Sir Elton John is undeniably one of the biggest pop stars of all time

His seemingly effortless musical skill and flamboyant style propelled him to superstardom in the '70s, and he has managed to retain his overwhelming popularity, producing Top 40 singles yearly from 1970 to 1996

Somewhat of a piano prodigy, John started playing at four and won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music at the age of eleven
After six years of formal training, he left the Academy to write and perform popular music

During the 1970's John, along with lyricist Bernie Taupin, produced a remarkable amount of material
The '70s was John's golden decade, during which he yielded such unforgettable classics as "Your Song" "Rocket Man" "Tiny Dancer" "Daniel" "Crocodile Rock" "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" "Benny and the Jets" "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" and "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word"

The '80s also saw the release of major hits including "Little Jeannie" "I Guess That's Why They Call it the Blues" "I'm Still Standing" "Sad Songs Say So Much" and "Candle in the Wind"

In the '90s, songs such as "Sacrifice" and "Blessed" and "The One" hit the top 10 on the US charts, and his collaboration (in 1994) with lyricist Tim Rice on Disney's massively successful The Lion King produced the instant classics "Circle of Life" and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight", the latter winning an Oscar for Best Original Song

The collaboration was so successful, the pair were recruited once again by Disney to write the music for their Broadway musical adaptation of the classic opera Aida, and an album of this effort was released in 1999

The critical and commercial success of John's 2004 release, "Peachtree Road", further solidifies his position as one of the most successful and enduring artists in pop music history

The Rocket Man, Sir Elton John, last night delivered what must rank as one of the most brilliant displays of musical genius seen on the Gold Coast with a two-hour celebration of his career - in a Canungra horse paddock!!

It was about as far away as you could get from playing before royalty, but the Elysian polo fields were transformed into a $5 million world-class music theatre as 10,000 people from across Queensland and further afield sang the night away to the music legend's greatest hits

Sir Elton caught many by surprise when he strode out on to the stage 15 minutes early
The low-key entrance sent the crowd into raptures with a standing ovation

Sir Elton didn't let the crowd down with his outfit
The man who has sold more than 250 million records graced the stage in a purple shirt and eye-catching black suit that included a massive jukebox embroidered on the back with the words 'Music Magic'
The front of the suit featured an embroidered image of Sir Elton standing on a rocket keyboard
After he walked on to the stage, Sir Elton bowed to the crowd, waved and gave them a good look at his outfit, front and back

He said nothing before taking a sip of water and launching into the opening number, "Your Song"
After the song he told the crowd of his excitement at doing his first solo tour of Australia
"Thank you very much, it's great to be here" he said
"The next song is rather appropriate because it's how old I am"

Sir Elton then burst into a rendition of "Sixty Years On"

The concert gave the audience an insight into his musical genius - there were no backing singers, no band, no electronic mixes, just Sir Elton and a piano
It was simple and it worked

The man, believed to be worth $500 million, said little throughout the concert other than to explain what some songs meant
It was a far cry from his earlier career when concerts were music and dance extravaganzas

The evening was a win for the Gold Coast and surrounding Hinterland, which showed the nation the city is capable of hosting the world's biggest stars
Elysian polo fields looked a picture and as images of the venue were beamed on the big screen, it was easy to imagine the concert was at a major international city, not a country horse venue
There were some who complained about the length of lines for food and alcohol, which at times were over 50m long, but the venue worked well

It was Sir Elton's second performance of an 10-show boutique tour of Australia which includes wineries and a football stadium

A convoy of 30 trucks transformed the Elysian Fields into a world-class concert arena, including a customised dressing room with couches, drapes and dozens of red roses specifically requested by Sir Elton
The multimillion-dollar set will be pulled down this morning as Sir Elton continues his tour, which will include performances from the Barossa Valley in South Australia to Townsville in North Queensland

Sir Elton John showed he's still standing after bringing the audience to its feet under the stars at Canungra in south-east Queensland on Sunday night

The 60-year-old 'Rocket Man' weaved his musical magic to a 10,000-strong crowd in the second of his 10 concerts on a solo tour of Australia

In an age where being fashionably late is cool, Sir Elton caught his fans off guard when his concert, called 'A Knight Under the Stars', began 10 minutes early
Many people were still parking their cars on the polo estate west of the Gold Coast or queuing for a beer and hotdog when Sir Elton opened the gig with "Your Song"

The near three-hour concert was spiced with classic hits such as "Daniel" "Blue Eyes" "Honky Cat" "Nikita" "No Sacrifice" "Leavon" and "Candle in the Wind"

"It's like coming home for me" Sir Elton told the audience during his encore featuring "I'm Still Standing" and "Circle of Light"
"I've been coming to Australia for 37 years now
I thank you all for the loyalty and love you have shown me for so long
Being an old Pommie poof, I love it over here"

The crowd were well and truly on their feet by the time he played "Benny and the Jets"
They were moved by the beautiful classic "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me" and rocked to the tune "I'm Still Standing"
"I'm still standing after all this time, looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid" Elton sang
It summed him up perfectly

Sir Elton next heads to Townsville to play at Dairy Farmers Stadium on Tuesday