Sir Elton John has received the first BRIT Icon award in a ceremony which saw him joined on stage by Rod Stewart.
The singer songwriter, who has recently recovered from appendicitis, was presented with the award by Rod Stewart who also joined him for a rendition of Sad Songs (Say So Much).
Dermot O’Leary hosted the evening event, which will be broadcast on Friday 13 September on ITV.
Ed Sheeran, Annie Lennox, Emilie Sandé and Mumford and Sons were the UK stars to feature surprise messages for the star.
Elton John said: ‘It's a tremendous honour and a real thrill for me to have my work acknowledged in this way and I'm really looking forward to participating in what promises to be a very special occasion.’
Geoff Taylor, BPI and BRIT Awards Ltd chief executive, added: ‘We’re proud to be launching our first ever BRITs Icon Award with an artist of Sir Elton’s incredible stature. He represents the very embodiment of what the BRITs Icon is all about, having achieved a level of creativity, originality, critical acclaim and global success that few others can match.’
Elton’s career highlights include 35 gold and 25 platinum albums, 250m record sales worldwide and the biggest selling single of all time, Candle In The Wind 1997.
Elton will headline Bestival on the Isle of Wight this weekend.
The singer songwriter, who has recently recovered from appendicitis, was presented with the award by Rod Stewart who also joined him for a rendition of Sad Songs (Say So Much).
Dermot O’Leary hosted the evening event, which will be broadcast on Friday 13 September on ITV.
Ed Sheeran, Annie Lennox, Emilie Sandé and Mumford and Sons were the UK stars to feature surprise messages for the star.
Elton John said: ‘It's a tremendous honour and a real thrill for me to have my work acknowledged in this way and I'm really looking forward to participating in what promises to be a very special occasion.’
Geoff Taylor, BPI and BRIT Awards Ltd chief executive, added: ‘We’re proud to be launching our first ever BRITs Icon Award with an artist of Sir Elton’s incredible stature. He represents the very embodiment of what the BRITs Icon is all about, having achieved a level of creativity, originality, critical acclaim and global success that few others can match.’
Elton’s career highlights include 35 gold and 25 platinum albums, 250m record sales worldwide and the biggest selling single of all time, Candle In The Wind 1997.
Elton will headline Bestival on the Isle of Wight this weekend.
