Abu Dhabi Week had the immense privilege of catching up with one of the world’s truly great musical legends ahead of his concert next week – and we’re still pinching ourselves!

The hardest thing we’ve had to do recently was think up a list of questions to ask Sir Elton John. We’ve listened to his songs since before we could remember and have never failed to be moved by his melodies.

We really can’t wait to see him on stage again in the capital and share what’s sure to be a magical evening with our readers. We give you … the legend that is Sir Elton John!

If you could take just three of your songs to the grave with you what would they be and why?

I would have to answer that by saying I don’t want to take any of my songs to the grave with me – I hope that they will live on long after I am gone!

Bernie Taupin and I are privileged to have written a catalogue of songs, which really do have a life of their own. We never dreamed that some of our songs would not only be hits when they were released, but that I would continue to play them for over 40 years.

Also, they have had new lives when other artists have recorded and released them. Right now I’m very excited about a remix project by the Australian duo Pnau. I gave them free rein on all my master tapes and they have come up with some extraordinary new versions of our songs.

The first single, Turn Around and Say Good Morning to the Night, which is a reworking of Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters, will be released very soon.

How many pairs of glasses do you own, and how many have you brought with you to Abu Dhabi?

Over the years I have probably owned thousands of pairs of glasses, but I’ve never kept a running total. A lot of them have been auctioned off for various charities, but I still have hundreds in my collection at home.

This year some of them have been on display at the Eyewear exhibition at the Puppenhaus Museum in Basel, Switzerland.

I take about 20 pairs on the road with me and the ones I am currently wearing on tour are made in Italy by a company called Prism.

You’ve had so many incredible moments in your career, but do you have a standout that really rocked your world?

If I had to choose one it would be 28th November, 1974 - Thanksgiving night - when John Lennon joined us on stage at Madison Square Garden in what was to be his last public performance. He sang Whatever Gets You Thru the Night, Lucy In The Sky with Diamonds and I Saw Her Standing There with us. I will never forget the crowd reaction when he walked on stage, and I have never experienced anything like that since.

Is there anyone you haven’t performed with that you would love to get on stage with you?

There are always people I would like to perform with. I’m always excited about new talent that comes through, and over the past year I’ve had the 2CELLOS on tour with me. This Croatian duo, Luca Sulik and Stjepan Hauser, shot to international acclaim with their version of Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal. They now have a hit album and are rising stars in their own right, but they also add a new dimension to the Elton John band.

I’ve been incredibly lucky to have performed with many of the greatest artists, including some of my personal heroes. I am so fortunate to have had that great live moment with John Lennon, and also to have toured with my all-time hero, Leon Russell.

I had always wanted to sing with Ray Charles, and in 2004 I was asked to sing on his Genius Loves Company album. We sang Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word together and, although it was apparent that his health was failing, his voice had lost none of the magic that I had loved for so long. He died later that year, so I was so glad I had the opportunity to sing with him.

How long have you been playing with Ray Cooper and what makes your relationship on stage so special?

Ray first worked with me in the studio in August 1971, on the Madman Across The Water album, and first joined me on stage at the Royal Festival Hall show six months later. He was the percussionist in my band during the 1970s, and over the years we have toured the world with this Two Man Show. So we have been playing together for over 40 years.

What makes our relationship on stage so special is that there is simply nobody else who does what Ray Cooper does. Not only is he a virtuoso percussionist, but he brings theatricality and drama to the show – people can’t take their eyes off him!

He helps bring the songs to life, and people are often surprised that the two of us can produce such a big and varied sound. But to really understand the special relationship between Ray and me you have to come to our concert!

What can the Abu Dhabi crowd expect from your performance?

The Abu Dhabi crowd can expect to hear many of my greatest hits and some of the best-loved album tracks. Ray and I will give everything we’ve got - and we expect a lot of audience participation.

You’ve visited Abu Dhabi before, but what are you looking forward this time round?

I love to experience different landscapes and cultures. I visited Abu Dhabi in 2008 when I played a concert with my band at the Emirates Palace, so four years on I am looking forward to returning to a fascinating region that I do not visit often enough.

Is the Abu Dhabi audience very different from other crowds you’ve performed in front of?

It’s always great to play to a new or rarely visited audience. I’ve been on the road for over 40 years and I’ve played over 3,000 public concerts, and when you have been playing for that long there is an enjoyable challenge in going to a town you’ve hardly ever visited. I love the way that the audiences are so appreciative that we’ve come all the way to their town, and I am pretty sure that the Abu Dhabi audience will make us feel very welcome.

When you sit down to write a song, what really gets your creative juices flowing?

The way Bernie Taupin and I write songs is that he gives me the lyrics and I then come up with the melody. So it is always the lyrics that get the creative juices flowing. If I’m inspired by a lyric I can usually nail down the melody in quite a short time, sometimes just in minutes. So if I’m struggling to find a melody I usually discard that lyric and move on to the next one pretty quickly.

Your stage performances are always so full of emotion; what do you think about to maintain focus when you’re on stage? How do you not get swept up in the moment, or do you just improvise?

When I’m on stage I feel completely at home. I’ve got great musicians up there with me, and there is an amazing chemistry between myself and Ray Cooper or between myself and the band which is impossible to explain, it simply exists.

I also have a fantastic crew behind the scenes who have been on the road with me for many years, so I am completely confident that everything will go smoothly.

I am not aware of needing to maintain focus, it’s just natural to me to play and sing and I love doing it as much now as I did in the early days – possibly even more so. I feel blessed to still be onstage after all these years, and I am hugely appreciative of all the people and fans that want to come to my concerts.