Elton's wedding warm-up

By Sir Elton John's standards, it was a low-key affair - 180 of his closest friends joined him for a £100,000 cabaret and stag night in one of London's campest nightclubs.

Topless waiters wearing black ties and riding boots served champagne to the guests, among them Liz Hurley, Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne and Sir Ian McKellen.

Bill Clinton sent a video message wishing the happy couple good luck.

Sir Elton, 58, was somewhat demure. He wore a sober turquoise suit, while his partner David Furnish, 53, whom he will marry tomorrow, sported a black sequined jacket.

The stag do - some were calling it a hen night - was at Too2Much, the Soho nightclub which was once home to Raymond's Revue Bar. Too2Much boasts an auditorium with red leather banquet seating, a bar decorated with Swarovski crystals, chairs dipped in rubber and sculptured glass walls.

One guest, gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, insisted the evening was not over the top.

He said: "It wasn't as extravagant as his past parties, it was very low key but a great night. It was more like a get-together of his friends."

Sir Elton and Mr Furnish arrived together at about 10pm, sailing past the waiting fans and media without talking. They left just after midnight through a side entrance.

"The night was absolutely fantastic," said Mr Furnish.

The cabaret's compere was Paul O'Grady, who warned beforehand: "We're going to tie them to a lamppost, cover them with shaving foam - it's an old-fashioned stag do." The threat didn't materialise.

Other guests included Lulu, Bryan Adams, Janet Street-Porter, Cilla Black, Gary Barlow, Donna Air, Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine. Liz Hurley, wearing tight white trousers and a white fur wrap, arrived with fiancé Arun Nayar.

Take That and Lulu were reported to have performed their 1993 hit Relight My Fire.

Sir Ian McKellen turned up carrying a bag which may well have contained a drag costume for his rumoured performance.

Cilla Black said she would buy the couple a present despite their insistence that guests make a charitable donation instead. She said: "I'm going to buy them the tackiest toaster I can find, just for fun."

The Osbourne family left 30 minutes after Sir Elton. Sharon Osbourne said: "The night was fabulous."

Sir Elton will marry Mr Furnish at Windsor's Guildhall tomorrow in one of Britain's first civil partnership ceremonies.

The ceremony will be followed by a £1million reception and banquet at Sir Elton's Windsor home, Woodside.