ELTON JOHN - ELTON JOHN'S BILLY ELLIOT BOND

SIR ELTON JOHN helped turn hit movie BILLY ELLIOT into a stage show, because its storyline is so similar to his own life.
The musical hits New York's Broadway in September (08) after a successful stint on London's West End.
John wrote music to accompany author Lee Hall's story about a young boy who falls in love with ballet, inspite of a disapproving father, in a working class English town.
He claims his childhood mirrored that of the fictional Billy Elliot - except he didn't get to enjoy the acceptance of his father.
He tells the New York Daily News, "At the end of the film, Billy's father sees (his son) dance at Covent Garden. My father really never got to do that when I became successful later on in my career. So I kind of missed that.
"I was always trying to please my father, but he really never got what I wanted to be and disapproved of it completely. He was a product of the war and wanted me to have a safe job in a bank or an accountancy firm. And that wasn't for me."