EXCLUSIVE: Kiki Dee has opened up on her relationship with Sir Elton John and revealed how their iconic Don't Go Breaking My Heart tune still brings her success to this day18:55, 20 Jul 2026It's exactly 50 years ago this week that Sir Elton John and Kiki Dee topped the charts with their iconic duet Don't Go Breaking My Heart. It gave The Rocketman his very first number one in the UK – something he incredibly would not achieve again until 1990 with Sacrifice.‌The song stayed at the top for six weeks in 1976 during our legendary summer heatwave (just like now, five decades on) and it is still being played today. It is so popular it has now notched up more than one billion hits on Spotify – something which amazes the other half of this stellar duo Kiki Dee.‌In an exclusive interview, the 79-year-old lifts the lid on some of the behind-the-scenes secrets of the track and speaks about its legacy. She says: “What’s lovely is that Don’t Go Breaking My Heart has kept me in the public spotlight because what I do now is not so commercially based.‌“The Spotify award was amazing. It’s lovely that people still want to hear this song. I got a large brown parcel in the post totally out of the blue and it was this award from Spotify for one billion streams. It is quite beautiful. And every so often a little cheque pops into my account because of this song. That’s sweet.”Back in 1976, Elton and his songwriting pal Bernie Taupin came up with the original song and the plan was for him to record it solo with Kiki just doing some backing vocals. The pair knew one another as he had signed her to his Rocket record label and she had already had some chart hits including I Got The Music In Me and Loving and Free.‌Kiki says: “You know what's interesting about Don’t Go Breaking My Heart? It was just going to be an Elton performance with me singing backup vocals. But it was his record producer, Gus Dudgeon, who saw the potential for it to become a duet.”That decision changed both their lives as they shot to the top of the charts in the UK – knocking Demis Roussos’ Forever and Ever off the number one slot - and it became one of the key songs of that summer. It also went to number one in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and America.But despite the fact that their video for the track shows Elton and Kiki singing together in the recording studio and having a laugh, they were actually thousands of miles apart when the track was laid down.‌Kiki recalls: “We didn’t actually record the song together. It happens a lot when artists record duets. I mean Elton was so busy at that time he was probably flying all over the world so the only way they could get the single together was for him to do his vocal in America.“I got a tape of him singing his part himself and then doing my part in a falsetto voice. This is so I knew which bits were mine. I wish I had kept the recording. It has that ‘live’ feeling about it. It doesn’t sound like my vocals are edited in. I guess that’s why I never spoke about how it was made.”She also now cringes slightly at the very low budget video which was done in a recording studio with her in dungarees and Elton in a very loud check suit. "We weren't in our coolest phase, were we?” she laughs.‌“It wasn’t high maintenance. Very informal. I think we did it in two takes because Elton doesn't like to hang around. We didn't even rehearse it. Remember these were the days before MTV. It was done in case we got a Top of the Pops slot – which I thought we would! So we just chucked a video together not knowing that 50 years on, it would still be out there.”The song has remained a favourite with both of them over the years. Kiki, who has scored hits with Amoureuse, Perfect Timing and Star, still performs the track – as a slowed down version - on stage with her long term musical partner Carmelo Luggeri.And Elton has gone on to sing it with The Spice Girls, Minnie Mouse and also Ru Paul. But there was one performance with a certain ‘celebrity’ that made Kiki slightly Kermit-green with envy.‌She says: “When Elton appeared on The Muppet Show, I was terribly jealous of Miss Piggy who sang the duet with him! I mean I actually loved it when Miss Piggy said ‘Eat your heart out Kiki Dee’. He also did it on a TV show with The Spice Girls. That was a bit odd because I was in the audience at the time.”In 1985 Elton and Kiki reunited to sing the track in front of two billion people at Live Aid. Her appearance had been kept a secret and she admits that took away any nerves she might have had on the day.‌She revealed: “It was 1985 and I was doing theatre then so I wasn’t in the charts. I wasn’t ‘the latest flavour of the month’ as they say. So when they asked me, I didn’t actually feel any pressure as an artist that day like all the others there such as Queen.“I just turned up in my strange outfit. I looked like I was just about to go to bed in my pink pyjamas. But it was an amazing day.”Over the years, there has been what seems like an urban myth that Elton originally wanted to perform the song with Dusty Springfield. It’s even been suggested that it never happened because the husky voiced singer was sick at the time – and so that’s when Kiki got the call.‌However, the performer says: “I think it is a myth. I think there was a musical about Dusty at some point and I don't know whether they were stretching the truth a little...I mean we all love Dusty but I can't see it being true. It wouldn't have bothered me though, I actually got to sing on a couple of her singles in the 60s.“The reason I was asked to sing with Elton was because he knew me already. I was on his Rocket record label at the time and had already had two hit songs.”The pair are still friends after all these years and swap gifts and exchange gossip. And when they were recording the song in the Seventies, he even gave her a special nickname.‌He was famous for giving male pop stars special female names (Rod Stewart was Phyliss and Freddie Mercury was Melina) and Kiki didn’t escape being targeted.She says: “He used to call me Stanley Matthews after the footballer because my real surname is (Pauline) Matthews. Elton would give everyone nicknames. On Don’t Go Breaking My Hearts it says it’s written by Anna Orson and Carte Blanche – that was him and Bernie.“The names came from the fact that when Elton checked into hotels it meant fans couldn’t call his room as they wouldn’t know his nickname. I know one was Lord Choc Ice.”‌Kiki is still very proud of the song and claims even Led Zep singer Robert Plant told her that it would always be a part of her musical life.She adds: “I worked with Robert Plant about four years ago and he said ‘Oh.. Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’ - that's your Stairway to Heaven’. Even though things move on, I embrace this record because it’s forever. That's why I do a different live version arranged by my music partner Carmelo, we slow it slowed down and it has more pathos.”Asked why she thought the song had lasted, Kiki said: “It must strike some kind of a chord with people as far as relationships go. It's got some kind of romance about it. There is a lot of joy about it. Like most people, I have had an interesting love life but I am a very private person. These days, I am proud to say I’m happily single!”Article continues belowAsked who on the current music scene she would love to see perform the song together, she said: “Off the top of my head I think if I had to pick two current artists to sing Don’t Go Breaking My Heart in 2026, I’d go for Olivia Dean and Sam Fender. It would be a cool version.”Check out Kiki’s dates and releases at kikiandcarmelo.comLike this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.