The boy who replaced Albino Bob
Reginald Dwight was a painfully shy 15-year-old boy who spent most of his free time living in his dreams.
Locked away in his bedroom, safe from his often feuding parents, Reggie liked listening to Radio Luxembourg and reading his match programmes.
Reggie loved music and Watford FC, the club he had followed since his father brought him to his first game when he was 7-years-old.
While Reggie’s two cousins were professional footballers with Fulham, the genetic talent had not passed to his toes.
Reggie’s gifts were in his fingers and vocal chords.
But as much as he wanted to be an entertainer, Reggie was terrified of performing.
His first gig couldn’t have been tougher.
It was in the pub of the Northwood Hill Hotel.
The regular pianist Albino Bob had quit at short notice.
Reggie got his chance.
But the regulars in the Northwood Hill Hotel had no interest in being entertained by a pudgy little teenager.
They wanted to hear Albino Bob.
For his first few numbers, the patrons in the bar just kept talking as Reggie tried to gain their attention.
And it got worse.
A few empty crisp bags were thrown in his direction.
The clinking and tinking of the beer glasses were louder than the applause he was getting.
But Reggie Dwight wasn’t prepared to bomb.
He dug deep. He became the entertainer of his dreams.
Pounding on his piano, the shy teenager started belting out the tunes. He refused to be ignored.
Flowers must blossom and stars need to shine.
Decades later when he recalled his first gig, Reggie said it was as if his whole being changed.
“When I was sitting behind that piano, all my fears seemed to go away. Somehow it put steel into me. If anything, I should have been terrified, but instead I felt fantastically safe, as if no-one could hurt me.”
A few years later, Reginald Dwight was arguably the biggest rock star in the world. His first three albums in America went straight to No.1.
Of course by that time he had changed his name to Elton John.
But what would have happened if young Reggie Dwifght had declined to take that gig in the pub of the Northwood Hill Hotel?
What if he had succumbed to his fears and insecurities?
Reggie could have decided he was never going to be as good as Albino Bob. They didn’t throw crisp packets at Albino Bob!
The point is, no-one enjoys a straight path to success.
There are always obstacles.
It is never easy.
It’s the same with this business of getting leaner, fitter and stronger.
Unless you are prepared to take risks, and go to the psychological places where it truly hurts, you will never truly discover what you might become.
And it's not about success or failure.
It’s about realising your potential. It’s about discovering what you can truly achieve if you’re prepared to drive on.
It can be the difference between being Reginald Dwight or Elton John.
PH
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