General fan inquiries

Many of you ask for an Elton John autograph, but unfortunately we are not in the position to grant your wish at this time.

As you can probably imagine, we do receive many similar requests almost every day. Although we do get a few signed photos for distribution among the fans from Elton sometimes, this is far from being enough to meet with the high demand.

Please keep in mind that Elton is a very busy person, and he is hardly ever at the same place for a long time. For that reason, it is not easy to get hold of him at all. But even if we could Elton would not have the time to sign that many personal autographs.

As we don’t want to leave you empty-handed, we decided to produce a re-print of a thank-you note that Elton signed for all fans shortly after his 50th birthday. We know that this postcard cannot replace a personal signature, but we hope that you will understand that we are unable to provide you with a real autograph.

If you want to receive a copy of the above mentioned postcard, please send a SAE (self-addressed envelope) plus an IRC (International Response Coupon - available in your post office) to the HERCULES Coordination (see Contact for address details).

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Save yourself effort and time to make us tell you one of Elton John's private addresses. We won't give it to you for whatever you will offer us. Instead, please respect Elton's privacy. If you like to send a fan letter to Elton John, please refer to the page Elton John Fan Mail for instructions.

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Sorry about the harsh word, but 'forget about it'! Backstage passes are issued for people working behind the curtain, such as crew members. Furthermore, to be backstage is not as exciting as most people think. Actually, it is similar to sightseeing in a factory. Everybody is working hard to make it a perfect show for fans like us to enjoy. That's why the most you will see is lots of hectic people running around, and the chance of you blocking their way is high.

Being backstage is not sex, drugs and rock'n'roll! Instead, it is hard work for most of the people. Think of this, and bury your dream about getting a backstage pass for one of Elton John's concerts. Trust us, it is not worth the effort.

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If you plan to use one or more of Elton's songs in the context of a commercial product or event, application should be made to the Clearance Department of Universal Music at +44 208 752 2600.

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Top 10 of fan mail questions

Elton does sometimes put lyrics from other artists to music or performs music by other artists. However, only he decides with whom he wants to work together. Obviously, he only does this for very good friends. He cannot possibly grant this wish for fans.

Please also note that Elton will not listen to any "unsolicited material" as he wants to avoid being sued by people for steeling ideas in case one of his future compositions might sound similar than the material send in.

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Elton does sometimes write songs about certain people, or better: Bernie Taupin, his lyricist, does. Elton will certainly not write songs about people that he does not know or people that do not mean anything to him or Bernie Taupin.

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Yes, Elton did perform at Lady Diana’s funeral, and yes, he did perform at weddings/birthdays for very close friends. But he does so only for those people very special to him. If Elton performed for everyone who requests his presence at any event, he would not have time to do any more concerts or record new albums!

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Elton does sometimes dedicate songs to people whom he knows very well or who mean a lot to him. Please let him decide whom he wants to dedicate songs to. He will not fulfill song or dedication wishes.

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Elton has founded his own AIDS Foundation, the Elton John AIDS Foundation. And he does lots of charity work besides that. He cannot possibly help all worthy causes that would like him to help them financially or otherwise.

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Elton already supports lots of young musicians but he is no record company and he cannot listen to every demo tape mailed to him. However, Elton makes a point of keeping up with all the latest new releases. Once you have found a record company and released your album he might find your music worth promoting but he will not do so by request.

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NO! (see also question 5)

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Of course, every fan wants to meet Elton and talk to him personally but he simply does not have enough time to do so. Our suggestion: take part in competition where you can win a Meet & Greet with Elton. Radio stations often do such competition when Elton concerts are coming up.

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Elton does sometimes perform with other artists but he only does so with very good friends or with artists he finds worth promoting. If you become famous one day you might be one of the chosen few but you cannot just request this big favor from him.

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It is up to Elton and his management where he performs. A lot of organizational work goes into every show before Elton even enters the stage. Just wait and see – in some time he might come to your hometown. And: If you are such a big fan, why don’t you invest the time and money to see him – even if he performs further away?

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Hercules member service

There is no subscription or member fee. Hercules became an online only fan club in January 2003. You can enjoy all of our services free of charge. Here is why:

A Member Audit conducted in summer 2001 has clearly shown that most of our members (80% of the respondents) do surf the Internet. This website is receiving a growing number of currently more than 500 unique visitors each day. Hence, a printed fanzine is old news for many of its readership in today's world, where communication has become so fast that we are able to e.g. bring you a review and complete set list of a concert within minutes after Elton leaving the stage.

In other words, the fanzine was no longer able to compete with the Internet, and also cost more to produce than it generated in revenue. It was no longer possible for us to produce the fanzine economically without a huge increase in subscription rates.

The results of the above mentioned Member Audit, the great success of our website, and the continuing decrease in fanzine subscribers has finally led us to the following decision: The Hercules fanzine ceased to be published, with the final edition being No. 60 (September 2002). The Hercules Team had decided to additionally publish a "Farewell" issue in March 2003.

With the fanzine no longer being available, all Hercules memberships ended on December 31, 2002. Since January 1, 2003, Hercules is only offering fan services on the Internet via this website. The Web Member area is open to the public free of charge since December 24, 2003.

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Hercules membership passes are no longer available. All passes previously issued expired on December 31, 2002.

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You will find the current username and password on the log-on page.

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Believe us, we would be more than happy to do so on a regular basis. Actually, we were able to offer first row seats to 15 lucky members to one of the London shows of Elton John and Ray Cooper in December 1994 - thanks to the support of Elton's management. And Hercules has offered fan tickets at reduced rates to its membership for some of the European shows since 1998. Check out Tour News in order to find out whether fan tickets are available.

We are aware of the difficult ticket situation, especially in the USA. But please, don't shoot us ... we are only the fan club, i.e. we are not in the position to offer any tickets without the support of Elton's management, the tour promoter or Elton himself. In the past years, we have been persistent in order to make progress. We won't give up, but we get the feeling that our inquiries are ignored as concerts will sell out anyway.

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