C. J. Marvin, an Italo-Australian singer and pianist, stands out internationally as the frontman of The Elton Show, a thrilling production that pays tribute to the musical and visual journey of Elton John. The performance spans four decades of hits — from “Your Song” and “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” to “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” — staying true to the essence and spectacle of the British icon.
He captivates both audiences and critics not just as a visual impersonator, but as a performer who channels the “spirit” of Elton — a sign of his decision to create a show that would be more than just a cover act. With vibrant costumes and live piano playing, C. J. is frequently praised by viewers: “When C. J. sings, you truly believe it’s Elton.”
A major turning point came in 1984 in Milan, when Marvin met Elton John and his band in a hotel lobby. Reportedly impressed, Elton exclaimed: “You are the best me I ever heard!” — a phrase that became emblematic in C. J.’s journey.
Beyond his vocal and stage talent, C. J. has a strong musical background. Born in Melbourne in 1964, he moved as a child to Trieste, Italy, where he studied classical piano and voice. As a teenager, he performed with local groups, formed his own band, and released original work before launching The Elton Show in 2007. The tours gained momentum especially in 2014, when the production expanded and included a special guest appearance by Charlie Morgan, Elton John’s official drummer from 1985 to 1997. Morgan — who performed with Elton on landmark albums and shows, including the iconic Live Aid concert in 1985 — stated, “This production is the closest you’ll ever get to the real thing.”
Since then, The Elton Show has filled theaters and festivals across Europe and North America, receiving consistent praise from audiences and critics alike: “absolutely mesmerizing,” “the best show I’ve ever seen” are common remarks heard on tours through Italy and the UK.
With a solid trajectory behind him, our interview with C. J. Marvin promises to reveal the backstage of a career built on balancing the legendary figure of Elton John with his own artistic authenticity. We’ll explore everything from musical training to the challenges of performance and his vision of keeping the legacy of the “Rocket Man” alive without losing his own identity.
Robson Vianna: C. J., thank you so much for accepting this invitation to our interview. It’s a great pleasure to talk with you. To begin, could you give us a brief summary of your journey as an instrumentalist and singer before taking on the role in The Elton Show? How did you start in music, and what were the key moments of that phase in your career?
C.J. Marvin:
Thank you for reaching out, it´s always nice to be noticed and recognized for your work, and there was definitely some done in my lifetime so far 😊
I started learning music relatively late when I was 11, because of important changes in my early life.
When I was 6 in late 1970, my parents moved from Australia to Italy and I found myself suddenly thrown into a totally new existence which had me confused and struggling for some years while adjusting to the new reality.
I started taking classical piano lessons in 1975 for 6 years and singing for 3. I knew already from childhood to not be interested in becoming the next Beethoven or anything like that, I wanted to play and sing, do Pop music, so right away after taking my first lessons at 11, I focused on learning the skills and on how to apply them to what I had inside and felt I had to say. I was a very fast learner.
After only a couple of years I held my first paid show in trio, with a bass player and a drummer... Just like Elton years earlier 😊 hahaha!!
...and soon enough I started composing melodies which needed words.
In 1981 I met a young Italian lyricist Robert Montanelli with whom we wrote material for at least 3 albums.
Without any record deal or management in sight we created “The Marvin Band” with some other guys who believed in us enough to follow us anywhere, and we started fixing dates and mini tours ourselves in Northern Italy and neighbouring countries.
We gained some popularity in certain areas between 1985 and 1988 and kept rocking our original stuff for almost a full decade thanks also to the support of some regional radios´ and a few lucky TV appearances, which all helped to boost our name.
Still with no record deal on the horizon, in 1988 I shut down The Marvin Band and moved 3 days a week to Milan where up to 1991 I worked at some recording companies as an external writer, producing demos for obscure contracted artists and jingles for businesses who ultimately never ever took anything... hahaha!.. Great! 😊
But those 3 years in studios gave me the knowledge to master the emerging computer technology of the time, allowing me as a singer/piano player, to be independent from other musicians, travel SOLO, and write and create anywhere I went.
In late 1991 came the opportunity to settle in Basel/Switzerland where I suddenly became a full-time piano entertainer performing extensively in clubs, bars, for private events and more, you name it.
I became rather quickly quite popular in Switzerland and on the European rock’n’roll club circuit for that prominent “Elton edge”, which was already surfacing so strong during my performances and distinguished me so clearly from everyone else.
I started making all sorts of connections. 2 months in Switzerland became another decade of madness during which I was able to save up enough money to produce independently 2 original singles and 2 LPs.
I still have some unsold copies around if you care to buy one... hahahaha!! 😊
I toured Europe for almost 2 decades as a piano entertainer, a “musical prostitute” really, alternating cover music with Elton´s music and originals, until “The Elton Show” got strong enough for me to finally make the definitive switch.
