Elton John

Robert Kirby is born in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, UK. He will find success as a talented and much-loved string arranger for rock and folk music. First becoming known for his work on his university friend Nick Drake's albums Five Leaves Left and Bryter Later, Kirby will go on to work with Elton John, Elvis Costello, Paul Weller, The Strawbs, The Magic Numbers and more.

Fotheringay play at The Royal Albert Hall, London, UK, where they are somewhat upstaged by their flambouyant support act, a young singer-songwriter called Elton John.

Newly-emerging singer-songwriter Elton John plays at The Champ Auditorium, Fulton, Missouri, USA.

Elton John enters the Billboard US Albums Chart with Tumbleweed Connection, which will peak at No5, spending a total of 20 weeks on the chart.

Elton John releases his fifth album, Honky Chateau, on Uni Records in the USA.

Elton John's fifth album, Honky Chateau, is awarded a Gold Disc in the USA by the R.I.A.A.

A new rock venue, The Roxy, opens in Los Angeles, California, USA, with a concert by Neil Young. The audience includes Carole King, Elton John and Jackson Browne.

Elton John plays the second of four nights at The Bolshoi Concert Hall, Leningrad, Russia, Europe.

Elton John plays the third of four nights at The Great October Hall, Leningrad, Russia, Europe.

Elton John plays the first of four nights at Rossya Hall, Moscow, Russia, Europe.

Luxury casino and resort development Sun City is opened in the Bantustan of Bophuthatswana, just outside the border of South Africa. The resort will become embroiled in international politics in 1985 when Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt and his music-industry activist group, Artists United Against Apartheid record the song Sun City, in which they vow never to perform at the resort because of its apartheid sympathies. Even so, artists including Queen, Elton John, Linda Ronstadt, Julio Iglesias, The O'Jays, Ray Charles, Boney M., Black Sabbath, Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, Dionne Warwick and Laura Branigan did play at the Sun City Super Bowl.

Elton John records I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues, at AIR Studios, in Montserrat, Caribbean.

On the first anniversary of his wedding to Renate Blauel, Elton John releases a Valentine's Day single, Breaking Hearts.

Elton John releases a new single, Nikita.

Elton John plays the second of two nights at The Playhouse, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, Europe.

Elton John plays the last of three nights at The Apollo, Manchester, England, UK, Europe.

Elton John plays the second of two nights at The Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham, England, UK, Europe.

Elton John plays the first of two nights at The NEC, Birmingham, England, UK, Europe.

Elton John plays the last of three nights at The City Hall, Newcastle, England, UK, Europe.

Elton John plays at Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA.

On his Sleeping With The Past tour, Elton John plays at Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, California, USA,

Sacrifice/Healing Hands by Elton John reaches No1 in the UK singles chart for the first of five weeks.

On their Face To Face tour, Billy Joel and Elton John play at The United Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Sir Elton John walks out a half an hour before he is due to give a performance at a casino near Lisbon, Portugal. A spokesman for the promoters said that thirty minutes before the scheduled start of the show Elton appeared worried that the theatre was half-empty. "He said he was going out to get some air but then he jumped into his car and went to the airport to catch his private jet. He never said goodbye or anything to anyone."

In the High Court in London, UK, it is alleged by Mark Hapgood QC, that Elton John once spent £30m in just under two years - an average of £1.5m a month. Mr Hapgood suggests that Sir Elton went "spending mad" following a £42m deal with recording company Polygram in February 1996. The claims are made during a court case in which the singer is suing Andrew Haydon [former MD of management company John Reid Enterprises] for negligence. Sir Elton also accuses City accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers of negligence in managing his affairs.

Elton John plays at The SECC, Glasgow, Scotland, UK.

The UK's Official Charts Company agrees to let free downloads of the new Elton John single Electricity count towards its chart position. Every entrant to an Elton John competition had received a PIN number giving access to a free download of the song. The decision will embroil Sir Elton in a storm of protest from many who feel the freebies are an unethical strategy for hyping a song into the charts.

Elton John plays at The Colosseum, Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

Elton John plays at The Colosseum, Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

Elton John plays at The Colosseum, Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

Billy Joel and Elton John play a Face 2 Face concert at the Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado, USA.

Sir Elton John spends the day in St Tropez, France, Europe, with his long-time partner David Furnish. During the day they go shopping at the local Louis Vuitton store.

Elton John attends the premiere of his computer-animated comedy movie Gnomeo And Juliet in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA. [Elton co-produced the film and composed the soundtrack music].

Elton John plays at The Neal S. Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.

In a letter to the Daily Telegraph, several of the British music business's richest men urge the government to create "a strong domestic copyright framework" which, they claim, will "stimulate growth in sectors where Britain has a competitive edge". Those signing the letter include Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend of The Who, Sir Elton John, Robert Plant, Professor Green, Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen, Simon Cowell and Tinie Tempah.

Speaking on Australian news and current affairs programme Sunday Night, Sir Elton John rekindles his public feud with Madonna, claiming that her recent album MDMA was a "disaster". He also states that "she looks like a f*cking fairground stripper." He completes his tirade by predicting the end of her career, while saying, "it couldn't happen to a bigger c***."

Bass player Bob Birch, who played with Elton John, Billy Joel, Bruce Hornsby, David Coverdale, Ray Charles and others, dies at his home in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California, USA. Police believe that his death may have been suicide.

On his 'final' tour, entitled Farewell Yellow Brick Road, Elton John plays at the Keybank Center, Buffalo, New York State, USA.

On his 'final' tour, entitled Farewell Yellow Brick Road, Elton John plays the first of two nights at Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA.

On his 'final' tour, entitled Farewell Yellow Brick Road, Elton John plays the first of two nights at The American Airlines Center, Dallas Texas, USA.

It is announced in the annual Sunday Times Rich List that Ed Sheeran, having doubled his wealth in the last year, is now the 17th richest musician in the UK. In 2018, Sheeran is thought to have earned more than any other musician in a single year in history, from a world tour which brought in box office takings of more than £340m across 94 gigs. Andrew Lloyd-Webber ascends to the No1 slot with £820m, while Paul McCartney slips down to No2 with £750m. The Top Ten Richest UK musicians are as follows :

1. Andrew Lloyd-Webber - £820m

2. Sir Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell - £750m

3. U2 - £583m

4. Sir Elton John - £320m

5. Sir Mick Jagger - £275m

6. Keith Richards - £260m

7. Olivia and Dhani Harrison - £250m

8. Sir Ringo Starr - £240m

9. Michael Flatley - £204m

10. Sting - £200m

Sir Elton John publishes his official autobiography, Me : Elton John.