Elton John and Kiki Dee Celebrate 50th Anniversary of Dont Go Breaking My Heart with Rare Wembley Performance Video

On Friday, 24 July 2026, the Rocket fan club—the official fan community of Sir Elton Hercules John—unveiled a previously unseen recording of the singer and Kiki Dee’s 1976 duet Don’t Go Breaking My Heart on YouTube. The clip, shot at Wembley’s Empire Pool, marks the 50th anniversary of the single that became John’s first UK number‑one and sat atop the UK Singles Chart for six weeks.

The performance was captured on 3 November 1977, the night of John’s final show of the Blue Moves tour. In the footage, John explains that the set list had originally omitted the duet, but a last‑minute decision to include it was prompted by the presence of a “certain person” in the country. He says, “We weren’t gonna do this number… we found out that a certain person was in the country, so we panicked and we said, ‘Well, we must do it.’ So she has agreed to come on and sing it. It’s Kiki Dee, ladies and gentlemen.” The audience’s enthusiastic reaction is captured in the footage.

Don’t Go Breaking My Heart was written by John and lyricist Bernie Taupin under the pseudonyms Ann Orson and Carte Blanche. The pair intended the song as a pastiche of the Motown duet style popular in the 1960s, though they ultimately recorded it themselves. The single was released 25 June 1976 on The Rocket Record Company and reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, where it remained for four weeks. It was later added to the 1995 Mercury reissue of John’s 1975 album Rock of the Westies.

Since its release, John and Dee have performed the duet live more than ten times. Notable appearances include the final stop of John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium in November 2022. The pair have also shared the stage with a diverse array of performers, from Miss Piggy and RuPaul to Minnie Mouse, the Spice Girls and Ed Sheeran.

The 2026 video release is the first time the Rocket fan club has posted a live performance of the duo on YouTube. The clip provides a rare visual record of a concert that, until now, had only been documented in audio form. The fan club’s announcement noted the significance of the 50‑year milestone and the historical value of the footage.

The single’s success helped cement John’s status as one of the most commercially successful artists of the 1970s. It also highlighted the cross‑Atlantic appeal of pop duets, a format that would see continued popularity in later decades. The song’s Motown‑inspired arrangement and playful lyrics remain a staple of John’s live repertoire.

While the video offers a nostalgic look back, it also underscores the enduring relevance of John’s catalog. The 50th anniversary marks half a century since the song’s chart‑dominating run, and the release of the Wembley performance serves as a reminder of the artist’s lasting influence on pop music and live performance traditions.

As the Rocket fan club shares the footage, fans and music historians alike will have the opportunity to experience a pivotal moment in Elton John’s career that had previously been confined to memory and radio airplay.