Local boy made good (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Local boy made good

Elton John on stage in Swindon last night Ref: 78006-192SWINDONIANS can tell everyone that Elton John thinks they are wonderful after he made a special tribute to the town.

The pop legend delighted thousands of fans at the County Ground last night by dedicating a love song to the people of Swindon.

And he had a special wish for Swindon Town FC, who he revealed he used to watch as a boy when, the son of a RAF trumpeter, he lived at Lyneham.

"When I was a little boy I used to live at Lyneham at the airbase," he said, after coming back on stage for a second encore at the end of a two-hour performance.

"I used to come and watch Swindon play. It was absolutely fantastic. I never thought I would get to play here.

"Thank you so much for all your loyalty. You have been absolutely fantastic. I wish you promotion next year, you are a great club.

"This is for all of you. Thank you Swindon."

He then sang Your Song, the chorus of which is:

"And you can tell everybody this is your song

"It may be quite simple but now that it's done

"I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind that I put down in words

"How wonderful life is while you're in the world."

Earlier he had asked the crowd to give a special west country welcome to his backing choir and said he was thrilled to be in Swindon.

And the audience was certainly thrilled to see Elton in Swindon.

After a warm-up by none other than Lulu, Elton treated the thousands of fans at a transformed County Ground to a performance which had people singing along and dancing in their seats.

Crowd favourites included I'm Still Standing, Are You Ready For Love and, at the end of a scorching hot day, Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me.

And as delighted fans made their way out of the County Ground, Elton proved he is still a star by leaving in a helicopter just minutes after his last song.

But it will take some of his fans slightly longer to get home. Although Swindonians packed the crowd, many people had travelled a lot further for the chance to see Elton.

Sue Moulden, 63, moved from Swindon to Cyprus two years ago but came home for the concert.

"It was wonderful," she said. "A fantastic performance it was worth coming home for."

Isabel Field