Read a review of Tom's Elton Tribute's debut American theatre tour.
Just as the world's finest classical musicians pay tribute the likes of Stravinsky, Mozart, Beethoven and Rachmaninoff, Tom Cridland celebrates the artistic legacy of Sir Elton Hercules John through "Tom's Elton Tribute" and live performances as his alter ego, Sir Eltom John. Tom's Elton Tribute is a proud supporter of the Elton John Aids Foundation.
Tom was born and grew up in London. He started playing and singing in his late twenties to recover from alcoholism, and learnt the piano during the Covid-19 lockdowns as a way of staying sober, inspired by Elton John himself.
The first "Tom's Elton Tribute" concert was in January of 2022 at the Carrollton Station in New Orleans, Louisiana. Tom developed his act in Nashville, Tennessee, with residencies at the Players Inn, a dive bar in Bellevue. By May 2023 he was performing to 1,500 people at McKelligon Canyon Amphitheatre in Texas.
Tom plays all of Elton John's best loved classic hits, album tracks, deep cuts and fan favourites, including Bennie and the Jets, Tiny Dancer, Rocket Man, Candle In The Wind, Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me, I’m Still Standing, Crocodile Rock, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Sacrifice and Your Song.
Tom's touring as a singer and piano player has encompassed gigs in every single state of America and hundreds of concerts at iconic venues all over the world.
This includes shows at the Adelphi Theatre, Carnegie Hall, Tivoli, Casino Estoril, Vivo Rio, Théâtre du Gymnase Marie Bell, Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, Emerson Colonial Theatre, The Klein Memorial Auditorium, The Granada Theatre Santa Barbara, Balboa Theatre, The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, Perot Theatre, Sioux City Orpheum, Robinson Center, Koger Center for the Arts, Buskirk-Chumley Theater, Performing Arts Center San Luis Obispo, Scottsdale Performing Arts Center, Sunrise Theatre, Teatro Positivo, Ulysses Centro de Convenções, Vibra São Paulo, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Sheffield City Hall, New Wimbledon Theatre, Bristol Beacon, New Theatre Oxford and Birmingham Symphony Hall.
Defiantly old school, Tom's Elton Tribute puts the music first, with extraordinary attention to detail. In contrast to most of the modern day industry, Tom plays 100% live, with no backing tracks or lip-syncing at all. Indeed as Elton himself put it, "I think everyone who lip-syncs on stage in public when you pay like 75 quid to see them should be shot".
Alongside being a live performer, Tom is also a songwriter and record producer.
Tom produced and co-wrote The Stylistics album, "Falling In Love with My Girl", featuring Shania Twain, the Elton John Band including Nigel Olsson and Davey Johnstone, Bill Champlin, Jay Graydon, Justin Hawkins, Tower of Power, The Real Thing, Steve Lukather, Ronnie Wood and many more legendary musical collaborators. This includes the single with Shania Twain, "Yes, I Will", which Tom co-wrote with Shania and Nathan East.
Prior to this Tom produced sessions at studios such as Sunset Sound, Abbey Road, Metropolis and The Village. His music can be heard on the albums "The Life and Times of The Tomicks" and "One Single A Week", which feature songs recorded with Davey Johnstone, Earl Slick and Kenji Suzuki of Simply Red.
The "Tom's Elton Tribute" project has been covered by the BBC, The Guardian, New York Post, Men's Health and KCRW.
A truly "full circle" moment for Tom came on August 5th 2024. Nigel Olsson returned to the Troubadour in West Hollywood to play with him, nearly 54 years to the day of his legendary original performance at the same venue with Elton John himself, which was Elton's first ever American show and the one that catapulted him to global superstardom.