For Elton John’s admirers, this year was supposed to be a low-key one. After all, the iconic British pop superstar and piano virtuoso had announced his retirement – or so we believed. However, a collaborative album with Brandi Carlile, titled ‘Who Believes In Angels?’, surged to number one, showcasing some of his most energized, vibrant, and soulful music in the past twenty years.
Now, there’s another surprise, a jewel from the archives. The album ‘Live From The Rainbow Theatre With Ray Cooper’ aptly describes its content, though the descriptive title merely hints at the treasures within. Ray Cooper is well-known to Elton’s fans – he’s the talented musician with perfect timing and a radiant smile who has been part of Elton’s band intermittently for fifty years. This exceptional live album captures some of the most audacious and unexpected performances of their careers, shows they believed had faded into history.
“I had no idea this was recorded,” Ray chuckles during a phone conversation with Clash. “So, this is a delightful and joyous surprise for me. After all these years, it’s resurfaced like a precious gem.”
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The backstory alone could inspire another biopic about Elton. A few months prior to his retreat from the public eye, he stunned fans by announcing his semi-retirement from music. “We were all standing backstage at Wembley Arena, completely in shock,” Ray remembers. “It was necessary for him at that time. So, I wandered back to my family and my home life, away from the road… which was tough at first,” he laughs.
“A few months later, the phone rang,” he recounts, “and it was Elton’s voice, coming through the line as it always does! He said he actually wanted to do some concerts. I was thrilled and asked if he had informed the rest of the guys yet. He replied no, he wanted to do it with me.”
“It was a lot to process,” Ray continues. “It was a bold and exhilarating proposal. But I understood where he was headed – it was an extraordinary thing to do.”
For Ray, this invitation tapped into his deep love for theatre, which resonated with Elton. “Two people on stage can create a very theatrical atmosphere. There’s a certain energy there. And if it’s done right, it brings immense joy.”
“That’s the privilege of working with Sir Elton,” he states, “because he trusts me and my abilities, knowing what I can bring to him. That’s an extraordinary level of trust.”
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The two launched their duo performance during a six-night stint at the Rainbow Theatre in London – a revered venue where fans purchased tickets unsure of what to expect, adding an electrifying energy to the shows captured on the new album.
“It was a severance from the umbilical cord of rock ‘n’ roll as it had been… with guitars and everything else. It was a return to examining the material from a fresh perspective.”
In a way, this departure from arena spectacle aligned perfectly with the era – 1977, the summer of punk, and Elton’s choice to eliminate the excess (from today’s viewpoint) was spot-on. The arrangement was straightforward – Elton John would open and perform half the set solo. “Then we decided there’d be, well, not an interval… an intrusion, let’s say,” Ray beams. “Suddenly, I jumped in – quite literally, I think, with a lot of noise and drama.”
“It caught everyone’s imagination,” he explains, “because this was something truly special that Elton was offering that night. The audience had never seen or heard him engage with the material in this way before. I had the best seat in the house – in fact, I've been fortunate at every show I've done with Sir Elton because I get to watch him at the keyboard.”
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Now preserved on record for future generations, those performances possess incredible flexibility, enabling Elton to explore new territory, with Ray Cooper’s percussion enhancing the experience. “I’m a colourist,” he describes his role in the songs. “I’m also punctuation – adding exclamation marks, full stops, question marks. It’s a wonderful part of music.”
The success of those shows led Elton to continue, quickly announcing a world tour featuring over 100 performances. In a groundbreaking decision, the two musicians made rare appearances in the Soviet Union, where Elton played a brief series of concerts on Russian soil.
“It was an extraordinary tour,” Ray reflects. “The audiences were so respectful and genuinely wanted to enjoy the music they had heard on a crackly radio near the American forces’ border.”
“Initially, Elton and I thought, well, they’re not enjoying it. What’s happening here? But that was far from the truth. They were simply listening, eager to absorb everything we did – it truly sharpened our performance. I was mesmerized by the audience.”
“Sir Elton was the first artist to perform there
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For supporters of Elton John, this year was expected to be a calm one. After all, the British pop icon and piano virtuoso has retired – or so it seemed. A