I'm still milking: Meet the farmer who becomes Elton John by night

By day, tenant farmer Richard Reeves can usually be found out in the fields, tending to his 200-strong herd of cows.

But come nightfall, his wellies are often swapped for a sequinned or feathered costume before heading out to perform as Elton John to sold-out audiences across the UK.

While he has been a lifelong fan of the artist, even meeting him backstage as a teenager, it is not just his passion for music that has led him to a new career.

The financial pressures facing many farmers means Reeves needs to work two jobs.

"That's the reality of modern farming: most farms now need additional income streams just to survive.

"Some diversify into holiday lets, farm shops, or cafés - but as a tenant farmer, those options aren't always available. So, I've had to diversify in my own way," he said.

Reeves currently has two tenant farms, meaning he rents the land rather than owning it. His dream is to buy his own land, but for that he will need to save.

Being a first-generation farmer is extremely challenging, Reeves said. He fell in love with the industry as a young age while helping out on a farm near his childhood home in Bristol.

"By the time I was 12, I was taking on more responsibility and started milking a local herd of cows. To this day, I'm still up every morning milking.

"Hopefully, doing my music will mean I get to keep farming," he said.

"Weekends, I'd be away doing music. All through the week, I'd be working at farms."

His act came about after he began performing at weddings and corporate events, where audiences kept telling him he sounded like Elton John.

Eventually, he gave in and came up with an Elton tribute act, which immediately sold out at Komedia in Bath in 2024.

"It might sound like two completely different worlds, but that's the reality for a lot of us now - doing whatever it takes to keep a foot in farming.

"And if I'm honest, stepping away from the farm to do something completely different has been one of the best things I've done for my mental health.

"Farming can be tough - it's relentless, and the pressure never really switches off. Being able to go away for 24 hours to do a show, clear my head, and then come back refreshed makes a huge difference," he added.

When Reeves was 14, he met Elton in person.

"I'd been a massive Elton fan, it's what inspired me to learn to play piano and sing," Reeves said.

"My dad wrote to Elton about how much of a fan I am and how he inspired me to play."

Elton replied and invited the two of them to come meet him at one of his shows in Swansea in 2008.

"We waited outside the dressing room while Elton was getting ready, which felt like a lifetime. We got brought through and we got to hang out with Elton for 10 minutes and chat before the show," Reeves said.

Not far from Reeves' farm in Somerset, Luke Hasell is another farmer trying to diversify his income.

He founded Valley Fest, a music festival by Chew Valley Lake, in 2014.

"It's tough out there for farming. There's no beating around the bush. It's exciting, but it's tough," Hasell said.

"One of the reasons why we're forced to do so many different things and become diversified with our approach of utilising the land, whether it's having a community on the farm, or a wedding, or a festival - the reason we do that is because farming doesn't quite pay the bills.

"I'd love to just farm and look after the fences and tend to livestock, but we have to diversify and move with the market," he added.

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