An Elton John look-alike has made a monkey out of Peter Benz, major of the city of Darmstadt, by showing up a day before the scheduled solo show (of the real Elton) on July 12, 2003.

He came by Audi instead of Bentley, arrived at Luisenplatz instead of the helicopter landing site. Elton John arrived in Darmstadt on July 11, 2003. But was he for real?

He was not! Accompanied by two camera teams from German private TV station RTL, an Elton look-alike blazed his trail through passers-by asking for autographs, but entered his signature into the golden city of the city of Darmstadt instead.

The real Elton is not staying in hotels. The reals Elton is not travelling by train, but arrived by private jet on July 12, 2003 in the afternoon. He then took a helicopter shuttle and Bentley to Darmstadt. The real Elton was on a very tight schedule, so nobody knew when exactly he would arrive.

Organizers in Darmstadt were shocked when they heard the news about the fake Elton on Friday: "What!?," was the disbeleaving reaction of promoter Petra Herzog. Festival director Wolfgang Seliger said: "That is unbelievable, over the limit. You cannot do something like that, not even for fun."

The fake Elton arrived at Darmstadt main station on July 11, 2003 in the early morning. He is immediately interviewed by RTL and then escorted by bodyguards to Darmstadt's city hall. There he met major Peter Benz, signed the golden book, got back in the car, signed a few autographs and disappeared.

During the course of the afternoon, the look-alike shows up again, causing crowds every time.

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