single day. Being back on the road is a blast and the thrill of playing live is as amazing as it was 50 years ago.

“I have so much to pass on to the new generation of fans and artists alike, and I’m determined to keep giving back to the industry that has given me so much.”

In celebration of his birthday, John’s Diamonds: The Ultimate Greatest Hits album has been released via streaming platforms, with 48 tracks mixed in Dolby Atmos for the very first time. Dolby Atmos goes beyond the ordinary listening experience, fully immersing the listener so that every detail of the music is revealed with unparalleled clarity and depth bringing new depths to one of the world’s greatest collections of era-defining songs. To get the best possible listening experience of Diamonds: The Ultimate Greatest Hits, fans will need three things: a device, streaming service, and music – all of which are enabled with Dolby Atmos.

Diamonds: The Ultimate Greatest Hits is already a worldwide phenomenon in its own right, becoming one of the ten biggest selling albums in the UK a full five years after it first reached the Top 5 of the album chart. It has reached 3x Platinum status in the UK, and has just spent its 227th consecutive week in the Top 75 of the official album charts – 124 of those weeks have been in the Top 20.

In another celebration of John’s milestone birthday, today also sees the unveiling of the latest episode of iHeartRadio’s Dua Lipa: At Your Service – Lipa’s podcast which features a brilliantly insightful, warm and unguarded interview between her and John, out now. The pair’s deep-seated friendship needs no explanation – look only to the charts to see how the whole world has embraced their bonafide global hit 2021 single, “Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)” – a chart topping single in the UK, taken from John’s critically acclaimed album The Lockdown Sessions – also a UK album chart topping smash. Timed to celebrate his birthday, listeners of this week’s At Your Service will now get a coveted seat at the table while the pair talk shop. From tales of wild nights at Studio 54 to how some of his most memorable songs and moments came about because he’d been in the “right place at the right time,” John has some of the most unmissable stories at his fingertips, and he’s sharing them with the listener.

To cap off this busy period, this Sunday (Mar 27th) will also mark The 30th annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party. The event will be co-hosted by Foundation Chairman David Furnish with Lady Gaga, Billy Porter and actor Eric McCormack. Brandi Carlile is also set to perform at the iconic event.

As a birthday gift, friend and fellow artist HAUSER shares an emotionally charged new musical medley called “My Gift is My Song.” The medley includes electrifying renditions of beloved John hits “Your Song,” “Candle in the Wind,” “Rocket Man,” “Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word,” and “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.” A companion video was recorded at the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest, Hungary, accompanied by the SoulAir Choir of Budapest and the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, as conducted by internationally acclaimed conductor and composer Steven Mercurio.

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn