DAVID Furnish, modest and unknown and... O. the head of the board of directors of the London advertising agency "Oligvy & Mather" (also, in essence, modest and unknown to anyone), came home from work one evening. No one was waiting for him at home, because the personal life of the clerk from Toronto was somehow not working out. It was empty, and quiet, and cold; no flowers for you, no tasty treats on the table. Moreover, this eternal rain, a feeling of unsettlement bordering on restlessness...
AND AT HOME he found a message from his friend. They say that soon a party will be held at Elton John's Windsor estate to mark the end of his next world tour, there is an opportunity to go there. David was never a fan of Elton, so he thought and thought and decided to go somewhere else, especially since he didn’t particularly like noisy companies. But at the very last moment, Furnish went to Windsor, took the table allotted to him there and sat quietly all evening, sipping wine. And when it was time to go home, a tipsy Sir John suddenly approached him and began to introduce himself. We chatted in a friendly manner, exchanged compliments, and then, as a result, exchanged phone numbers - just in case.
Emeralds for breakfast
THE NEXT evening Elton John called: “Listen, maybe we can meet? Let me come over now and we can have dinner at my place?”
A week later, the great musician, singer and composer could no longer live without his handsome friend, which he immediately admitted to him. David liked John's attention and his "simplicity and ease of communication." With sparkling eyes, dressed to the nines, the maestro drove up to Furnish’s house in a white convertible, littered with white roses. He bought him emeralds for breakfast, a piece of the moon for lunch, and for dinner he presented him with exquisite linen decorated with diamonds. Two weeks later they came together to the London Film Festival and thereby declared their feelings to the whole world. True, if Elton’s thoughts were occupied by David, David and only David, the object of love himself regularly went to work every day in his hateful office, advertising there either writing paper or painting tools. He came there even after a photo of him and John together appeared in the press. Colleagues looked askance, whispered and even laughed. And when the question arose about allocating an official car to the boss, his subordinates spoke out against it. Elton, having learned about this, immediately presented the ruler of his soul with his Ferrari, which cost ten times more than some run-down office BMW. After such a royal gift, the anger of his colleagues correspondingly increased tenfold. The unfortunate, misunderstood director of the advertising company had to quit and move permanently to Elton’s palace.
Prince and Cinderella
A HUMBLE and unknown clerk turned into Cinderella. Now David was surrounded by paradise gardens with peacocks, swimming pools, three lakes, a stable with thoroughbred horses, a stable with donkeys and ponies, a greenhouse, a garage with three dozen cars, fountains not inferior to the cascades of Petrodvorets, as well as many other things, sometimes costing up to three hundred thousand dollars the most beautiful things. For example, a couple of railway carriages from the century before last. Or your own football team.
It was 1993. Soon Elton gave David his own film company - Rocket Pictures. The first film of the newly minted director was, of course, about Elton John. The famous singer, in front of the camera of the most dear person in the world, told everything that he had been hiding until now, and no one had ever heard such frank confessions from him. The audience, especially the musician’s many former lovers, left the premiere shocked. And in 1998, Elton, in honor of the thirty-seventh anniversary of Furnish (I think the future Dwight, since Elton John’s real name is Reginald Kenneth Dwight), organized a “feast for the whole world.” A special place was chosen for the celebration - the beautiful elite restaurant "Ivy". The guests are also special: Richard and Hugh Grant, Liz Hurley, Victoria Beckham, Helena Carter... The list of guest stars took up three pages. The premiere of Furnish's second film took place there. It tells the story of childhood friends who met in adulthood and tell each other about their love affairs. It seemed to everyone present that David’s creative torment was being sponsored by none other than Elton. But Furnish secretly told one of the influential bankers that he had invested HIS savings, earned by honest labor in his native advertising company, in the project. Then he told the press that he did not want to be supported by his lover, he wanted to be free and independent. And Elton, by the way, never oppressed him. It’s just... As David later admitted, on that very first evening, “Elton kissed me for a long time... everything... And looked at me so pleadingly that I gave up.” By the way, the musician understood David’s feelings. And he understood that they were not as strong as he would like. To console himself, he found a young singer, Craig David, for promotion and to warm him in bed (note, also David). Then he began to look at Ricky Martin, but he categorically rejected him, saying that he was interested in younger boys.
Happy wedding feast
WELL, love is love, and meanwhile John got into debt. He had to contact the financial house “Samuel Montague” and ask to be given a loan of 40 million dollars. As collateral, he offered song catalogs and royalties from early albums. But he didn’t offer to sell Rocket Pictures. David is there!
In addition, Elton finally quarreled with his manager John Reid. Having fallen head over heels for him back in the distant seventies, Elton did not document the oral agreement on mutual obligations, hoping for reciprocal nobility. Reid had been Elton's lover for ten years, and was most likely resentful that Elton had replaced him with a younger, more handsome man. Well, he sued him. To recoup the legal costs (Elton lost the case, since he could not prove his case in any way, and there was no time for that), the great musician sold his entire car fleet. David became more and more capricious and demanding of his lover, but it was John who invited him to marry him. David refused. Then Elton wrote a will in the name of the light of his eyes. As you know, taxes on wills in Britain are simply enormous. In this case, they could reach $98 million. But! Spouses are exempt from paying inheritance tax in the event of the death of one of them. Elton believes that he will leave this world before David: “If only this would happen, because if David dies earlier, I simply won’t survive.” Only after this confession from Elton did David finally understand how great his love was. It is possible, of course, that Furnish coveted the money one way or another, but he agreed to the marriage. It became a matter of design. The problem is that same-sex marriages are not registered in the UK. But even here, the enterprising Elton found a way out: the newlyweds will most likely go to celebrate their wedding in Denmark or Holland, where things are more free there...
Name: Elton John
Real name: Reginald Kenneth Dwight
Birthday: March 25, 1947 (age 70)
Place of Birth: Pinner, England
Weight: 70 kg
Height: 172 cm
Zodiac sign: Aries
Eastern horoscope: Pig
Activity: rock singer, pianist, composer
Biography of Elton John
Reginald was born to the squadron commander. Dwight was raised by his mother because he rarely saw his father. However, the parents divorced completely in 1962. Mom married a second time to a man whom Elton called “Derf.”At the age of 4, Reginald began learning to play the piano. Moreover, he turned out to be a child prodigy, since he could play almost any melody. At the age of 11, John received a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. Later, the musician studied at the educational institution for 6 years.
Start
In 1960, Dwight and his friends formed the band The Corvettes. The band began playing compositions by Jim Reeves and Ray Charles. A year later the group became Bluesology. Reginalj played in a bar at night and carried out assignments for music publishers during the day. Musical affairs were not going badly; by the mid-60s the group was touring the United States. In 1966, the group began collaborating with Long John Baldry, and went on a tour of England.
Dwight later responded to an ad from Ray Williams, then head of A&R at Liberty Records. The latter gave the young musician lyrics by Bernie Taupin, who also responded to the offer to collaborate. But neither one nor the other passed the competition, but together they continued their cooperation, which has survived to this day.
World star
Bernie Taupin and Elton John recorded their first song in 1967. This is Scarecrow. It is worth noting that by that time Dwight had already taken a pseudonym. A little later, colleagues began writing songs for different artists. In 1968, the single “I’ve Been Loving You” was released, and a year later “Lady Samantha” and the album “Empty Sky” appeared. The work was not a commercial success, but received good reviews. In the USA, the singles and album were not released at all.Success
In early 1970, the album "Elton John" was released. A formula for success had already been found here: the record contained rock songs and soulful ballads. That same year, Elton John gave his first American concert in Los Angeles. Then the musician’s performance style created a furore among both reporters and colleagues. After this, Elton took part in the recording of the football anthem for the English team and released the album “Tumbleweed Connection”. A year later, in 1971, the artist’s sixth studio album, Madman Across the Water, appeared. It's a dark piece with grand orchestrations by Paul Buckmaster. The album became a real hit in the USA.
In 1973, John created his own label, Rocket Records, and released the pop-oriented album Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player. The next album, entitled “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” became even more popular. Critics consider this record to be the best in the singer's career. By the way, after it, attention was focused on Elton not as a musician, but as a person.
A year later, another album appeared. "Caribou" took first place in the United States, but did not satisfy critics, since it was "designed for an external effect." At the same time, the musician played “Local Guy” in the film adaptation of a rock opera called “Tommy.”
Happy father
Next came “Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy”, this is an autobiographical album, the musical story of the still unknown Taupin and John’s stay in London.Bi
Elton John achieved commercial success in 1976 when he sang in a duet with Kiki Dee. The single “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” topped both the American and British charts. Almost immediately, Elton admitted his bisexuality to Rolling Stone magazine. The artist later said that he did not declare his homosexuality so as not to upset his fans.
By the way, in the spring of 1979, Elton came on tour to the USSR, one of the first Western rock musicians. He gave 4 concerts.
In 1980, Elton and Bernie again showed their brainchild; they released the album “21 at 33”, which also became quite successful. Another fruit of joint creativity appeared a year later - this is the album “The Fox”.
In the 1980s, Elton was beset by personal turmoil. In 1984, the artist married, unexpectedly for many, sound engineer Renate Blaell. And two years later he lost his voice and underwent throat surgery. He had his polyps removed, and as a result John's timbre changed slightly.
Elton John on video
It is worth noting that in 1984 Watford reached the final of the English Football League Cup. This was a long-time dream of Elton John, who was not only a fan of the team, but also the owner and chairman of the board.In 1987, the singer won a libel suit against The Sun newspaper, the publication accused the artist of having sex with minors.
Drugs
In 1990, Elton was admitted to a Chicago hospital, where he underwent rehabilitation to combat alcoholism, drug addiction and bulimia. During the course, he loses weight and transplants his hair. A year later, the album “TwoRooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin” appears, which many British and American performers helped record.
A year later, Elton created the Elton John AIDS Foundation. It must fund programs to combat AIDS. And direct the money earned in the USA and Britain from the sale of singles to research. The next album, “The One,” is released immediately.
In 1994, Elton worked with Tim Rice on the music for the animated film The Lion King. It became super successful and the songs played an important role here. Three of the five songs from the cartoon that were nominated for an Oscar were by Jonah. That same year, the musician was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and a year later he was given the title of Knight Bachelor, simply a prefix to the name “sir.”
Harsh statements
In 2001, the musician announced that the album “Songs From The West Coast” would be his last studio album. Elton John planned to focus on live performances. But another album appeared in 2004 - this is “Peachtree Road”.
Heartfelt song
In total, Elton John released 29 studio albums and 128 singles. He is the author of music for a number of films, cartoons and productions.Personal life
Four years after the wedding with Rinata Blauel, the marriage broke up. Elton John later spoke about his homosexuality. The musician was constantly tormented by depression, he began to abuse drugs and alcohol. I had to undergo treatment for addiction more than once. In 1993, Elton met David Furnish. It was he who helped the celebrity get rid of drug addiction and alcoholism. In 2005, John took advantage of the fact that the concept of “same-sex marriage” was introduced into law. He married Furnish.
In 2009, the couple wanted to adopt an HIV-positive baby from a boarding school in Ukraine. However, officials refused, explaining that same-sex marriage is not recognized in Ukraine. But on December 25, 2010, David and Elton finally became dads; the surrogate mother gave birth to their son, Zachary Jackson Levon.
WITHer Elton John, real namewhomReginald Kenneth Dwight, was born in the British city of Pinner in the family of a military pilot. His parents divorced in 1962, then his mother remarried when Reginald was 15.
At the age of four the boy began to play the piano. At eleven, the young man won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music, where he then studied for six years.
At 13years he organizedBluesology group with friends. By the mid-1960s, they were touring the United States with famous rhythm and blues musicians.
After the breakupBluesologyin 1967, the musician recorded his first composition based on Bernie Taupin's poems Scarecrow. That same year, he adopted the pseudonym Elton John, in honor of musicians Elton Dean and Long John. In 1970, the singer’s first album was released under this name (“Elton John”). The single Your Song became a hit on both sides of the Atlantic.
In 1973, the musician released the album Don"t Shoot Me, I"m Only the Piano Player, which went gold. The same year, his double album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was released, which reached number one on the Billboard album chart.
In 1974, the album Caribou and the collection of greatest hits, Greatest Hits, were released.
In the mid-1970s, 16 of Elton John's consecutive singles entered the Top 20 in Britain, and 12 of them entered the Top 5.
In 1976, the singer presented the album Blue Moves with the single Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word.
In 1986, Elton John lost his voice while touring Australia and shortly thereafter underwent throat surgery that changed the sound of his voice. Despite this, the performer continued his musical career.
The 1989 album Sleeping With The Past and the 1992 album The One went platinum.
In 1990, Elton underwent rehabilitation to combat drug addiction, alcoholism and bulimia.
During his career, Elton John recorded over 30 albums, sold more than 250 million records, and had 54 singles in the British Top 40. In 2007, the singer's single Candle in the Wind entered the Guinness Book of Records as the best-selling single in the history of music.
Elton was nominated for a Grammy Award 11 times and won five times. In 2001, the musician received an honorary Grammy Award.
Personal life
In 1976, the singer spoke in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine about his bisexuality.
In 1984, he married sound engineer Rinata Blauel. Four years later they divorced. After this, Elton John declared that he was more homosexual than bisexual.
Since 1993, film director David Furnish has become John's companion. In 2005, they legalized their relationship after same-sex marriage was legalized in the UK. The couple has two sons who were born to surrogate mothers: V 2010 Zechariah was born in 2013, and Elijah was born in 2013.
Hobbies
The musician collects original eyeglass frames.
Data
In 1993, Elton John was awarded the degree of officer of the French Order of Arts and Letters, in 1996 he became a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and in 1998 he received a knighthood.
There is no doubt that Elton John is devoted to his sons. However, the star of popular music culture has already made it clear to the world community how he will raise five-year-old Zachary and three-year-old Elijah. During his fruitful career, the singer managed to amass an impressive fortune: £200 million. But his children will not claim the inheritance. This is the decision of a stellar and successful parent.
The desire to raise self-sufficient individuals
The 68-year-old musician and his husband David Furnish dream that their children will grow up to be self-sufficient individuals. From early childhood, the couple strives to instill in their offspring a desire for hard work. According to Elton John, his sons should not take money and any other manifestations of material wealth for granted. 
Children changed his life, but did not change his view of it
For a long time, the musician dreamed of having his own children. The moment Zachary and Elijah came into his life, he realized that the simplest things can make a big difference. A minute spent next to his sons is more valuable than any hit he recorded as a composer. 
He won't deprive his sons of all their money
Of course, the author and performer of imperishable musical hits will not leave children completely without a livelihood. He will still allocate some part of his fortune to his sons for the first time. However, further, according to their father’s plan, they will have to achieve everything themselves. Elton John notes that when young people have money, they can't focus on anything. Ultimately, material possessions ruin their lives. Therefore, children should have respect for money and work. 
Zachary and Elijah, like all ordinary children, help their parents in the kitchen and in the garden, and keep their room clean. For all this they receive small rewards in the form of stars. The eccentric couple was inspired to take this approach to raising their children by American tycoon Warren Buffett.
It is planned that the musician will use most of his own fortune for charitable purposes.
Today Elton John celebrates his 70th birthday. Despite his advanced age, the musician continues to lead an active life - performing, recording records, and attending parties.
“Some people don't like celebrating birthdays, but I always liked this day. “Seventy” sounds very old-fashioned, doesn’t it? But in fact, you are only as old as you feel,” Elton said in a recent interview, adding that he feels just fine in this sense. On the occasion of the anniversary of the great artist, ELLE collected interesting facts from his life and work.
