Elton John To Release ‘Live From The Rainbow Theatre’
The legendary songwriter performed six shows at the London venue in 1977.
Elton John is set to release Live From The Rainbow Theatre, which collects live versions of songs from his six-show 1977 residency at the iconic London venue.
In May 1977, Elton took the stage with Ray Cooper for six now-famous shows. These performances were the first Elton-and-Ray only shows and featured the first live debuts of tracks “Roy Rogers,” “Cage The Songbird,” “Idol,” and “I Feel Like A Bullet (In The Gun Of Robert Ford).”
Record Store Day 2025 marked the first-ever official vinyl release of the concerts, featuring a selection of highlight tracks from the show curated by Elton John.
This release included “Sweet Painted Lady,” “Idol,” “Dan Dare,” and more. On July 25, the album will be available digitally and on CD for the first time alongside a wide LP release.
The 12 songs included come from eight of the 11 albums Elton had released by 1977. Few of the songs had ever been performed in concert before the six Rainbow Theatre gigs. Notably, only one of the songs Elton performs here had been a single in the UK, 1970’s “Border Song.”
The well-captured sound on these recordings comes from the intimate nature of the performances. Remarkably, the total attendance for the six Rainbow shows was less than one night at Madison Square Garden.
The shows were a resounding success and came to establish Elton John as one of the preeminent performers of the 20th and 21st centuries. Said John Hayward of Music Week in May of 1977, “If ever there was any doubt that Elton John is a world class charismatic performer, it was dispelled during his solo concert run at London’s Rainbow last week.”
Added Harry Doherty from a May 1977 edition of Melody Maker, “Stripped of all the musical paraphernalia that usually marks his concerts, Elton John gave one of the warmest and most enthralling performances that London’s Rainbow theatre is ever likely to see.”
