Arrested Pulse

Elton's Breakthrough Performance at L.A.'s Troubador, 1970
About 2:44 minutes into this video is a brief clip of Elton's first performance in the US, and the one that made him a star. Sitting in the audience that night was Robert Hilburn, music critic for the Los Angeles Times, who later wrote: "Tuesday night at the Troubadour was just the beginning. He's going to be one of rock's biggest and most important stars." Hilburn's prophecy came true. Elton performs "Sixty Years On" in this clip. He is bearded and long-haired and ordinary-looking. This is the original Elton, before the huge glasses and glittering coats and long white boas.

Premier Showmanship
At this concert at Wembley stadium in the early eighties, Elton's premier showmanship is one thing; his piano improvisation (about five minutes into the clip) is quite another--and one worth watching.





Awesome Fingerwork
Most concert footage doesn't focus on Elton's actual piano playing, but the cameras at this recent concert in Chile were set up so that we can see his masterly fingerwork.








Tribute Song to John Lennon
Elton and John Lennon were friends. Lennon's last public performance was a cameo at one of Elton's concerts on November 28, 1974. This solo (and rare) performance of "Empty Garden," performed nearly 20 years after Lennon's death, is delivered with exceptional energy and poignancy.




Bald Elton, Solo on Piano
Still in his hey-day (1976), Elton here puts in an impressive solo performance of "Sorry Seems to be The Hardest Word."








The Russian Concert, 1979
As his decade as a sensation drew to a close, Elton went into a depressive funk, fueled largely by booze and drugs. In 1979, he was one of the few Western musicians to be allowed to perform behind the Iron Curtain of the former Soviet Union. Elton disposed of his extravagant costumes and appeared on stage looking kind of like a hobo. In this clip, he performs "Daniel" from that tour.