22 years ago, Elton John became a Knight Bachelor and Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Now the artist has his own coat of arms, and it is not at all the same as one might imagine for an English sir. The coat of arms has two circles, black and white; black is a vinyl disc, white is a CD.
Last year, Elton decided to make peace with his mother Sheila. And he made peace - they began to communicate again after eight years of silence. The disagreement that arose in 2008 was serious, so much so that Sheila did not invite her son to her 90th birthday, inviting an impersonator - Elton's double. And he entertained the guests with classic hits.
Elton John (then named Reginald Kenneth Dwight) mastered the piano when he was four years old.
He is the godfather of David and Victoria Beckham's eldest sons.
The artist is sometimes inconsistent in his statements and actions. In the early 2000s, after releasing the album Songs From The West Coast, Elton upset fans with the announcement that there would be no more studio releases - only concerts. However, three years later, a new album, Peachtree Road, went on sale, and then everything went as before: The Captain & the Kid (2006), The Union (2010), The Diving Board (2013).
In 2016, Elton John was awarded the title of "Most Generous British Celebrity". During the year, the musician donated about 27 million pounds to good causes. Most of this money went to the work of foundations that fight AIDS. Let us remember that back in the early nineties, Elton created the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which during this time collected more than 200 million dollars for various programs.
Elton John decided not to leave an inheritance to his children so that they could learn to earn money on their own. “Of course I want my boys to have a secure financial position, but it is terrible to give children wealth for nothing, it will ruin them,” he said. The musician has $279 million in his account, and the bulk of his fortune will be donated to charity. Let's remember that John and his husband David Furnish have two children - Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John, born December 25, 2010, and 4-year-old Elijah Joseph Daniel Furnish-John. Both boys were born with the help of a surrogate mother.
In 1976, the musician came out, announcing to the world that he was bisexual. Eight years later he married Renata Blauel, and four years later he divorced her. And in 1993, Elton met David Furnish, his current husband. The couple has been married for 12 years.
Last fall, a limited edition of a collection of songs from different years was released, designed by the Burberry design team. Limited to 800 copies, the disc features songs from the albums Songs from the West Coast, Elton John, 11/17/70, Madman Across the Water, Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy and Too Low for Zero. Each record is signed personally by Elton. The price is not so prohibitive - $375.
In March of this year, the Nike brand showed a new version of the famous Air Force 1 Jet sneakers, inspired by Elton John. The main symbols for the designers who worked on the model were discus throwers and knightly armor. As a result, shoes made in one - one! - a copy was presented to the artist. The Air Force 1 Jet features Silver on the upper while the word "Sir" is emblazoned on the heel.
Elton's passion for glasses of the most amazing shapes is known. In one of his mansions there is a huge closet room, filled from top to bottom with glasses.
1 / 11
“I am often reproached for looking only forward. So it came as a surprise to me how cathartic the process of writing a memoir was. Looking back, I understand how crazy my life was and what a blessing it is to be alive,” said the artist. The book is co-written with renowned music journalist and The Guardian columnist Alex Petridis. It is unknown when the memoirs will go on sale; it is planned to be in 2019.
In 2015, Elton John had a big fight with Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. In an interview with one of the magazines, they said that children in gay families are wrong, and in addition criticized the practice of surrogacy. “I call chemically created children synthetic, artificial children. The queens are rented, the semen is from a catalog,” Dolce said. This infuriated Elton, who lashed out with an Instagram post: “How dare you call my wonderful children ‘artificial’? And what a shame it is to say something against IVF - a miracle that has allowed millions of loving people, both straight and gay, to realize their dream of having children. Your archaic thinking is at odds with modernity, just like your fashion. I will never wear Dolce & Gabbana again.” The post was accompanied by the tag “#boycottdolcegabbana.”
“Fame attracts psychos. Princess Diana, Gianni Versace, John Lennon, Michael Jackson - they are all dead, and two of this list were shot. I've never had a bodyguard before. Never - until some psycho killed Gianni».