United Kingdom Elton John Stamps

This article features the United Kingdom Elton John stamps from 2019. Although the United States began celebrating popular music figures with its Legends of American Music series from the 1990s, it took the UK until the twenty-first century to begin celebrating its most-venerated rock artists. In 2007, the country issued stamps celebrating The Beatles. It took another eight years before the band Pink Floyd would appear on stamps in 2015. Following this, David Bowie was featured on postage stamps in 2017 with the band Queen following in 2018. Then, in 2019, twelve stamps celebrating Sir Elton John’s extraordinary career became available. The stamps are part of two groups: four honoring epic concerts by Elton John, and eight depicting famous albums. You can read more here.

Elton John

The famous rock pianist Elton John (born Reginal Kenneth Dwight) was born in March of 1947. He rose to success in the 1970s as a solo rock artist, eventually releasing 31 albums (his first in 1969). He is one of the best-selling artists ever, with more than 300 million records sold worldwide over a career spanning six decades.

Elton John began playing the piano as a child. At the age of fifteen, he created a blues band called Bluesology. In 1967, he met Bernie Taupin who became a life-long collaborator. Tthey began working together to write songs for other artists, Taupin providing the lyrics and John the music. This partnership led to many of John’s greatest hits. In 1969, John made his own album, Empty Sky. HIs first hit came three years later with the song “Your Song,” which hit the top ten in both Great Britain and the United States. He had his greatest success in the 1970s with a string of top hits, though he would continue to write hits through the 1980s and 1990s. His top hit of all time was his version of “Candle in the Wind” (originally from a 1974 single) that was dedicated to Diana, Princess of Wales. It became the best-selling single of all time.

Elton John also worked in longer forms, writing music for films and theater including The Lion King, Aida, and Billy Elliot the Musical. His 2019 biopic, Rocketman, was an international hit making more than 195 million dollars. Among his achievements are five Grammy Awards, two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, and a Kennedy Center Honor. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1998.

Stamps Celebrating Live Performances

Anyone who ever saw Elton John perform knows that he is famous for not only energetic performances, but also for his amazing costumes. This includes wild clothing as well as fantastic hats and eyewear. A souvenir sheet with four stamps celebrate four of Sir Elton John’s epic performances. The designs for the stamps are by Studio Dempsey along with the Royal Mail Group Ltd. The non-stamp part of the sheet shows John at the piano in an over the top outfit with massive feathers on his back and glasses that cover nearly his entire face. To the right are a block of four stamps, each one featuring a different Elton John concert.

The stamps show actual photos from Elton John concerts and at the bottom it lists the place and date of the concert. Chronologically, the four concerts are: a 1973 performance at the Hammersmith Odeon; a 1975 concert at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium; an appearance at Buckingham Palace in 2012; and a 2018 show at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Album Stamps

The next sets, two strips of four stamps each, feature album covers from Sir Elton John’s enormous output. Each stamp features the album cover and then an LP partially in the cover. The Royal Mail Group is responsible for the design, from an original concept by Studio Dempsey. John Ross was the photographer of the album covers.

Group One

1. Honky Chateau (1972) – the fifth studio album of Elton John. It was the first of his albums to reach number one in the United States. Among others, it features the songs “Honky Cat” and “Rocket Man.”
2. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973) – this double album is Elton John’s greatest album. It sound more than 30 million copies worldwide and spent eight weeks as the number one album, becoming the best selling album in the United States in 1974. It features such epic songs as “Bennie and the Jets,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” and the original version of “Candle in the Wind.”
3. Caribou (1974) – This was the fourth Elton John album to reach number one in the United States. The title comes from the Caribou Rach recording studio in Colorado where it was made. Among its songs are “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,” and “The Bitch is Back.”
4. Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975) – this was a concept album telling an autobiographical story of Elton John and his collaborator Bernie Taupin. It began a number one hit in its first week. Rolling Stone ranked it as 158 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Group Two

1. Sleeping With The Past (1989) – This was the twenty-second studio album of Elton John and is dedicated to his writing partner Bernie Taupin. It was John’s top selling album of the 1980s and features the songs “Sacrifice,” and “Healing Hands.”
2. The One (1992) – The cover is the design of Gianni Versace. It reached number 2 in the UK and was John’s best selling US album since 1975. It features songs including “The One,” and “The Last Song.”
3. Made in England (1995) – This mature album was dedicated for Elton John’s future husband David Furnish. The biggest hit from the song was “Believe,” which was number 15 in the United States.
4. Songs from the West Coast (2001) – This album brought Elton John back to his roots as songs centering on his performance at the piano. It features hits including “I Want Love,” “This Train Don’t Stop There Anymore,” and “Original Sin.”

Finally, here is one of my all time favorites. Enjoy!