# Will Elton John Disgrace UK Gay Marriage? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 28, 2005, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-elton-john-disgrace-uk-gay-marriage/337434 "2005-12-28T13:44:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-elton-john-disgrace-uk-gay-marriage/337434/1 "2005-12-28T13:44:48Z")
- - - So if you had not read/heard, The UK very recently legalized gay marriage, and Elton John and his boyfriend were first in line. It was Big News. …Some friends and I commented on this, and got to wondering–what this really a good idea of Elton making a big show out of being first? The reason was partly that just recently also (in the US) the first lesbian-marriage couple got divorced, after about five years of marriage. It was also a news story–and these were just two ordinary Janes. - Of all this, we assumed a few things about Elton’s marriage: 1. that he was probably not the first in line–but that he is very rich and famous, and he used that to _make sure_ that he was the first in line. 2. From what we read, he appeared in public before the marriage, generating publicity for it. 3. A bit of research online seems to indicate that Elton John’s relationships after Bernie Taupin have been shorter and shorter. 4. performers in general tend to be more dramatic than other people–hence the term “celebrity wedding”, which is one that is expected to be measured in _months_, not _years_. - It would seem that all things considered, Elton’s latest relationship is more likely to blow up than his previous–yet the main two reasons for marriage are religious reasons and tax/legal reasons. No major religion I’ve yet heard of recognizes homosexual marriage, and I’d bet that Elton has a prenup agreement with David Furnish, so there’s no tax or legal incentive to do it. Did Elton just do this as a farce? He could have kept it lower-key, but chose to make a statement instead. And when it blows up, will the only thing that it really accomplishes be giving more ammunition to people who oppose gay marriage? ~ ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-elton-john-disgrace-uk-gay-marriage/337434/2 "2005-12-28T13:58:47Z")
Elton never had a relationship of that kind with Bernie Taupin. Bernie is straight. The rest of the wild speculation, I’ll leave for others to discuss. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-elton-john-disgrace-uk-gay-marriage/337434/3 "2005-12-28T14:00:07Z")
He’s been together with David for a long time and rejected a lot of money to have a mag photograph the wedding and party. Yeah he did a bit of publicity before hand but he is Elton John, what do you expect? As to disgracing Gay Marriage(Civil Union) I think you are thinking to like an American. There is no where near the opposition to this in the UK. Very few people even care one way or the other. It sailed through the political process without any real opposition and the general public have just accepted it. If he fucks it all up people will just roll their eyes at Elton and not civil union. Oh and he wasn’t first in the UK. Northern Ireland had it the day before. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-elton-john-disgrace-uk-gay-marriage/337434/4 "2005-12-28T14:03:43Z")
Actually it wasn’t a mag it was a TV gig > [@](#): > > Sir Elton John has turned down £5.7m for the exclusive rights to his civil union to David Furnish. > > The couple did consider the £5.7m offer from a US television channel and putting the money in the Elton John Aids Foundation, his agent said. > > But they told Attitude magazine they had decided to keep the day private. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4543320.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4543320.stm) ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-elton-john-disgrace-uk-gay-marriage/337434/5 "2005-12-28T14:14:09Z")
1/ It’s not a legalised marraige. It’s a “civil partnership”. 2/ Elton was not first. He wasn’t even near first. He was two days off being first. 3/ I don’t imagine it took a lot to arrange the ceremony in the first week. He could have picked any registry office in the UK, they’re not scarce. So no queue jumping involved. 4/ I don’t think Elton’s relationship with Taupin is/was exactly what you think it is/was. 5/ Elton’s relationship with Furnish is over 12 years old. 6/ If you think his civil ceremony wasn’t low-key, you obviously haven’t see his previous efforts. I’m not sure what point you’re making here. But suggest you go back to the start and do more research. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-elton-john-disgrace-uk-gay-marriage/337434/6 "2005-12-28T14:19:13Z")
