In his formative years as a session musician, in fact even after the recording of his third album, Elton earned some extra cash recording cover versions of the hits of the day, anonymously, for budget record labels. These long player albums retailed at around the same price as a regular single, and they would be rushed out to share the shelves with their 'legitimate' counterparts. Until the record labels worked out that they could make money by making compilations out...

The second of a two-part biography of Davey Johnstone's early musical history.  Davey's range, and his scope for development, were apparent to all at his first Elton John session, for Holiday Inn. Elton wasn't going to let a talent like Davey slip through his fingers.  This episode takes in Davey's astonishing work for Madman, Honky Chateau and Don't Shoot Me, his early live work with the band, the sessions that he continued to do, and tracks from his solo album, released in 1973. Some...

The first of a two-part biography of Davey Johnstone's early musical history.  Just three years after getting his first guitar, a 14-year-old Davey could be found in folk clubs around Scotland, a class apart from the groups of seasoned musicians who welcomed him. At 17 he moved to London. He quickly found his home on the road and in the studio, where he was becoming an in-demand session player.  I would like to thank the YouTube channel 'The Sessions' for very kindly giving me permission...

24 months passed between the recording sessions for Crazy Water, and those for Elton's next (major) single, the angry, jagged Ego. From the sound of the record, Elton hadn't been able to find much solace in the interim. Ego twists with the energy of a tantrum. It's dark and humourous, petulant and self-mocking, all at once.  Backed with Flintstone Boy, a lightly subversive slice of queer country music, this single was Elton's state of the nation address for Spring 1978, and a real artistic...

  Elton wrote a lot of incredible music over the years, in fact, more than he needed at some points of his career. This is the story of the songs that Elton gave away, either by design, or by default. Two of Elton's demos are featured - both of them are significant upgrades in terms of sound quality over what generally circulates. 

50 years ago today, on the 1st of March 1968, a 20-year-old Elton released his first solo single, 'I've Been Loving You', on Philips. Today's episode is an all-encompassing celebration of that moment, telling the story through the people around Elton, and the music they were making at the time. Two practically impossible rarities are included to mark the moment. 

A thematic analysis of Bernie's early work, with a particular focus on his songs about incarceration and exile. One very special rarity is included. 

If you like Elton John songs, then you'll probably like these relatively obscure renditions of Elton John songs, by musicians who tried to do something original with the material.   

Elton came back from rehab stronger than ever at the end of 1991. Here, in review, is the album that he brought back from the brink with him. The context, the music, the lyrics, the instrumentation - it's all given the analysis it deserves in this episode . 

A tribute to Elton's first musical mentor - his mother Sheila. This episode is a trip through the music of the 1950s that was dear to Sheila, to her mum Ivy, and to Reg. On the way, we take in the story of how Reg came to play the piano, and get an idea of the pieces of music that were in his early repertoire. We go all the way up to 1962, when Little Reg sees Little Richard live, and the 'Elton John' touchpaper is lit.

Dee Murray was a truly innovative force in the Elton John band. In this episode I look at what made him special, from the jigsaw puzzle of ideas that Dee and Elton threw around in the 3-piece band; taking in the almost-soul of Philadelphia Freedom; and beyond, into the 1980s. A biographical, loving, and detailed look at the work of the man that made the music we love even lovlier. And all of this without mentioning his incredible backing vocals once (ooops).  Homemade bass transcriptions...

I attempt to piece together the weekly Saturday evening TV shows, hosted by the impish Lulu, that led up to the UK's selection being made for the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest, and follow up the progress of the careers of the six sets of songwriters who got through to that final stage. Whatever became of them?

Elton's not always seen as a particularly cool musician to be a fan of. Lots of well-respected artists have no problem associating themselves with him though. In this episode, I go through those collaborations and connections, and pick out the ones, some more obscure than others, which, I feel, elevate Elton's position as an innovative creative force. 

This week, Elton released another greatest hits collection, to somehow celebrate his and Bernie's 50 year anniversary of writing together. In this episode I look at 12 'genuine diamonds' - products that would actually be essential purchases for anyone who already owns the mainstream EJ releases. In the end I just make myself a bit angry - there's so much not being released, and we get this basic greatest hits....

This is the story of the band that Elton essentially sacked, live on stage, entirely out of the blue. 40 years ago, Elton played a charity gig at Wembley Pool. The band were expecting him to announce that he was going out on tour again, with them as his backing band. A very different announcement was made. In this episode we work out what led Elton to make that decision.  Here's a picture of the band in question. Here's the setlist.fm page for the night. Here's the full show on YouTube.

This episode skips through the 1968 almost-debut album, track-by-track. How good would this album have been if it had come out in 1968? How would it have fared? Actually that's a question I don't answer. I think we know the answer. There are some real surprises along the way, and some things that even the most ardent early Elton fan will probably be hearing for the first time.  The auction for the acetate took place momentarily here. The release was discussed on the Steve Hoffman...

This episode takes you back to the 2nd of November 1969, to a Miles Davis gig, at Ronnie Scott's jazz club, where Elton met a 23 year old Paul Buckmaster for the first time. How did Buckmaster get to be the guest of Miles Davis that night? What was the musical background of this graduate of the Royal Academy of Music? This episode is a musical journey through Buckmaster's early arrangements and his earliest 'cello performances on vinyl. 

Welcome to the 'I Guess That's Why They Call It The Elton John Podcast' podcast. Yes it is a rather unweildy title. In the first episode, Neil (your able host) takes some classic songs, and turns them upside down, until the vocals and bass fall out, and then invites you to listen to what's underneath. Hear the songs afresh from a whole new angle. There's also a general introduction to the series at the beginning of the episode. More episode are coming on a regular basis, there are so many...