If you've ever seen him in concert, if you've ever admired his manic piano playing on albums like Madman Across the Water, if you've ever bopped to "Crocodile Rock" or hummed the chorus to "Sad Songs" or taken a child to see The Lion King, if you've ever been amazed by the blending of his music with the lyrics of Bernie Taupin - you know what it's all about.

You know why he's a legend. You know why he's one of the few people on a first-name basis with the world. And you will have fun with this book.

The Elton John Scrapbook offers a rollicking journey through decades of memories - a celebration of the life and career of one man. Whether you are a new fan or an old one, these pages will connect you with one of our premier entertainers and give you a greater appreciation for his genius.

- Tom Stanton, publisher of East End Lights (The Magazine for Elton John Fans) - 1990-2001.

signed, Elton John

In this incisive new biography Judy Parkinson explores the life and work of Elton John, from his childhood and schooldays in Pinner, Middlesex, and his early days with the band, Bluesology, and follows his extensive music career of more than thirty years, through to his present-day top-celebrity status.

Born Reginald Dwight, a shy, self-conscious boy with an extraordinary talent as a pianist, he developed into a glittering phenomenon on stage, disguising his physical shortcomings under a vast array of outlandish costumes and accessories. Together with his songwriting partner, Bernie Taupin, with whom he has collaborated since 1967, he has had a prolific musical career, having written or recorded more than 500 songs over the past thirty-four yeaars.

Not without controversy, Elton has led a complicated life under the media spotlight, surviving suicide attempts, the effects of drugs and alcohol addictions, and bulimia. An ill-fated marriage ended in divorce after less than five years, and he was subsequuently plagued by a number of tabloid-inspired gay-sex allegations. He recovered from such personal crises, however, to found th Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992 - a charity which has raised more than £20 million for AIDS victims and research into the disease - and was knighted in 1998 for his charity work and services to music.

Illustrated with 16 pages of colour photographs, Elton - Made in England is an extensively researched and insightful biography of Britain's best-known performer.

Seine Lebensgeschichte ist eine Reise, die über Triumphe und Rückschläge endlich zum Ziel innerer Ruhe führte. Sie beginnt mit dem spektakulären Aufstieg zu Ruhm und Reichtum, dem ein ebenso gewaltiger Absturz folgt. Zu ihr gehören Selbstmordversuche, Drogensucht und Entzug, Ehe und Scheidung, Homosexuellenskandale, Heilung von seinen Suchtkrankheiten, Beleidigungsklagen und Versöhnung. Sein sensationelles Comeback lässt ihn wieder zu einer viel geliebten, weltweit bekannten Persönlichkeit werden.

Die international angesehene Biografin Judy Parkinson zeichnet einfühlsam ein facettenreiches Bild der privaten und öffentlichen Person Elton John, das durch zahlreiche brillante Fotos abgerundet wird.

If it's also a book about contrasts it's because he is a man of contrasts, and throughout these pages the images portray his journey across the years, from blue jeans to peacock-like resplendence and back again, from unbridled extravagance to mature, monochrome elegance.

The multi-faceted showman celebrated in this gallery may display countless aspects, but indubitably they are all part of one larger-than-life persona. This is Elton, and this is a picture of how he has carried his incoparable music into the hearts and minds of his global audience.

"What the music business has, I don't need, but what I have in my heart, the music business needs. What I have in my heart is needed by all the famous people I've worked with through the years. What I have in my heart is needed by all the young people who turn to rock music in a vain search for an antidote to the pain and despair they feel. What I have in my heart is a living relationship with Jesus Christ."

- Caleb Quaye

Elton is one of the most famous singers in the whole wide world.

This is his story.

Elton l'excentrique, Elton l'exubérant, dont les facéties et le mauvais goût tapageur ont souvent occulté la véritable personnalité. Derrière le masque en trompe-l'œil s'est longtemps caché un artiste sensible, compositeur fécond et pianiste surdoué. Pourtant, cet homme adulé par des millions de fans ne s'est pas aimé; il a cherché un exutoire dans l'alcool, le sexe et la drogue.

À l'approche de la cinquantaine, Elton John s'offre le luxe d'un repentir sincère : il fait la paix avec lui-même et affiche son homosexualité. Il recontre le grand amour, s'investit dans l'aide aux malades du sida, compose de somptueuses musiques de films et des comédies musicales.

De son premier mariage avec Renate Blauel au second avec David Furnish, de sa belle amitié avec la princesse Diana à sa tendresse pour Gianni Versace, de sa complicité avec John Lennon à ses disputes avec Madonna ou George Michael, voici racontée l'une des plus grandes rock stars de la planète, tantôt docteur Elton, tantôt mister John.

Journaliste et biographe, Bertrand Meyer-Stabley est notamment l'auteur chez Payot d'un remarquable Noureev (2003).

But the Queen Mum of Pop is loved as much for his outrageous personality and outspokenness as for his music. He's not afraid of drawing attention to the perceived shortcomings of others, and regularly delivers public admonishment, but he is also the first to recognise his own lapses in judgement.

After all, he is the man who himself admitted that in one of his more comedic cocaine-fuelled moments he phoned his agent 'to tell him to do something about the wind outside my hotel room'. Such shamelessness, and sheer silliness, rival anything uttered by the snotties of punks or the most outrageous of shock-rockers, yet it is so typically Elton John: honest, and wittily intemperate.

Tragedy and heartbreak have played a large part in his life too. Behind the parties, the hedonism, the lavish stage costuming and the silly glasses lies a more sombre story. There have been disputes with managers, legal wranglings, splits and a divorce. Added to that there have been serious health problems, a very public battle with his expanding waistline and receding hairline, addictions and spells when he wanted to quit the business altogether.

But today he's in a stable relationship with civil partner David Furnish. His demons and critical stock is in the ascendancy. With popular acts such as the Scissor Sisters sounding more like Elton than Elton himself, after years in MOR wilderness, Elton and his music are cool again.

Drawing on numerous first-hand interviews with many of his associates and musical collaborators, this page-turning story of high drama and prodigious enduring talent traces Elton's astonishing journey through life as the collosus of camp, while also offering a critical study of his work, and analysing afresh his contribution to popular music.