Robson Vianna: Many of us first heard Elton John as just another artist among many. But at some point, something about him stands out — and that’s when we become true fans. In my case, what struck me immediately was his extravagant image, almost like a superhero from DC or Marvel Comics: bold, colorful, impossible to ignore. In 1973/74, Elton John reminded me of actor Frank Gorshin (The Riddler) from the Batman series. I was 8 or 9 years old.
Do you remember when you discovered Elton John? Was there a particular song that sparked that fascination? What was that “awakening” like?
C.J. Marvin:
I remember that Batman series very well... I just happened to look at it in its entirety just a couple of years ago. So cool, so cult! I love it and it brings back lots of memories...
I remember very well when I first discovered Elton and it was in 2 different moments in Australia sometime in 1970, as he was establishing himself initially more as a writer than a singer/artist.
My young parents listened to a lot of different music and among piles of 45 records there was suddenly a cover of “Bad Side of the Moon” sang by someone who I think was called “TOE FAT”.
I remember listening to it over and over for its catchy chorus, singing along and wondering away in my head to who knows where, only to find out years later that it actually was a John/Taupin song.
So that somehow was my first.
Later that same year though, some friend of my parents brought to our home in Melbourne a single or some special release of “Your Song” from England, sung this time by Elton of course, and that was IT for me.
It was the tone of the voice, the vocal delivery, the melody of the piano, the string arrangement, the softness of the tune — it kidnapped me forever.
It was something else, so different from Elvis or The Platters or Cilla Black, and the rest I heard all the time — I just loved it.
I literally consumed that record as well. Honestly, I tended to consume all my Elton records back then... hahaha! None escaped 😊
And so already at 6 I decided that that was what I wanted to do too the rest of my life.
Of course at that age I was not thinking about copying the man like I do now for a living, but I decided that I too wanted to sing and make music just like him, understanding only years later that he also played piano.
That was definitely another factor that got me started with Elton. He was complete. He represented for me all what I was hoping to become one day as a musician.
I can candidly state that I became a musician only and exclusively because of Elton.
But as I said earlier, the change of life between Australia and Italy made me lose track of him for some years and distracted me, up to 1974, when my brother Robert came home (now in Italy) with a cassette of Caribou.
It was a revelation.
It didn’t take long for me to discover that the artist on that cassette was the same one I liked years earlier, and once I connected the dots I got a grip on him and there was nothing else.
I embraced him and never let him go 😊
He was from the beginning the role model for me to look up to and learn from.
He was doing everything I was dreaming about doing — nobody else like him, not even close.
He was “the one” for me right from the beginning and I stuck with him my whole life.
Robson Vianna: You could have followed in the footsteps of other great male artists of the ’70s — Billy Joel, David Bowie, Rod Stewart, Paul McCartney, James Taylor, or even Barry Manilow. They all left their mark and had distinct, powerful styles.
What made you choose Elton John as the artist to honor? What spoke to you most deeply about him, to the point of dedicating yourself entirely to this tribute? Were there other options? Which ones?
C.J. Marvin:
Yes, I listened to all those other people a lot too but no, there was never any other option for me.
I listened to a lot of different things growing up and expanding as a musician but no other artist ever got me like Elton. As I said, HE is complete.
He’s always been for me and I felt that way, I felt such a strong attraction, a special connection with him, right from the beginning.
His vocal style so well defined and unique, rich. His piano playing accompanying his voice always so proper and tasteful. All always perfectly executed throughout his entire catalogue.
No other artist has been able, in my opinion, to deliver that same amount of music and maintain at the same time such high standards like Elton… ever. I doubt there will ever be anyone else like him.
Also, no other artist has ever been that consistent for that long in my opinion, and no one has been as close as talented to produce the same body of work like Elton and Bernie have throughout the decades, to steal my passion like them.
There’s simply no one who can compete with such talent and blessings. Furthermore, he kept always evolving and renewing himself all the time. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on his new releases.
Elton’s voice matured immensely from being rather green in his early years to that wonderful texture around the “Madman…” era and onwards, and I just always loved his songwriting in general.
His songs were always closer to my sensibility more than any other artist out there — and for the last 50+ years!
The arrangements, the productions, the band’s backing vocals…! Wow! Just listen to “Pinky” as an example...
They were always so amazing that I would play the records every day for hours and hours just to enjoy them over and over…
Back then I could — I had time… hahaha! Not now anymore 😊
I used to play my full Elton collection every day as it grew by 1 LP a week after my parents granted me my weekly allowance 😊
I would easily spend 12–15 hours daily listening to Elton from the bottom to the top — from “Empty Sky” to whatever the newest purchase was — memorizing everything as I sang along and discovered his chords on the piano.
I was learning classical just to be able to play Elton first, and then also to learn how to write my own music!! Hahaha! So true... 😊
All the above brought me to immerse myself so much into his sound that apparently I have somehow made it my own as well.
Playing Elton all my life feels like playing my own songs. It comes so natural to me — it always has. People around me often comment on how it all seems and sounds effortless.
In fact, I never feel like I need to push anything to sound like him. It just comes out that way.
It’s me doing and almost “being” Elton when I am on stage.
