The St Pancras railway station piano is a public

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

upright piano donated by

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

St Pancras railway station St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden. It is ...

, a major interchange in London.

History

On 4 February 2016 John performed a medley at the station, to promote the album "

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." Following his performance, he donated the Yamaha piano to the station, marking it with the inscription, "Enjoy this piano. It's a gift. Love, Elton John." Since its donation the piano has been accessible to the public, used by both amateur and professional musicians. Its presence has attracted a variety of performers, including

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Tom Odell Thomas Peter Odell (born 24 November 1990) is an English singer-songwriter. He released his debut extended play, ''Songs from Another Love'', in 2012. It won the 2013 BRIT Awards, BRITs Critics' Choice Award in early 2013. Odell's debut studio ...

Jeff Goldblum Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum (; born October 22, 1952) is an American actor and musician. He has starred in some of the highest-grossing films of his era, such as ''Jurassic Park'' (1993) and '' Independence Day'' (1996), as well as their sequels. ...

, and

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

, who have played the instrument, often generating public and media interest. The St Pancras piano is part of a wider phenomenon of public pianos in the UK, influenced by initiatives such as artist

Luke Jerram Luke Jerram (born 1974) is a British installation artist. He creates sculptures, large installations, and live arts projects. He is currently a visiting fellow at the Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences, University of the West of England, B ...

's "Play me, I'm yours" installation, which began in 2008.

2024 public dispute

In January 2024 the piano was the subject of a public dispute involving UK

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Brendan Kavanagh Brendan Kavanagh (born October 1967), also known as "Dr K" due to his PhD in English, is a British pianist and piano teacher of Irish descent. He specializes in playing and promoting the boogie-woogie genre, almost exclusively improvised, ofte ...

, who is known as Dr. K and for his public piano performances. During a live-streaming session of him playing the piano, a Chinese group, apparently part of a television crew, approached him. They are heard saying, "we love your music" while also requesting that their faces be excluded from the footage, citing concerns of their imaging rights, due to their relationship with Chinese TV. On 23 January the piano was temporarily sealed off due to ongoing station maintenance works, preventing the public from playing it. On 24 January, St Pancras Station management announced the piano had been relocated a short distance from the cordoned off area saying the public piano playing area had been reinstated.

References

{{Reflist Elton John Individual pianos Music in London Public art in London