That’s _Sir_ Elton John, incidentally. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-elton-john-disgrace-uk-gay-marriage/337434/7 "2005-12-28T14:20:39Z")
> [@DougC](#): > > - > - > - So if you had not read/heard, The UK very recently legalized gay marriage, and Elton John and his boyfriend were first in line. It was Big News. > > …Some friends and I commented on this, and got to wondering–what this really a good idea of Elton making a big show out of being first? They were merely united on the first day it was legal; they were [not the first](http://icsurreyonline.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/national/tm_objectid=16508530&method=full&siteid=50102&headline=first--gay-marriage--takes-place-name_page.html). > [@](#): > > 1. A bit of research online seems to indicate that Elton John’s relationships after Bernie Taupin have been shorter and shorter. > 2. performers in general tend to be more dramatic than other people–hence the term “celebrity wedding”, which is one that is expected to be measured in _months_, not _years_. > > - It would seem that all things considered, Elton’s latest relationship is more likely to blow up than his previous–yet the main two reasons for marriage are religious reasons and tax/legal reasons. Elton John and David Furnish have been together for [14 years](http://ansa.it/main/notizie/awnplus/english/news/2005-12-27_2217677.html), according to a few sources I’ve searched on. If his relationships since Bernie Taupin (which apparently didn’t even exist as per **Liberal** ) have become shorter and shorter, then Elton is considerably older than he looks and is to be commended for such spectacular genetics. Now, I know it’s a radical suggestion, but I might speculate that any celebrity couple, or any couple at all, who’ve been together for 14 years might just be getting married because they love each other and want to solemnize their commitment. At least, the lesbian couple I know who had a non-binding, no legal status commitment ceremony in a Unitarian church did so for that reason, and they didn’t even have a religious or tax reason as “justification.” (On preview, I see **Futile Gesture** beat me to it - but I have links!) ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-elton-john-disgrace-uk-gay-marriage/337434/8 "2005-12-28T14:27:41Z")
No. Charles and Diana have already done what damage was left to be done. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-elton-john-disgrace-uk-gay-marriage/337434/9 "2005-12-28T14:31:21Z")
How does one address Sir Elton John’s spouse? Normally the wife of a knight is known as “Lady”, but is he to be called “Gentleman” or “Sir”? ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-elton-john-disgrace-uk-gay-marriage/337434/10 "2005-12-28T14:38:52Z")
> [@](#): > > _DougC_ > 3) A bit of research online seems to indicate that Elton John’s relationships after Bernie Taupin have been shorter and shorter. Could you post a precis of your “bit of research online”? I’m not sure how you could possibly have sincerely come to such a view. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-elton-john-disgrace-uk-gay-marriage/337434/11 "2005-12-28T14:40:36Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > How does one address Sir Elton John’s spouse? Normally the wife of a knight is known as “Lady”, but is he to be called “Gentleman” or “Sir”? Just ‘Mr’, I should think, in the same way as a husband of a woman given a life peerage does not acquire a title. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-elton-john-disgrace-uk-gay-marriage/337434/12 "2005-12-28T15:01:28Z")
Clarifying my post, especially in relation to others… > [@Ferret Herder](#): > > They were merely united on the first day it was legal; they were [not the first](http://icsurreyonline.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/national/tm_objectid=16508530&method=full&siteid=50102&headline=first--gay-marriage--takes-place-name_page.html). **Futile Gesture** noted correctly that it was two days after the first legal day in the UK proper (started in Northern Ireland), but not in England and Wales; they had their civil union on that day. > [@](#): > > Elton John and David Furnish have been together for [14 years](http://ansa.it/main/notizie/awnplus/english/news/2005-12-27_2217677.html), according to a few sources I’ve searched on. Upon further Googling, and checking the BBC link listed above, I also see cites for being together for 12 years. Nonetheless, the point stands that it’s utterly inaccurate to paint this as some little fling or “typical” celebrity whirlwind romance heading for equally rapid