Remember when rock was young... Elton’s Grand night in Leeds

Elton John in concert at the Leeds Grand Theatre in 1976

The arena concert is the first time that Elton and his band have played in the city since 1984.

But, turning back the clock even further, the Rocket Man of pop also strutted his stuff at the Grand Theatre in April 1976.

And one man who definitely remembers the night well is Steve Riding, photographer with the Yorkshire Post’s sister paper, the Yorkshire Evening Post.

He was covering the concert and took a series of pictures that perfectly captured Elton’s unique brand of musical stagecraft.

Asked for his recollections of the gig, Steve said: “Elton played for two-and-a-quarter hours without a break, so it was a long night! I remember he threw his piano stool off the stage at one point and he even managed to fit in a jokey Highland jig.

“The songs were the thing, though. From memory, the setlist included Bennie and the Jets, Saturday Night’s Alright ~ for Fighting and Pinball Wizard.

“It was an amazing concert; let’s hope tonight is every bit as good.”

Elton’s gig  this evening  kicks off the £60m Arena’s full opening season.

It comes a few weeks after Bruce Springsteen played a spectacular pre-launch concert at the venue.

Other acts picked to play the arena over the next few weeks include Leonard Cohen (September 7), Kaiser Chiefs (September 13), Rod Stewart (September 24) and Micky Flanagan (September 27).