I immerse myself into the character. I believe I have absorbed him through a lifetime of love and dedication, and he is in my every cell… 😊
Sounds almost troubling… hahah! 😊
But it’s all only about the love I have for him and his work.
Robson Vianna: From the initial idea to the first version of the show — before even stepping on stage as Elton John — what were the biggest obstacles you faced? Were there doubts, resistance, or unexpected challenges during this creative process?
C.J. Marvin:
I was the obstacle. I admit that I was very reluctant for a long time about putting together an Elton John tribute for the fact that at some point, and in my musical career, I was struggling with the need for being myself.
I was told too many times by record executives in Europe that I had no chance of making it in the real business as long as I sounded so much like Elton, as long as he was in business or even alive… Can you imagine??
I tried consequently to get musically “away from him” during most of the 90s, focusing on myself but I’m not sure it worked 😊
I got artistically involved in 1993 with an American writer from Boston, Linda Teller, and dived into writing with her. We produced really good stuff.
The result were 10 great original tracks ready to become our “Travelling Man” album one day.
But my own music sounded, and I guess still sounds, generally much deeper than what any company would ever want to publish — good old “adult contemporary” someone would call it. Very close in feel to that “Elton John” second LP of his which swept me away decades earlier.
Today I feel totally satisfied and at peace for having proven to myself first — and to the world — that I was, and still am, more than just “a club player” or an “impersonator of someone else”.
I even tried to “get away from Elton” by drastically reducing his “presence” in my life and live sets, but it was that same club people I performed for who, noticing my resemblance with him, pushed me into creating a tribute.
Who would’ve thought?
C.J. Marvin:
There is with no doubt a number of Elton fans around the world who actually are irritated and annoyed by this whole tribute thing. Not everyone welcomes these type of shows and I’m not sure why, but maybe I do know...
The music trends of the last decades, with all the Rap, Hip Hop, Dance, Trance, Loops, etc. — forget about Jazz, ‘cause that’s a whole different planet anyway — they have made it literally impossible for most pop singers and musicians to survive.
So I think that the “tribute industry” has become the unexpected place for everyone — good or average — where to fall back to, making it boom all over the world as the only way of making a living before having to look for another job or hobby.
There is unfortunately a lot of poor quality out there among the tribute shows, and a lot of terrible parodies performed by people convinced instead of doing something great. No wonder the industry gets quite some negativity.
Some of the shows though are quite good and indeed great, but there is too many people out there who just throw on a terrible costume, can’t really play or sing, and just go at it thinking “Ahh, let’s do Elton John now,” or maybe Beatles, or Nirvana, from one day to the next.
That is such an amateur approach and not the way it works if you want to build a reputation.
It takes much more than that to gain people’s respect and most of all to have them leave happy, wanting to hear you again next time around.
Coming to Elton, he is simply too important, too respected, too much loved by the majority of his fans for them to like watching someone trash his music on a silly pantomime by an average pianist.
There are people who will let you know very clearly they are unhappy if you mess with their man. And I agree.
I feel myself very annoyed when I see someone on a stage treating him with disrespect and I am always very vigilant about my own standards, my band’s standards, and the whole show that we offer.
We sell an illusion, we charge quite some money for it — it has to be good.
Otherwise do it for your friends at home, but don’t go out in public ruining the reputation of the whole industry and for others who care to do it well, unless you are prepared to deal with the insults.
Bad shows of any specific theme ruin a lot for everybody else doing the same thing — even if these happen to appear for the first time somewhere or even come from another country.
Once trust is gone, it’s gone for everyone.
We have experienced it firsthand several times, where promoters decided to not book us because they felt no one could be good at it after they tried someone else before us who was just horrible.
It takes so much more work and a much bigger effort then to change people’s mind and get a chance to be booked somewhere in a new place after they had a bad experience with the same kind of product.
I understand why there is a lot of people who feel negative and skeptic about this business, and I just hope they are able to make the distinction between those who “disrespect” Elton in some way — talking about my specific subject — and those who instead have something of quality to offer, something dignified, greatly performed, which leaves them ultimately in awe and makes them regain trust, and makes them want to come see the shows.
We who do this need to remain very humble all the time, but most of these improvised tribute acts just don’t get it, grow attitude, and create negativity towards the whole industry by playing around with stuff people love.
Those who fully embrace tribute artists without any reservation are generally those who either don’t know enough about any original artist and/or possibly don’t even care about the details, and just want to go out, see a performance and have fun.
Those are very easy to please.
But those are not really the ones I, together with my people in The Elton Show, focus on.
We have a totally different view of how things need to be.
We focus on all what we can to offer the best experience possible to those who instead do see, do hear the details, do pay attention, and are able to tell if you have put in the work or not.
Those are the real people whose hearts we want to win and the real challenge we set out for every time we perform — whatever their musical preference may be.
Robson Vianna: Tell us a bit about your team. Who are the people who accompany you on this journey — both onstage and behind the scenes? What’s it like working with musicians and professionals who share this mission of honoring Elton John with such fidelity?
