Elton John 2000–present
 In 1979, John and Taupin reunited. 21 at 33, released the following year, was a significant career boost, aided by his biggest hit in four years, Little Jeannie (number 3 US), although the lyrics were written by Gary Osborne. (John also worked with lyricists Tom Robinson and Judie Tzuke during this period as well.) His 1981 follow-up, The Fox, was recorded in part during the same sessions and also included collaborations with both lyricists. On 13 September 1980 Elton John performed a free concert to an estimated 400,000 fans on The Great Lawn in Central Park in New York City, with Olsson and Murray back in the Elton John Band, and within hearing distance of his friend John Lennon's apartment building. Three months later Lennon would be murdered in front of that same building. Elton mourned the loss in his 1982 hit Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny), from his Jump Up! album, his second under a new U.S. recording contract with Geffen Records. He performed the tribute at a sold-out Madison Square Garden show in August 1982, joined on stage by Yoko Ono and Sean Ono Lennon, Elton's godchild.
However, the 1980s were years of personal upheaval for John. In 1984 he surprised many by marrying sound engineer Renate Blauel. In 1986 he lost his voice while touring Australia and shortly thereafter underwent throat surgery. John continued recording prolifically, but years of cocaine and alcohol abuse, initiated in earnest around the time of Rock of the Westies' 1975 release, were beginning to take their toll. In 1987 he won a libel case against The Sun who had written about his allegedly having underaged sex; afterwards he said, You can call me a fat, balding, talentless old queen who can't sing — but you can't tell lies about me.
With original band members Johnstone, Murray and Olsson together again, Elton was able to return to the charts with the 1983 hit album Too Low For Zero, which included I'm Still Standing and I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues, the latter of which featured Stevie Wonder on harmonica and reached number 4 in the US, giving Elton John his biggest hit there since Little Jeannie. Indeed while he would never again match his 1970s success, he placed hits in the U.S. Top Ten throughout the 1980s — Little Jeannie (number 3, 1980), Sad Songs (Say So Much) (number 5, 1984), Nikita boosted by a mini-movie pop video directed by Ken Russell (number 7, 1986), an orchestral version of Candle in the Wind (number 6, 1987), and I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That (number 2, 1988). His highest-charting single was a collaboration with Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder on That's What Friends Are For (number 1, 1985); credited as Dionne and Friends, the song raised funds for AIDS research. His albums continued to sell, but of the six released in the latter half of the 1980s, only Reg Strikes Back (number 16, 1988) placed in the Top 20 in the United States.
In 1984, Watford reached the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium, fulfilling a lifelong ambition for John, who by now was owner and chairman of the club. During the traditional pre-match ritual of the crowd singing Abide With Me, John burst into tears. Watford lost the game 2-0 to Everton, who always played in blue kit. After the game a large banner was unfurled among the Everton supporters, saying SORRY ELTON - I GUESS THAT'S WHY THEY CALL US THE BLUES.
In 1985, John was one of the many performers at Live Aid, playing the Wembley Stadium leg of the marathon concert. He played Bennie and the Jets and Rocket Man; performed Don't Go Breaking My Heart with Kiki Dee for the first time in years; and introduced his friend George Michael, still then of Wham!, to sing Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me.
This was an example of John's endearing support of young artists and embrace of all new music, which continues to this day. He enlisted Michael to sing backing vocals on his single Wrap Her Up, and also recruited teen idol Nik Kershaw as an instrumentalist on Nikita. John also recorded material with Millie Jackson in 1985.
In 1988, he performed five sold-out shows at New York's Madison Square Garden, giving him 26 for his career, breaking the Grateful Dead's house record. But that year also marked the end of an era. Netting over $20 million, 2,000 items of John's memorabilia were auctioned off at Sotheby's in London, as John bade symbolic farewell to his excessive theatrical persona. (Among the items withheld from the auction were the tens of thousands of records John had been carefully collecting and cataloguing throughout his life.) In later interviews, he deemed 1989 the worst period of his life, comparing his mental and physical deterioration to Elvis Presley's last years.
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