A lukewarm response at Manchester had led to Elton John threatening to quit live shows altogether.

But a far more sympathetic and lively crowd at Birmingham piled out of their seats and into the aisles at the NEC - and helped put the smile back on the superstar's face.

Compared with his legendary madcap performances in the 1970s this was a fairly sober show.

There was little in the way of a stage set or gimmicks and Elton was clad in a lime green suit and mauve glasses - conservative attire for him.

He has taken his share of stick for his wig/transplant thingy but not as much as his trio of guitarists deserve for their ridiculously outdated barnets.

But at least they don't play as badly as they look and contributed their full part to lush vocal harmonies of up to six parts.

The two and a quarter hour set featured a wide-ranging mix of songs from tracks off the current Big Picture album to nuggets from his extensive back catalogue for the aficionados.

Then of course there were the hits - we had Daniel, Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Philadelphia Freedom, though not Rocket Man, Sad Songs or either version of Candle In The Wind.

The mid section was largely given over to ballads which Elton delivered in consummate fashion - never overdoing it unlike some singers you could think of.

Then he decided it was time to party and showed off his dexterity at playing the piano while lying either on top or underneath it.

His voice is deeper than it used to be and he steers clear of high notes whenever he can.

But it still has the power to fill what is a huge auditorium.

And it remains able to move fans to tears during the show closer Your Song.