C.J. Marvin:
Working in The Elton Show is such a great adventure and joy because everyone is so committed to the success of the show.
I am merely the lead artist and managing director, and lately we have assembled probably the most amazing and fun group of people we ever had.
Please allow me to give you a bit of our background.
To begin with, The Elton Show is basically an Australian/Norwegian production from my union with the Norwegian owner Veronica Haugland, who helped me the last 8 years create the show formats we currently tour with.
Initially, many years ago, I conceived the show as a production that wanted to group different musicians — somehow friends of mine — from different parts of the world, to underline the universality of Elton’s music and persona.
In the beginning, in late 2007, there was just myself from Australia, 2 Norwegian and 1 Brazilian singers.
A very simple piano & vocal quartet project where the reproduction of Elton’s amazing harmonies would dominate the arrangements.
In 2014 we expanded our business and grew to a 9-piece full-band format, bringing in:
– 1 English/Romanian keyboardist
– 2 Italians on bass and guitars
– 1 Spanish/Italian percussionist from Spain
– and British Charlie Morgan — yes, Elton’s Charlie Morgan — on drums.
(I’ll explain that later.)
In 2017 we then changed our singers to 3 new Italian ladies with a vast experience as a vocal trio together, and in 2018 we brought in also a Swiss drummer to cover for Charlie for when he couldn’t be with us.
As you see, a very diverse and international group of people — all very respectful of Elton, his music, my vision, and the target our company set out to reach.
Then the pandemic hit and ruined everything between 2019 and 2022.
Because of it, our market shrunk considerably and we had to rethink our travels and expenses.
So for logistic reasons the last three years, and up to today, we have had a new band composed mostly of Italians, 1 French, and still the Spanish percussionist doing Ray Cooper, of course — he is not going anywhere, hahaha! 😊
Maybe at some point we could and will have Charlie back too, who knows?
When our bookings will again be like pre-pandemic and it will be again financially viable — because believe me, he doesn’t come cheap… hahaha! 😊
All our current artists love the project and would follow me to hell and back.
They trust my leadership and have understood that nothing less than their best will work with me and for me.
We travel and discover constantly new places and feel all really lucky to be doing what we love to do, and receive so much love and appreciation back for it — just for performing something so many around the world share true passion for.
Our concerts truly bring together all sorts of people with one desire only:
To enjoy again and more the beautiful music Elton and Bernie (and the others who worked with them as well) have forever left to us.
Our artists are all tremendously talented individuals who give their best in every situation — and working together with them is such a pleasure and privilege.
On stage we are one: one group, one family, one mission.
Shall we mention their names now?
Yes, come on, I think it’s time 😊
Here they are — and let’s all give them a virtual round of applause for their amazing contributions, shall we?
🎸 On Guitars: from Turin/Italy, Marco Giacone Griva (who on stage, just for fun, I make become Marc Jackone from NYC)
🎸 On Bass: also from Turin/Italy, Massimo Conte (who again on stage I make become for fun Max Conte from Toronto)
🥁 On Drums: from Orvieto/Italy, Alessandro Graziani (whom I always joke about saying he must come from Istanbul instead, because of his Mediterranean looks)
🎹 On Keyboards: from Gradisca d’Isonzo/Italy, Marco Ballaben (who becomes always for fun Marc Dancewell from Cincinnati)
🪘 On Percussion: from Madrid/Spain Giancarlo Spirito (whom I again present just for fun as Juan Carlos Spirito, or even Mr. Cooper, always from Madrid)
🎤 And finally, on backing vocals:
From Verona/Italy: our lovely Stefania Targa, Simonetta Basile, and Taiana Cazzadori
And from Paris/France: Marie Claire Dubost — who on stage all retain their original names.
We had also several techs in these years, but currently we have reduced the team to:
🎛️ A great Dutch engineer, Erik Kempka on our F.O.H. (Front of House) sound
🎚️ And another Italian young kid Marco Rossetti, on both monitoring and F.O.H. when Erik cannot be present.
Our webmaster has been for several years now Volker Bussmann in Basel/Switzerland, and the list is pretty much over.
Promoters and agents come and go all the time, so there’s not much to mention there.
If you want to book us, just get in touch with us directly… hahah! 😊
Generally we also use several stagehands, but they too are not directly part of “the family” — but more just local help provided by promoters wherever we go.
Robson Vianna: You had the opportunity to meet Elton John in person, right? Can you tell us what that encounter was like and the impact it had on your path?
And legally speaking, how does producing this kind of show work? Are there permissions or legal limitations involved in portraying the image and work of such a renowned artist?
C J Marvin:
Yes I did and and more than once. Actually around 12 or 13 times by now in 45 years. Sometimes for longer moments, sometimes just for a quick hello, dictated by the circumstances we were in.
I´m not even sure about how many times actually, it´s been so long... I´d need to go through my archives to find out.
But I´ll tell you exactly how it went.
