HARRISON Craig was in the early stages of planning a possible concert tour in which he'd perform Elton John's love songs when the Rocketman was suddenly back in the headlines.
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"The next month, EJ [Elton John] announced he had a movie coming out, and he'd be touring and I just thought 'Wow. This was kinda meant to be'," Craig said of his plans.
The movie was Rocketman, the confronting story of John's tumultuous life through the 1970s, and the tour was the Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, the singer's last.
Craig said the idea to perform John's love songs in concert came about when he gave audiences an appetizer almost two years ago.
"We performed one or two tracks from EJ's catalogue. I just loved them, and they went down a treat with audiences," he said.
"EJ's got such an incredible catalogue of music, so I thought let's really embrace it."
So on this tour, Craig will give fans a three-course feast.
The variety and depth of John's songwriting with Bernie Taupin ensures there will be plenty of light and shade in the set list, Craig said.
"From Candle in the Wind and I'm Still Standing right through to Your Song and Guy's Song, there's several different types of love song there," he said.
"And they all carry purpose, reason and real passion."
Craig has opted to perform the songs with piano-only accompaniment.
"It's really intimate and raw," he said.
"And you only really need to give one reason to justify the choice: the tunes are written so well, and they were written on piano, so you don't need anything else to recognise the beauty and greatness of those songs."
Craig watched the Rocketman movie and loved it.
"It was great. I really enjoyed it. We got to see his life take so many twists and crazy turns. But what an incredible man..."
The movie also gave Craig cause to reflect on what might have been John's motivation for some of his biggest songs.
"We'll never truly know - it's too hard to know - but it's really cool to try to work out in your head what some of those songs might really have been about," he said.
Learning the songs for the tour has also given Craig a new appreciation for John and Taupin's songwriting genius.
There was a simple beauty to the music, he said, while the lyrics and emotional reach of the songs was the result of great care and creativity.
Among the other songs audiences will hear in the shows are Can You Feel The Love Tonight and Sacrifice.
Harrison Craig sings Elton John Love Songs - The Piano Sessions will be performed at The Art House, Wyong, on Saturday, October 5. Tickets cost $65 for adults, and $60 for children younger than 12. Tickets available from thearthousewyong.com.au