breakup. > [@](#): > > If his relationships since Bernie Taupin (which apparently didn’t even exist as per **Liberal** ) have become shorter and shorter, then Elton is considerably older than he looks and is to be commended for such spectacular genetics. The parenthetical clause was intended to refer to the notion of Elton John and Bernie Taupin having had a relationship, not to a disbelief that Sir Elton had any relationships in the interim. Finally, from all reports I’ve read, the civil ceremony itself was very subdued (as subdued as you can get with tons of reporters clustering around the building, etc.), and the couple didn’t even so much as smooch for the camera. The reception was a bit more wild but that’s to be expected. Sorry about your straw man. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-elton-john-disgrace-uk-gay-marriage/337434/13 "2005-12-28T18:56:11Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > That’s _Sir_ Elton John, incidentally. Actually, it’s Sir Reginald Whatever-his-real-last-name-is, IIRC. Quite frankly, I think Star Jones’s wedding was even more of a disgrace to the institution of marriage than Elton’s. (I suppose you could also argue that it was a disgrace to gay marriage, considering who the groom was.) ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-elton-john-disgrace-uk-gay-marriage/337434/14 "2005-12-28T19:04:22Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Actually, it’s Sir Reginald Whatever-his-real-last-name-is, IIRC. ‘Sir Elton Hercules John’, according to the [Encyclopaedia Brittanica](http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9105734?&query=sir%20john%20cornforth) ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-elton-john-disgrace-uk-gay-marriage/337434/15 "2005-12-28T19:06:47Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > How does one address Sir Elton John’s spouse? Normally the wife of a knight is known as “Lady”, but is he to be called “Gentleman” or “Sir”? Since the husband of a female title doesn’t get a title or share her precedence I doubt the civil partner of a male title holder would. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-elton-john-disgrace-uk-gay-marriage/337434/16 "2005-12-28T22:12:54Z")
> [@DougC](#): > > - > - > - So if you had not read/heard, The UK very recently legalized gay marriage, and Elton John and his boyfriend were first in line. It was Big News. It was pretty big news here. Sounds like it was less so in Britain, where (as some posters are confirming) this is not such a big deal. I doubt that many people have ever considered Elton John the standard-bearer for gays around the world, and there’s no reason they’d start thinking of him that way now. ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-elton-john-disgrace-uk-gay-marriage/337434/17 "2005-12-28T23:07:30Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Actually, it’s Sir Reginald Whatever-his-real-last-name-is, IIRC. “Elton John” is his legal name, not just a stage name. He officially changed it on December 8, 1971 (by deed poll) from Reginald Kenneth Dwight to Elton Hercules John. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-elton-john-disgrace-uk-gay-marriage/337434/18 "2005-12-28T23:15:54Z")
> [@DooWahDiddy](#): > > “Elton John” is his legal name, not just a stage name. He officially changed it on December 8, 1971 (by deed poll) from Reginald Kenneth Dwight to Elton Hercules John. And he was dubbed **Sir** Elton Hercules John, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, in 1995. Now I ask you, how could such a respectable gentleman cast a bad light on the venerable and sacred British institution of gay marriage? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-elton-john-disgrace-uk-gay-marriage/337434/19 "2005-12-28T23:18:19Z")
> [@DooWahDiddy](#): > > “Elton John” is his legal name, not just a stage name. He officially changed it on December 8, 1971 (by deed poll) from Reginald Kenneth Dwight to Elton Hercules John. Nitpick - it’s not a “legal name”, just that a deed poll is a legal document registering a change of name. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-elton-john-disgrace-uk-gay-marriage/337434/20 "2005-12-29T00:08:36Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > ‘Sir Elton Hercules John’, according to the [Encyclopaedia Brittanica](http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9105734?&query=sir%20john%20cornforth) Sorry, my mistake-I could have sworn I read that he was knighted with his original name. _shrugs_ Oh well. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-elton-john-disgrace-uk-gay-marriage/337434.md?page=2)