Elton John opens up about why he changed his name – and how it caught up with him

11 December 2024, 12:06

This is why he's called Sir Elton Hercules John.

Every Elton John fan knows that the man wasn't actually born Elton Hercules John, but instead Reginald Kenneth Dwight.

And now Sir Elton has opened up about exactly why he changed his name, and the unintended effect of taking on this new persona.

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"Reginald is a really old-fashioned name," Elton told Good Morning America.

"It's shortened to Reggie, which I hated. I just didn't like it, and as soon as I could, I changed my name.

"I was very clever, I thought, 'No one's really called Elton, so I'll be Elton and I'll be the only Elton'."

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He added: "I wanted to leave my childhood and that persona behind, and that caught up with me.

"I realised I put everything into my work and my art, my recording, and there was nothing underneath there."

"I was just a void. I left little Reggie behind, but little Reggie was still inside of me."

Elton adopted his stage name in 1967, borrowing it from Bluesology saxophonist Elton Dean and singer Long John Baldry.

He legally changed his name to Elton Hercules John on January 7, 1972, having borrowed Hercules from the horse's name in classic sitcom Steptoe and Son.

Sir Elton recently revealed that he's had to put his plans to record a new album on hold due to problems with his eyesight that have effectively left him blind, though hopefully only temporarily.