Back in 1980 I was 16, still living in Triest/Italy, a normal teenager, a young student trying to shape my life around music somehow, fully devoted to Elton already since many years.
In November that year I had some relatives visiting who told me at some point that Elton would´ve been touring Oz a month later. There was this crazy auntie of mine — we all seem to have one... hahah! — who offered me the trip, to go back with them to Australia and try seek out my idol there. What a crazy idea...
I took her up on her words, broke free from ties after the inevitable family fights and tensions, froze my studies, and left on a mission.
I got “home” in Melbourne on December 5 and on December 7 I was out there in town seeking desperately tickets for the shows just a week away, dreaming of finally getting to see my idol live for the first time.
No chance. All was sold out. Every ticket for the 3 Melbourne shows were gone for a long time, I was told.
One ticket office though gave me their number telling me to call them and retry with them right before the dates, for possible last-minute cancellations.
Broken and saddened, I saw no way for me to attend to those shows but I was not going to give up.
A few days later the impossible happened. There were indeed some cancellations and tickets for all 3 shows became suddenly available, so of course I rushed to town to buy them. At least now the shows were secured. 😊
The news announced that Elton was finally in town. So my crazy auntie suggested at that point that I´d go on an “Elton hunt” in every high-end hotel, because she said she knew where most VIPs usually stayed when there.
She gave me about 4 names, 4 addresses, a map, and sent me off... Go! Hahahaha! 😊
So on the morning of December 10 I dressed up sharp in my brand new cream safari-suit and took the tram just by myself into town and headed naturally for the first hotel on my list, which was also the closest to where we lived in Melbourne, in Surrey Hills.
Back then the first place I went to was called “Hilton on the Park” — now it´s the “Pullman Hotel” or something.
I entered the lobby around 10:00 AM and immediately saw a banner promoting Elton´s latest 2 or 3 albums. I felt “they” had to be there! I couldn´t believe it.
I barely entered the breakfast area and again couldn´t believe my eyes: there were Nigel (Olsson), Lou (Richie Zito), and James (Newton Howard) in there with also another lady!
I was shocked. By total chance and maybe for the first time in my life, that morning I was in the right place at the right time.
I waited for them to exit and approached them very respectfully and told them who I was and what I was there for, remarking that I made that long journey just to try see them.
All I was hoping for was an autograph from Elton and maybe a picture, and maybe from someone in the band too... What else could I expect? I don´t really know what I expected back then... hahaha! 😊
They all responded very kindly but James asked to see that flight ticket and passport which I was holding while speaking to them. He realized then how young and actually genuine I was, and told me to hold on for a minute while he was going to make a call from the lobby phone... Don´t forget that we are talking 1980, long before mobile phones were invented... 😊
He walked back to me a few minutes later after Nigel and the others had excused themselves and left, and told me that Elton was busy but happy to meet me later that morning if I had time to wait — but I needed to be patient.
I couldn´t believe my ears! What was going on??
Crazy childish dreams and hopes were unexpectedly coming true? I called my crazy auntie to tell her what was happening and sat down in a corner trying to keep my composure, making sure I would not be removed for any reason, while she, excited for me, was making her way too to the Hilton. 😊
After 5 or 6 hours all the lifts in the lobby opened up almost simultaneously and lots of people with cameras, lights, and microphones flooded the lobby — allowing me though to spot a black cowboy hat in the mix... and there HE was.
Elton and some of his people had just ended an interview with media in some room upstairs and he was about to leave for somewhere else.
James and I reconnected, he called me close through security to meet the man right there.
Elton actually took time and paused his hotel exit to talk to me. He introduced himself, like there was any need for that... hahaha!... and once he got my name and we broke the ice, he asked me if it was true that I actually travelled from Italy to Australia just to see them, because up to that point in his career he had never heard that anyone had done anything like that for him, and he was very, very impressed.
I confirmed and somehow found the courage to push my passport and flight ticket to him as well, making sure he would believe me. I needed him to believe me. Elton too realized I was being truthful, and curious thing, he also noticed that we were born the same day and erupted into a loud giggle in surprise.
He hugged me in a sort of “protective manner” after realizing I was just 16 — he was 33 then — and told me I didn´t need any tickets to his shows anymore in case I had them. With James and someone else of his people there, he made sure I would have access.
He peeled a backstage pass and said: “Charlie... (that´s what he called me back then since I was that young) ...here! For the next 3 days be my shadow,” and he stuck it to my chest telling me that he had to go but he would see me again at the shows starting the following night.
And they all headed out to the limos waiting while I headed back to my uncles´ place trying to make sense of what just happened.
From there what happened was that I enjoyed 3 magical days around them all. I experienced my first ever 3 shows of Elton´s at the Melbourne Festival Hall, became friendly with the band and all Elton´s closest people backstage — even Clive Franks, his former sound engineer, who was the one to take that first epic picture of Elton and I backstage dressed both in red.
But the most special and unexpected encounter, apart from Elton and the band, was surely meeting his mother Sheila, whom I was also brave enough to ask for an autograph one night.
