63-year-old Ricky Stephenson from Longton has seen his favourite star Elton John in concert an unbelievable 233 times.
We talk to his about his musical obsession, have a look at years of memorabilia, and find out what his wife thinks of it all.
We talk to his about his musical obsession, have a look at years of memorabilia, and find out what his wife thinks of it all.
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 (upbeat music)
00:05 (upbeat music)
00:07 - Yep.
00:21 (upbeat music)
00:23 (upbeat music)
00:26 - I was roughly about nine, 10 years old,
00:45 be 1970, something like that.
00:48 And I listened to radio, Radio One.
00:51 And this bloke called Elton John doing
00:55 Your Song and other tracks from an album
00:59 he was doing from an album called Empty Sky.
01:01 And I thought I really love this music.
01:06 And Tony Blackburn, who I remember took DJ,
01:10 he was really playing a lot of Elton John stuff.
01:12 And I just really got to like it.
01:14 And Radio Two as well, and Radio Luxembourg as well.
01:17 Rocket Man was a big hit.
01:18 And it went on and I just love his music.
01:22 It's just the way it started.
01:24 And
01:25 1979,
01:30 so I'd been about 19 then.
01:32 He was on at the Guild Hall at Preston.
01:35 Anyway, I queued up all night.
01:39 And I mean like from six o'clock at night,
01:43 right through the night to get a decent,
01:46 you couldn't get tickets on online in them days.
01:50 It was at the box office at the Guild Hall.
01:52 The box office opened about nine o'clock,
01:56 got a ticket, sent it, it was like a golden ticket type,
01:59 to me then, you know then.
02:00 And when we went out, the queue was going all the way down
02:05 up towards Church Street.
02:07 And that was my first time.
02:09 And it was just brilliant.
02:11 And I got to the front, was sort of in the middle,
02:14 if you will.
02:14 Got towards the front at the end.
02:16 And it was just brilliant.
02:18 And it just went on from there.
02:19 The rest is history.
02:21 When you see him live, he's just like,
02:27 he's better than the studio to me.
02:31 You know, he's just great.
02:34 It's just something I just love.
02:35 Can't, well it's just,
02:36 I've never, there's never an album I don't like.
02:39 What is that, "Magisterie" there?
02:43 Now, not many.
02:44 (laughs)
02:46 233 now.
02:47 Yes, 50 odd years later, yeah.
02:51 Vegas,
02:53 Madison Square Garden, New York.
02:57 That's the furthest I've been.
02:59 Been to France, Belgium,
03:03 Isle of Man.
03:04 (laughs)
03:05 Most of it's all been in Great Britain, right?
03:07 Latvia,
03:08 Paris,
03:10 Latvia.
03:11 Done Paris twice, I think.
03:14 Italy, Rome, yeah.
03:15 Done that.
03:16 Right.
03:18 Before, just COVID time, I think it was,
03:22 put a phone there,
03:23 play the music,
03:24 and it comes out the speakers on this.
03:26 And there's also a video of him in a pink jacket.
03:29 Well, there is there as well.
03:31 But to do this, from the size of my hands,
03:34 these tiny people gloom down, it's a nightmare.
03:36 But I put it all on Facebook, this lot.
03:39 While he's playing, it's like a train going round,
03:40 and all that sort of thing, you know.
03:42 - You mentioned your lovely wife.
03:45 What does she think of all this?
03:46 - Oh, she was a fan of Allentown once.
03:49 (laughs)
03:50 - You put her on?
03:51 - Yeah, she got a bit fed up.
03:52 No, she doesn't mind.
03:53 She's gone through a lot, really.
03:55 Very patient wife, I'd say.
03:57 (gentle music)
03:59 (gentle music)
04:02 - Favourite concert?
04:13 It's got to be, well, Glastonbury, to be honest.
04:19 I would say it's got to be on my own.
04:21 'Cause there's a chance of getting a ticket,
04:24 one ticket, though.
04:26 And I had to go to this Glastonbury concert,
04:28 'cause it's his last one.
04:30 He's never been to Glastonbury.
04:31 He's never done Glastonbury before.
04:32 I've never been to Glastonbury.
04:34 So, a friend of a friend of a friend, if you will, ticket.
04:37 Managed to get a ticket.
04:39 And managed to get to the front.
04:41 And that's just, like, capped it all off, you know.
04:44 That was my 233th concert.
04:48 Just, like, just an expensive thing,
04:51 'cause it's just for the farewell tour only, you know.
04:57 You won't be able to get them again,
04:58 once you've only sold so many, you know what I mean?
05:01 That's what I'm told, anyway.
05:03 Blackburn, it's my 200th.
05:06 We were at the front, and Ray said,
05:11 "Hold the banner up."
05:12 We had a banner saying 200th and all this.
05:14 "Hold the banner up."
05:16 It was before Elmshorn came on.
05:17 With the crowd behind you and all this, like.
05:19 So I did that.
05:20 We were at the front.
05:21 And the crowd were going mental.
05:22 I couldn't believe it.
05:23 It was on the screens.
05:24 Me holding this banner up.
05:26 Next thing, local papers interviewed me as well,
05:28 and all this.
05:30 Anyway, Elmshorn comes on, and he says,
05:33 noticed my name holding the banner, obviously.
05:35 He says, "This is for Ricky.
05:36 "I'm gonna do your song."
05:37 It's on YouTube, you know.
05:39 And he did your song.
05:41 And then he said, "Right, I'm gonna do Tiny Dance,
05:42 "and I want you two to dance, me and Ray."
05:45 And I can't dance.
05:46 I've got two left feet.
05:47 So I thought, "All right, idiot."
05:49 Six months later, I was in the front.
05:52 Six months later, I went to a Morrissey concert.
05:57 Wife said, "Will you go in queue and get some nachos?"
06:00 I said, "Yeah, yeah."
06:02 So I'm in this queue, talking to this bloke,
06:03 never met him before.
06:04 Never mentioned Elton John.
06:07 And he goes, "Gil, my mum went to see Elton John
06:10 "six months ago at Blackburn."
06:13 I says, "Oh yeah?"
06:15 He said, "She said there was this madman from Preston
06:17 "who'd come to see him 200 times."
06:20 I said, "You're joking."
06:21 I went along.
06:22 He doesn't know it was me.
06:24 200?
06:25 That's ridiculous.
06:26 She went along with him, you know?
06:28 And he doesn't know what to say it's mean like.
06:31 (laughs)
06:32 I said, "That's bloody ridiculous,
06:34 "bit extreme, that, innit?"
06:35 And he says, "I know, it's ridiculous.
06:36 "He was the one who'd seen him 200 times,"
06:38 and all this sort of thing.
06:39 I know, I just don't get it.
06:41 And he doesn't know what to say.
06:43 That's a true story, that, yeah.