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" Sir Elton John received the inaugural Brits Icon at a special concert last night (September 2). The musician made his comeback from illness at the event, following his recent appendicitis surgery.  Rod Stewart presented John with his prize at the London Palladium, describing him as &amp;quot;the second-best rock singer ever&amp;quot;. John said he was &amp;quot;flattered&amp;quot; by the award, which will be given to artists who have had a &amp;quot;lasting impact&amp;quot; on UK culture. He also performed several classic tracks including &amp;#039;Your Song&amp;#039; and &amp;#039;Tiny Dancer&amp;#039;, while also playing his new song &amp;#039;Home Again&amp;#039;. Stewart joined John for their first ever duet on &amp;#039;Sad Songs (Say So Much)&amp;#039;. Gary Barlow and Elizabeth Hurley were among the guests, while there were video messages from Bill Clinton, Ringo Starr and Yoko Ono among others. John said of the trophy: &amp;quot;They&amp;#039;ve even made it sparkly on the bottom, which you know I love.&amp;quot;  He dedicated the award to his long-time writing partner Bernie Taupin, &amp;quot;who [he] wouldn&amp;#039;t be here without&amp;quot;, along with the &amp;quot;Women&amp;#039;s Institute and you, the fans&amp;quot;. He added: &amp;quot;I can think of a couple of people who might have deserved it more than me.&amp;quot; Elton John was forced to cancel a string of concerts this summer after having surgery for appendicitis. Speaking to Dermot O&amp;#039;Leary on stage, he said: &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s been a hell of a summer. I&amp;#039;m glad to be rid of the appendix - it was a pesky little bugger.&amp;quot; The two-and-a-half-hour show - which will be broadcast on ITV on September 13 - featured O&amp;#039;Leary discussing John&amp;#039;s career in between songs. Watch the video for Elton John&amp;#039;s &amp;#039;Home Again&amp;#039; below:      "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/music/brit-awards/news/a512022/elton-john-collects-first-brits-icon-award/>