She was very kind to me being such a young but determined fan. It´s really something special to treasure still today an autograph of hers — especially now after she passed away some years ago.
The night of the first show while backstage, I got to understand that they were all dealing with the aftermath of John Lennon´s assassination, which happened on December 8, and that that was also one of the reasons why I had to wait in the lobby for so long on the 10th.
At the end of 3 “dream days” in their presence and the end of the 3rd show in Melbourne that December 1980, we split with the promise of meeting again someday somewhere somehow.
He carried on with his mega star life and I returned to my studies and much more insignificant existence... haha! 😊
You ask what impact it all had on me..?
Well, that unbelievable first episode with Elton and everyone gave me the conviction that in life you have to dare. You have to be brave and have the courage to pursue your dreams. Whatever the costs. Or else be ready to live a life of regrets and frustration. That was not gonna be me.
It gave me the strength to believe in the power of a clear mind and a loving heart, and to apply myself and fight for anything I decided to.
It taught me to be strong, perseverant, patient, determined, resilient. To never quit, never give up on your dreams and hopes if you really want something. But also to be honest and true to yourself and others around you, because they will see right through you if you're not.
It shaped me in such a way to give me, all my life, the strength to fight for the things that mattered to me. To not let anyone divert me, discourage me, talk me into things I don’t want. To be myself at all costs.
That kind of attitude towards life has definitely played a fundamental role in making me who I am today, helping me overcome the many difficulties we all go through. Without a doubt.
And legally speaking, how does producing this kind of show work? Are there permissions or legal limitations involved in portraying the image and work of such a renowned artist?
You're getting real specific now, I like that 😊
Elton and his management, to my knowledge so far, have never given signals of wanting to shut down people who are trying to make a living by portraying him in this tribute business. There are so many around by now.
I believe Elton understands very well how blessed he has been all his life as a musician, and that he’s actually allowing less fortunate artists to use his music and certain imagery of his—up to a certain point at least—to feed their families.
There are, though, regulations to follow. You can’t just put up a show and make money out of somebody else’s creative work.
There are specific companies all around the world—well, in the Western civilized world, that is—which are in charge of protecting individual copyright. Every promoter putting up a show normally has to obtain some form of permit by the copyright company of his country, which curates the interests of the artist whose material you want to use.
For any performance, there are percentage fees to be paid according to prices applied and closing number of tickets sold. Those fees are then redirected—always in percentage—to those entitled to receive them, like the writer, the lyricist, the arranger, the producer, etc.
It is a big business that generates millions of dollars worldwide, so that’s why I guess all this “tribute stuff” is permitted and so very well-oiled.
Imagine every radio, movie, bar, club, airplane, hotel elevator, concert venue, all what goes on on the internet—all have to somehow pay copyright fees which then go to the creators of whatever content was used.
I should perform my own music more… hahaha! And have all my musician friends perform them too… hahaha! 😊
Any other cost involved in producing a show is up to the artist and his management or the promoter. They decide how much to spend on band, promotion, light & sound, venue rentals, stage props, and whatever else.
That’s the real gamble. If you have people coming to your shows, you may do very well. But if you don’t, you go out of business pretty quickly in this field.
Robson Vianna: In your journey to build this tribute to Elton John, what has been the most challenging aspect of embodying him onstage? Was it the voice, the gestures, the piano playing, the costumes — or something deeper, like his energy and stage presence?
C J Marvin:
Staying thin — first of all, being able to keep wearing the costumes… hahaha!!! That’s my biggest challenge 😊
At my age I tend so easily to gain weight, and I’m in a constant battle with food, carbs, and calories… 😊 That is so stressful… hahah! But honestly, the only thing I struggle with.
Having started listening to Elton so early in my life, all what you mention comes pretty natural to me by now — it always has. I guess just because of the lifetime spent doing it in my privacy.
Singing and playing piano in his style comes totally natural to me because, as I said earlier, I did the hard work for many years. And that is, by the way, one of the most frequent positive comments I get from people.
I am very often told how natural I sound doing Elton — so different from the majority of impersonators who you hear clearly fake it, trying to forcefully push that unique “Elton vocal quality”.
I believe that by doing it naturally, it adds a strong element of truthfulness to my performance, making it flow.
It gets very tiring to listen to any song rendition sounding forced and unnatural. It’s terrible. It’s not the illusion people expect… It’s just a guy in a costume.
The mannerisms also come very naturally to me after I’ve watched Elton for so long.
I’ve learned from the very beginning that during a certain phrase, a certain solo or musical moment, he pulls a certain behavior. He does things very routinely and specifically. You just have to pay attention.
If you want to be the best, you have to focus on the details. By looking at them for as long as I did, I’m automatically triggered by now with very natural “Elton behaviours” which have become part of me as well — when I perform, of course…
Learning every day to be a “better Elton”, I pay attention even to how he always raised his eyebrow on one side in some moments while making a specific effort. Now that is deep!! Hahah! 😊
But you have to be the best at what you do, or it makes no sense to me.
