Nigel Olsson
Nigel Olsson has drummed for Elton John since 1969. He has also played the Troubadour twice: once with Elton in August 1970, once with Sir El Tom in August 2024.
54 years later,
Nigel came back
to the Troubadour.
In August 1970, Nigel, Elton John's drummer since 1969, played the legendary American debut of the Elton John Band at The Troubadour in West Hollywood. On August 5th 2024, nearly 54 years to the day, Nigel returned to that same stage to perform with Sir El Tom.
Nigel, still Sir Elton's drummer today, has since joined Tom onstage at Capitolio in Lisbon and The Belasco in Los Angeles, and recorded with him in the studio.
Decades of stage suits
Tom Cridland has been designing custom stage suits for Nigel Olsson for decades. Most famously, Nigel wore a custom purple Tom Cridland suit while drumming for Elton John's headline set at Glastonbury 2023, watched by 7.3 million viewers, 54 years after he and Elton first played together.
Nigel also drummed for Elton at Rock in Rio 2026 in custom Tom Cridland "Brazil" tailoring. Tom wrote about working with Nigel for HuffPost.
Read the HuffPost article
Nigel Olsson on stage with Elton John at Rock in Rio 2026, in Tom Cridland "Brazil" tailoring
Bring the show to your stage.
Sir El Tom tours theatres, amphitheatres, arenas and stadiums worldwide, and is available for corporate galas, private events and weddings.