Sir Elton John and Ed Sheeran join forces to run for Christmas number one
Watch: Ed Sheeran and Elton John announce Christmas single
Ed Sheeran and Sir Elton John are releasing a single together as they kick off the race for this year’s Christmas number one.
The chart-topping pair will be releasing their track in time for the holidays, after Elton reached out to Sheeran in a bid to best his past festive smash, Step Into Christmas.
Speaking on Dutch radio station NPO Radio 2, Sheeran said: “Elton rang me on Christmas Day to say Merry Christmas. Elton rings me almost every single day.
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“He said, ‘Step Into Christmas is Number 6 in the charts! I want to do another Christmas song – will you do it with me?”
Sheeran added that it was just the two of them on the song, but it took some convincing in order to get him on board.
However, the loss of a close friend encouraged him to take the opportunity to release a single with the legend.
“You don’t know if you’ll still be there tomorrow, everything can change overnight,” he said. “I may not be here tomorrow. Why shouldn’t I grab this opportunity?”
The pair have been long-standing friends and have got so close that, in a recent interview, Elton revealed that Sheeran had gifted him something special for his 74th birthday.
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“He gave me a giant marble penis,” Elton told The Tommy and Carrie Show. “I don’t know if that’s because I’ve always been a p**** or not. It’s really big. It’s beautifully made but it’s solid marble.
“What do you buy the man who has everything? A huge marble penis.”
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However, the Rocketman legend has recently had to postpone three months worth of shows on his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, in order to have an operation on his hip.
Offering an update on Wednesday, Elton’s husband David Furnish said the star had been “soldiering on for a long time” but finally had to get the medical help he needed.
He told Hello!: “He’s good. He’s in pain. His hip is quite sore. He’s been soldiering on for a long time, and he really was devastated to have to reschedule the next three months of shows.
“But your health has to come first and I don’t think he would have been able to finish the tour if he wasn’t going to go in and have the hip surgery done so I’m actually really relieved and excited.
“Then he’ll be able to go back on the road and be pain-free and then everybody will get a better show and he’ll be happier.”
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