I observe the competition, and I can tell right away who started just “yesterday,” thinking that all it takes is a costume and a few song chords to go out there and do it. That’s really not enough.
That approach never worked for me and never will.
But those are the majority of the people I compete with — improvised “parody acts” which I distance myself and The Elton Show from. Ultimately, it’s up to individual expectations and goals, really…
Because of my occasional connection to Elton and his band throughout the decades, I decided that if I was going to enter this type of arena, my show was going to have to live up to expectations and be to the best of my ability.
It would be devastating to get a call from somebody in Elton’s sphere telling me, “Hey C.J., cut it out, what the heck are you doing?? Stop it! You’re ridiculous!” …hahaha! That would be terrible… 😊 No no, thank you — I really want to avoid that 😊
And the fact that I always worked hard trying to be the best surely helped when I called up Charlie (Morgan) to help me out, or when I had the opportunity to jam with John Jorgenson on a few occasions in 2019.
They understood my standards.
Robson Vianna: I’m related to a famous singer who rose to fame in the 1970s. I remember him picking me up after school, and I was amazed by the crowd that formed around him — as if that were just part of his daily life, 24/7, wherever he went.
Artists — especially major idols — end up being seen as semi-divine. In your opinion, does that kind of adoration and projection affect an artist’s psychology? How can one balance the public figure with the real person behind it?
C J Marvin:
It sure does something to your head when you reach certain heights of fame.
I can’t really comment much on it from a personal perspective because I am in no way in that position, but we know that fame, success, all the attention and adulation received, and the consequent power deriving from all of that, have changed a lot of good people for the worse.
So many even got in trouble with the law for pushing it, for scandals they brought upon themselves for not living a more moderate and selective life.
The best way to deal with it before you lose yourself is, I guess, to stay grounded, connected with people out of certain extreme privileged circles.
Elton, by his own admission, was really tripping in the 70s and 80s, but to his best and thank God, he had Watford to turn to. He always says that it saved his life.
Staying as normal as possible can be one good way around that — avoiding the excesses that destroyed too many celebrities in the past.
C J Marvin:
We’ve been to so many places by now. We started in Norway, of course, being the initial company behind the show based there, and in 18 years that the show exists, we’ve been — with our several formats — all through Scandinavia, everywhere across Europe, literally in almost every country, even the smallest independent ones out of the E.U. but smacked somewhere in the middle of it.
Then the UK, the Channel Islands, Switzerland, the Balkans through Slovenia and Croatia all the way to Serbia, and to Canada, and twice only to the USA on management tours.
And we’re still doing all this whenever proper bookings are offered.
In 2023, I started performing also onboard an ultra-luxury cruise ship called Crystal Symphony of Crystal Cruises, thanks to which we have brought my Elton John impersonations and The Elton Show brand to audiences even farther away.
By sailing literally the world for almost 2 years (soon on and off), and having onboard guests from almost every country facing the Mediterranean, from Africa, everywhere in Asia and the Indian Ocean, Japan, Australia, Mexico, and South America such as Argentina, Chile, and Brazil, I can practically say that my Elton renditions have been — and continue to be — appreciated almost all over the world by so many people of totally different and diverse cultural extractions.
It is unbelievable to actually see and feel firsthand how universal the Elton John name and brand are.
Our general performances have been so many, and memorable so many times.
So many amazing memories — whether I performed SOLO, in DUO, just with our 3 singers in smaller rooms, or with the full band of 9 in huge event venues.
There’ve been moments in which you could hear a pin drop as I played “Candle in the Wind” in Italy by myself for 4,000+ people, or in front of just 33 during a special private night in Germany.
What is really crazy about all this is the level of love audiences all over the world show to have for Elton John.
Some of that love is often reserved to me as well for being a kind of “messenger”, in forms of respect and treatments I would otherwise probably never get or dream of.
And that’s because I give people back something in their lives which they lost as they aged — I bring back memories from the past in a way that not many can.
I make them revisit, through musical emotions, places in their minds and hearts they otherwise could never go to.
That is the real beauty and the magic of being an Elton John tribute artist.
Since this interview happens now in July 2025, our next commitments this year are:
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Several new performances on the Symphony ship from mid-July to the end of September
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Two great open-air shows in Italy towards the end of this month
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Our Monaco-Montecarlo debut with 3 nights in one of the most exclusive music venues of the Principality, owned — they tell me — by Prince Albert himself
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And also a brand new possibility which arose just a few days ago about making a possible debut in Macau/China, the Asian Las Vegas, sometime from mid-October to mid-January 2026, in one of the largest casinos in the world.
For 2026, we then have:
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An event in Switzerland in mid-January
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More new dates in Italy: in Padova, Rome, maybe Turin and Bologna — but we’re waiting to hear more from our promoter there
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And then the Macau/China project could be again on the table also for another run between February and April
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And finally also a very possible new run of shows on Symphony through spring and summer
Robson Vianna: Beyond The Elton Show, is there any of your own personal or original work that we can check out? Any productions, recordings, or artistic projects outside the Elton John universe that you’d like to share with the public?
