Elton John became the first act to score a UK Top 10 single in six different decades.

The song Cold Heart – a collaboration with Dua Lipa remixed by the Australian electronic trio Pnau, which mixes previous hits from John Sacrifice (a 1990 No 1), Kiss the Bride, Where’s the Shoorah and Rocket Man – went to No 4 in September and is on track to knock Ed Sheeran out of the top spot this week.

John’s last Top 10 hit was Step Into Christmas, a 1973 hit that reappeared in the Top 40 in every festive period since streaming numbers started counting for chart charts. He reached 10th place in the final 2020 standings.

His Top 10 hits of the 2000s were usually collaborations – with Blue, Chipmunk and, posthumously, Tupac – or old songs revitalized by placements on commercials. Are You Ready for Love became his fifth UK number 1 after making the soundtrack for a Sky Sports spot for the 2003-04 football season. The exception was I Want Love, an original song from his 2001 album Songs from the West Coast.

Unsurprisingly, the decade in which John got the most Top 10 singles was the 1970s, when he was in his prime with Your Song, Rocket Man, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and – his first UK No 1 – Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, with Kiki Dee.

With his latest hit, John, now 74, has a head start over Elvis Presley, Cher, Cliff Richard, Michael Jackson and David Bowie, who have each had at least one Top 10 single in five. different decades. In November, Kylie Minogue became the first woman to top the album charts in each of five consecutive decades with her 15th studio album, Disco.

Cold Heart is the first single from John’s upcoming album, The Lockdown Sessions, which features collaborations – some of which have taken place on Zoom – with artists such as Lil Nas X, Stevie Nicks and Stevie Wonder, and is slated for release on October 22. . He said: “All of the songs I worked on were really interesting and diverse, completely different stuff from anything I’m known for, stuff that took me out of my comfort zone into completely new territory. . “

John noticed that working on the album had come full circle. “At the start of my career, at the end of the sixties, I worked as a session musician. Working with different artists during lockdown reminded me of that… I was a session musician again. And it was still awesome. “

John is currently recovering from hip replacement after a fall in late summer. The incident prompted him to postpone 22 UK dates on his farewell tour in April 2023. He was recently honored at the Broadcast Music Inc (BMI) London Awards, which honor the most performed music in all genres, for Bennie and the Jets and Don ‘t Go Breaking My Heart each reaching 7 million UK performances, and I guess that’s why they call it the 6m Blues.