Fan report by Mark Danby.

This was Elton's first concert in Carlisle, the first concert at Brunton Park home of Carlisle United Football Club and the first major concert in the Cumbria area. This concert was therefore regarded a big event by the people of Cumbria, and I was a little apprehensive as to how they would receive Elton. The concert was a sell out with a crowd of almost 20,000.

The Story's supported Elton as usual and were very well received and Elton also allowed a local band to play called the Monroe's who were also very good.

Elton and the band took the stage at 7.10 pm and started as usual with "Funeral for a Friend" and "Love Lies Bleeding" followed by "The Bitch Is Back" which had the crowd on its feet for the first time. Elton then spoke for the first time apologising for his voice saying he had Bronchitis and although you would not have guessed it from the first two songs the voice did sound very bad when he spoke.

He then went into "Hercules" and not far into the song Elton came in too early and at this point I did begin to wonder if Elton was going to struggle with his voice, if indeed he was up for it and also how this essentially new audience would respond.

I have to say from this point on something very special started to happen. I have attended countless Elton John concerts all over the world and this one takes some beating. It soon became apparent the Carlisle crowd were up for a good time and all they wanted to do was party with Elton by standing, singing, chanting, cheering, clapping etc. which started with "Tiny Dancer" and built with every song.

The security tried in vain to get people to sit but soon gave up with everyone in the Stadium standing for the majority of the time. I have to say that a lot of alcohol was been consumed which contributed to the merriment but it was totally good natured and friendly. I have never been to an Elton Concert like this before and I have to say it took me by surprise a little, I have been critical of many audiences for been too quiet and conservative but on the other hand I also like to listen very closely to the music. This was just not possible at this concert because there was so much movement with everyone standing, moving about (going for more drinks, dancing, etc.) you just had to go with it and enjoy.

Elton's voice seemed to improve with every song with the exception of "The Bridge" which he seemed to struggle with and anyway all this audience wanted was the big hits and it is perhaps the reason he dropped "All The Young Girls Love Alice". As Elton went through this hits the whole stadium was rocking with all 20,000 standing and dancing.

I have to say that I applaud Elton for playing venues like this. The organisation for this event was massive and took six months of hard work and they now hope to attract other big names to the area. I was down in Cornwall earlier this year and I was wearing my eltonjohn.com hat and I was amazed by the reaction of the locals to his concert in Plymouth. They were very excited and felt honoured that Elton was coming to their area where superstars never play. Look out Inverness.

You can find lots of pics and concert info on the BBC web site here.

Following is the complete set list of the Carlisle show on June 3, 2007:

• Funeral For A Friend
  
• Loves Lies Bleeding
  
• The Bitch Is Back
  
• Hercules
  
• Madman Across The Water
  
• Tiny Dancer
  
• Daniel
  
• Rocket Man
  
• Honky Cat
  
• Sacrifice
  
• I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
  
• Burn Down The Mission
  
• The Bridge
  
• Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
  
• Bennie And The Jets
  
• Philadelphia Freedom
  
• Are You Ready For Love
  
• Something About The Way You Look Tonight
  
• Sad Songs (Say So Much)
  
• I'm Still Standing
  
• Crocodile Rock
  
• Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)
  
  
• Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
  
• Your Song

Back to Headlines