Sir Elton arrives at High Court

Sir Elton could be in court all week

Pop superstar Sir Elton John has arrived at the High Court where he is due to give evidence in a multi-million pound contract battle.

Dressed in a grey suit, white shirt and brightly-patterned blue tie, he walked into court, accompanied by members of his legal team.

Sir Elton is suing both the former managing director of his management company John Reid Enterprises (JREL) and giant City accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, which looked after his business interests.

His defence team is hoping to stop the use of "embarrassing" evidence of his flamboyant lifestyle during the trial in case it triggers "a media frenzy".

The 53-year-old singer alleges that Andrew Haydon was negligent in allowing JREL to charge him overseas tour expenses.

Sir Elton has enjoyed a "phenomenally successful" career

The charges covered booking agents, accountants and producers.

Sir Elton's case is that the "several millions" which he paid out in touring expenses should have been borne by JREL under a management agreement.

He also accuses PricewaterhouseCoopers (formerly Price Waterhouse) of negligence in managing his affairs.

Both defendants are contesting the allegations against them.

Mr Haydon, 45, denies negligence and claims that everything had been done in accordance with management contract terms and conditions.

Criticisms rejected

PricewaterhouseCoopers say it has looked very carefully at the criticisms made and rejected them.

It would be asking the judge to rule that the firm's employees had acted according to the highest professional standards.

It is thought Sir Elton could be giving evidence for the rest of the week and security at the law courts on London's The Strand is expected to be tight.

The singer has already accepted £3.4m ($5m) from John Reid in settlement of his claims against him.

It has been reported that the singer's claim is in the region of £20m, but the figures have not been disclosed in court.

The hearing began at the end of last month and is estimated to last around eight weeks.

Millions in commission

The singer and composer's counsel, Gordon Pollock QC, has already spoken of the fortune Sir Elton made as he became "phenomenally successful" - and how others also enjoyed the fruits of his success.

Mr Pollock said John Reid in one single year earned £15m commission, while his company JREL took £73.5m between 1980 and 1998.

The action has been brought both by the singer and his three companies W Bong Ltd, J Bondi Ltd and Happenstance Ltd.

The star's legal team wants to block the use of "embarrassing" evidence of his flamboyant lifestyle during the trial.

Media frenzy

Mr Pollock has already told the judge there was concern that the singer's spending habits could be deployed to cause "a media frenzy" and put pressure on him.

The evidence included "a substantial analysis of Elton John's spending habits" and suggested that he "always wanted to spend up to and beyond the limit of money available to him".

Mr Pollock said: "We are concerned that if that (evidence) is left deployed it would cause a media frenzy, putting pressure on Sir Elton.

"This evidence has little role to play and is here primarily for the purpose of embarrassing Sir Elton."

He said he would be asking for that evidence, if it was not relevant, to be taken out of witness statements before they were released to the press.