Review: Elton John, Leeds First Direct Arena

No-one can do what they did when they did 40 years ago as well as they do today.

Except, in the case of Sir Elton, who can still command a stage like a three star general commands a battlefield – except nobody dies and everyone leaves happy.

Sure the 66-year-old musician behind 30 studio albums and millions of record sales has lost a few notes of his upper register when it comes to his singing but tonight, watching him screw his face up as he tears into Crocodile Rock, he’s lost nothing of his verve and passion – surely the most key of all artistic ingredients.

The truth is, as all of us who were lucky enough to see his performance at Leeds’s First Direct Arena this week, is that Sir Elton is the last of that great breed of true British working musical legends; those who have perfected stage craft and songsmanship, worked themselves to death in bars and pubs, achieved the stardom they so craved and then learned with the consequences such fame brings – all the while using it as fuel to the fire of an unbelievable catalogue of songs that has enraptured and entranced music lovers for generations.

For a city with such a proud tradition of musical innovation, Sir Elton was a perfect choice to open its new arena.

“It’s a privilege to play for you all,” he tells the crowd. “I love doing this, I have so much fun doing it.”

As he strikes up songs such as I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues it’s obvious to all that a rock ’n’ roll concert isn’t an exercise in hitting the right notes but more the pursuit of happiness.

Towards the end he pulls out an incredible run of hit singles, including I’m Still Standing.

And, as generations of women from their teens to their sixties fall into their men’s arms, who hold them close during set-closer Your Song, it’s obvious that the man who has won everything from Brits to Oscars has achieved his goal.

As a footnote it’s worth noting that the First Direct Arena is a first-class musical auditorium.

Here’s to more special nights.