Elton John - Live From The Rainbow Theatre

Live From The Rainbow Theatre is a live album by British singer songwriter Elton John with Ray Cooper, released in April 2025 via Rocket Entertainment and Mercury Records.

From May 2-7, 1977, Elton and percussionist Ray Cooper played the legendary theatre in Finsbury Park, North London. The six-show run was the longest residency at the venue by any musical artist other than the Beatles and came at a time when UK fans of the global superstar were just catching their breath.

May 1977 was the first time in five years that a full month had gone by without an Elton LP or single appearing on the UK charts. (In the US, his chart dominance continued for another year). Also, it had been eight months since his last concert, a solo affair at the Edinburgh Festival of Popular Music, after averaging one show every four days throughout the previous seven years.

Rainbow ticket holders expecting to see the Elton of old (in this case meaning less than a year ago) were in for a big surprise. Shunning the glittery stage-wear that had become, and remains, his brand in favour of something you might find him wearing on a casual stroll (right down to track suit trousers and trainers), Elton performed the first half of the concert solo before Ray Cooper exploded out from behind the backdrop, virtually daring the audience to turn their attention away from the name on the ticket.

Live from the Rainbow Theatre with Ray Cooper includes a dozen passionate recitals of songs from eight of the 11 studio albums Elton had released so far in his career – most of which he had rarely, if ever, performed in concert up to that time. On this album we hear the live debuts of Cage The Songbird, Idol, I Feel Like A Bullet (In The Gun Of Robert Ford), Roy Rogers, and, nearly, Ticking, which Elton had performed just once before. Only one of the songs Elton plays on this album had been a single in the UK, 1970’s Border Song, and only I Feel Like A Bullet… from this concert has been released previously on the To Be Continued box set, but never on vinyl.

Listeners should note that the eight solo Elton songs on the album are presented as they would have been to the band members on their respective albums – albeit with slight vocal and piano effects on two songs (these were done in real time, thanks to new technology). The intimate size of the venue (the total attendance for the six Rainbow shows was less than one night at Madison Square Garden) comes through on the recording so well that we might be forgiven for thinking Elton had knocked on our front door and sat down at the family piano.

The remaining four songs benefit from the addition of percussionist Ray Cooper. Rotating through an arsenal of instruments – tambourine, conga drums, vibraphone, xylophone, tympani, snare drum, and chimes – Ray provides the perfect complement to Elton’s voice and piano.

Ray was already a part of Elton’s touring (and recording) band – the May 2nd performance was his 148th with Elton – but the Rainbow Theatre was the first time the pair teamed up for just a two-man show.

Elton felt the format was such a winner that it was revived in February 1979, with the A Single Man Tour, and continued intermittently throughout the rest of his touring career, totalling nearly 250 shows. The pair made international headlines when the 1979 tour went to the USSR, a first for an artist of Elton’s stature.

Elton John Live from the Rainbow Theatre with Ray Cooper showcases Elton’s songwriting, piano playing, singing, and even his sense of humour. In short, it is a remarkable peek into the artist’s career at the end of its first decade.

This live album was first released as a limited edition vinyl edition for Record Store Day in April 2025.

This album is a reissue on compact disc housed in a digipack with a 9 page printed booklet and a bonus track “Goodbye”, pressed in Germany via Mercury Records.