Elton John made a brief stage appearance on November 22, 2006 as a flat-capped miner from northern England in a special gala performance of his hit West End show "Billy Elliot - The Musical".

The three judges from the television talent series "The X Factor" also played cameo roles, with acerbic Simon Cowell, famous in Britain and the United States where he appears in a spin-off show, took his curtain call wearing a frilly white tutu.

"'Billy Elliot' has been one of the great events of my life," Elton told the audience ahead of a special performance to celebrate the one millionth patron to see the show. "Being involved in this musical has given me so much pleasure."

In one early scene, Billy turns to a man behind a newspaper at the piano and asked: "So what do you reckon, Reg?" Elton lowered the newspaper, sauntered off stage and muttered a line that was inaudible above the cheers.

In the show's production notes Elton said the film "Billy Elliot", on which the musical is based, had inspired him because it reflected his own childhood.

Like Billy, who escapes the grim world of a coal mining town brought to its knees during the 1984 strikes by turning to ballet, Elton said music was his "passport to a better, more fulfilling life" than his working class roots may have allowed. "Art can make you look at life in a way you never have before," he wrote.

"The X Factor" judges Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh also appeared to huge applause, playing the stern adjudicators at Billy's audition to enter the prestigious Royal Ballet School in London. "Well that's a no from me," Cowell said, in keeping with his sharp-tongued assessments of pop wannabes.

The proceeds from the evening went to children's charity The Place2Be, which works with disadvantaged children in schools across Britain, including those in ex-mining communities.

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