UNITED KINGDOM: Elton John and partner David Furnish hold stag and hen parties ahead of their civil partnership ceremony in Windsor

Sir Elton John and David Furnish were thrown an all-star stag and hen night on Monday (December 19), two nights before they are due to wed. A host of celebrities gathered at the former strip club 'Too2Much' in London to wish John and his long-time partner Furnish good luck. Some of the celebrities turning up at the Soho club included former Take That singer Gary Barlow, who was due to serenade the happy couple, American rocker Kid Rock, and UK TV Presenter Paul O'Grady who acted as the master of ceremony of the party. "A bit of stripping, fighting, and then chain him into a lamppost and cover him with shaving foam, it's what you do at every stag night," O'Grady said about his plans for John before entering the club. According to media reports, model Liz Hurley, the Osbournes, Lord of the Rings star Sir Ian McKellen, and a line-up of UK celebrities also attended the bash. Elton John is to marry Furnish on December 21, the first day that civil partnerships between gay couples become possible in England. The ceremony will be held in Windsor's Guildhall registry office. In a recent interview with Attitude magazine, John said the ceremony would be a small, private affair involving only himself and Furnish and their parents acting as witnesses. "Out of respect for their (our parents') support, we want to just keep it small -- not to make a ballyhoo of the ceremony," he told the gay lifestyle magazine. "There will be a party somewhere, but the day will be very low key and we'll take our parents to lunch afterwards." The Civil Partnership Act allows same-sex couples to effectively marry. Couples who want to wed under the act must post a notification at a registry office first, meaning that the first such ceremonies in England will take place on December 21. Elton John and Canadian-born David Furnish have been together for around 12 years. The 58-year-old singer, one of the most successful solo artists in pop history with classics including "Your Song" and "Candle in the Wind", previously married Renate Blauel in 1984 but they divorced four years later. John's publicist said earlier this year that one of the main reasons John and Furnish wanted to formalise their relationship was financial, with civil partnerships giving partners tax breaks available to married couples.

ITN Source | December 21, 2005

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