Elton John’s New Wax Figure at Madame Tussauds London Unveiled

Elton John has long been immortalized on wax (y’know, vinyl records), and now he’s been immortalized in wax with a new statue at Madame Tussauds London.

The figure impressively captures John in the midst of one of his famous piano handstands. The wax figure’s outfit is based on the one John wore at his 1975 Midsummer Music Festival at Wembley Stadium, with the musician giving the Madame Tussauds team access to the Bob Mackie jumpsuit he wore for that performance (just as a reference; the one the figure is sporting is a replica). The piano, meanwhile, is covered in 24,000 rhinestones.

In a video about the new statue, Madame Tussauds London’s studio manager Jo Kinsey described the handstand statue as “our most structurally ambitious figure to date,” adding, “Creating a figure on a piano this way is truly a first of its kind. It took several artists months to plan, engineer, and build the structure, which allows Elton’s figure to be suspended gracefully in the air.”

This is not John’s first wax figure, with the musician previously sitting with the Madame Tussauds team in London in 1976. That statue also made history as the world’s first talking and smiling Madame Tussauds figure, with John providing the voice recordings as well. 

The real-life John has been busy doing the press rounds in support of his new documentary, Elton John: Never Too Late, which premiered on Disney+ earlier this month. Directed by R.J. Cutler and John’s husband, David Furnish, the film finds the musician looking back at his 50-year career in the lead-up to his final North American concert. (John’s new song for the film, also titled “Never Too Late,” was just shortlisted for Best Original Song for the 2025 Oscars.)

While John has retired from touring, he did tease new music on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert earlier this week. “You will be getting some more,” John said. “The juices have never dried up. They never want to dry up because I’m always looking to create things. It’s just having the space now to do it on my own time. Of course, there will be new Elton John music.”