C J Marvin:
Yes absolutely! Before “The Elton Show”, and I say it now for those who maybe missed it, I was actually a very busy songwriter and live performer touring European venues with both original material and covers, and I was also an independent recording artist.
So I had a long curriculum of activity throughout the 80s, the 90s, up to the 00s, before I became exclusively a piano entertainer for another bunch of years.
In all that period I of course did many recordings but not everything is out there for the public to enjoy.
I would be glad if any of your readers would like to go check my C.J. Marvin original artist YouTube channel and maybe give it a like 😊
It’s been so neglected for a very long time now being busy with all this “Elton stuff”, but if I remember correctly all what is there should be kind of ok and presentable… You really make me wonder now… hahaha!
So here are a few links:
https://www.facebook.com/therecordingartist1/
https://www.facebook.com/theeltonshow/
Robson Vianna: C. J., thank you so much for sharing your story, your experiences, and your passion for music with us. It’s been a pleasure getting to know more about the artist and the person behind The Elton Show. I wish you continued success in your upcoming performances and hope your work keeps moving audiences around the world.
C J Marvin:
Thank you my friend and thank you to all of your followers and whoever will actually take time [to] read through this long “memoire” 😊
It’s been a true pleasure letting you in on so many life episodes and experiences.
Look after yourselves and good luck to all for a long, happy, healthy, and prosperous life.
God bless you all and Elton John ❤️
Elton John: Live at Wembley Empire Pool 3rd November 1977 Full concert restored by the BBC for the first time in 1080p.
This special Elton John charity concert at Wembley Arena - then called the Empire Pool, Wembley - was originally shown on BBC1 on a November evening in 1977 and shortened to 50 minutes to fit in between Are You Being Served? and an episode of Panorama.
The concert famously saw Elton announce his retirement from live touring - a commitment that fans everywhere were happy to see him eventually break.
Now, using extra footage from the BBC archives, this longer version of the show is being screened for the very first time, restoring some classic Elton performances of songs like Benny and the Jets, Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me and Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.
This new extended version also sees Elton joined onstage by fellow music legend Stevie Wonder for a special and incredibly rare guest appearance.
Better Off Dead
Daniel
Roy Rogers
The Goaldiggers Song (Live debut)
Where to Now St. Peter?
Shine on Through (Live debut)
Tonight
I Heard It Through the Grapevine (Gladys Knight & the Pips cover)
Island Girl
Candle in the Wind
One Horse Town (Live debut)
Bennie and the Jets
Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long, Long Time)
Cage the Songbird
Levon
Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me (Elton John annunces his retirement of live music)
(Gotta Get a) Meal Ticket
Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word
Philadelphia Freedom
Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
Your Song
Don't Go Breaking My Heart (Elton John & Kiki Dee song) (with Kiki Dee)
Bite Your Lip (Get Up and Dance!) (with Stevie Wonder) (Live debut)
Elton John Peoria 1999
Elton John Delivers Unforgettable Solo Performance in Peoria, 1999
On March 2, 1999, iconic British singer-songwriter Elton John delivered a memorable solo performance at the Peoria Civic Center in Illinois (USA), as part of his acclaimed “An Evening with Elton John” tour. The show, presented in an intimate format featuring only piano and vocals, drew a packed audience and sold out in an impressive 42 minutes, highlighting the artist’s enduring popularity and prestige.
This performance marked Elton John’s only appearance in Peoria that year, during a particularly significant phase of his career. The 1999 tour was his first series of solo concerts following his return to the stage in 1997. Spanning from February to November, the tour included 51 dates across the United States.
In Peoria, the audience was treated to a rich and intimate setlist of approximately 30 songs, including beloved classics such as Your Song, Rocket Man, Tiny Dancer, and Candle in the Wind, alongside lesser-known gems appreciated by longtime fans. Despite the absence of a backing band, Elton’s commanding vocals and masterful piano playing created an emotionally charged atmosphere that captivated the audience from start to finish.
Although there was no official broadcast of the show, non-commercial recordings circulated among fans and collectors. A home video titled “Elton in Peoria, USA” — running approximately 160 minutes — is referenced on fan sites such as EltonVideo and in online music forums. Reports suggest that clips from the performance have also surfaced on platforms like YouTube, fueling continued interest among collectors for higher-quality versions.
The Peoria concert remains one of the standout moments in Elton John’s live performance history in the United States, particularly for its stripped-down format and the warm reception from the local audience. More than two decades later, the show is still fondly remembered by fans as a magical and emotionally resonant night in the artist’s career.
Event Summary (Historical Record):
📍 Date: March 2, 1999
📍 Venue: Peoria Civic Center, Peoria, Illinois – USA
🎹 Format: Solo performance (piano and vocals)
🎟️ Tickets: Sold out in 42 minutes
📼 Known Recording: Unofficial home video, approx. 160 minutes in length
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