Thursday , March 28 2024

Elton John Pontificates and Elaborates

Elton John, now 58, is one voluble and energetic individual, as he again proved in a glib and free-ranging interview with the U.K. tabloid The Mirror, touching upon famous friends, musical projects, and his impending civil marriage to partner David Furnish.

Excerpts:

On Rod Stewart – “Rod and Penny were here last night. I like her. She’s a lovely girl and she’s been great for him. I’ve congratulated them on their engagement … isn’t it just typical of Missus Stewart to get engaged to the next one before he’s divorced the last one?”

On the Beckhams – “I spoke to David the other day,” he says. “I think he desperately wanted a little girl, but got a little boy. “But who knows – they might go for two or three more.”

On Michael Jackson – “I don’t know if he’s guilty. I hope for his sake he’s not… but it’s been tragic to see what’s happened to him physically. You look at the Bad cover, you look at the Thriller cover. What a talent, what a beautiful man. I just don’t know what’s gone wrong. I have suffered with low self-esteem in my life and I think that’s the root of his problem too.”

On George Michael – “My fear is he just smokes too much dope … “I’m actually just saying the things that need to be said. I didn’t think my comments were that bad. I know this will all get resolved. There’s too much respect there and too much genuine love for each other for this to go on and on.”

On being clean and sober for 15 years – “Coke is the worst. It’s more rampant now than ever. Cocaine is more a danger to me than drink. So I don’t put myself in situations where it might be. I’m nearly 15 years sober this year and my life since then has been incredible.”

On he and partner Furnish – Civil partnerships for gays become legal in England on December 5, enabling them to avoid “death duties.” “We definitely want to do it about the middle of December, probably in Windsor. But there will be no honeymoon. I’m on tour … Meeting David has been the greatest thing to happen to me. Yes, we spend a lot of time apart and it’s hard, but we make it work.

“We phone each other five or six times a day and we still send each other a card from wherever we are.

“David’s best advice to me all the time is: ‘Just stop and smell the roses.’ But I don’t stop. I’m not one for looking back, I’m one for looking forward.”

On Prince Charles’s recent wedding – Let them be happy. We live in the 21st century, for God’s sake. They’re two people clearly in love, so why shouldn’t they get married? I like Charles and I’ve met Camilla. She’s a very funny lady and I think she’s been very dignified.

“People tell me I shouldn’t really be for it because I was a huge friend of Diana, but her marriage to Charles was a bit like my parents’. Maybe they shouldn’t have got married in the first place, because they weren’t suited.”

On his new musical version of Billy Elliot – He could “barely watch it, I was crying so much. It moved me because I could see myself in Billy. It was like my own childhood and how I broke out into my dream. All those characters like the dad I recognised as people in my past. I’ve never connected so emotionally with anything like it before.”

John took just two weeks to complete the entire score – the premiere at the Victoria Palace theatre in London is on May 12 (trailer here). Go Elton.

Tour Schedule (through July):

28 Apr 05 EJ Band Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri USA
29 Apr 05 EJ Band Target Center Minneapolis, Minnesota USA
03 May 05 EJ Band Pepsi Center Denver, Colorado USA
05 May 05 EJ Band Glendale Arena Glendale, Arizona USA
06 May 05 EJ Band Cox Arena San Diego USA
07 May 05 EJ Band Arrowhead Pond Anaheim, California USA
24 May 05 EJ Band Bercy Stadium Paris FRANCE
26 May 05 EJ Band Madejski Stadium Reading UNITED KINGDOM
28 May 05 EJ Band The Friends Provident St Mary’s Stadium Southampton UNITED KINGDOM
29 May 05 EJ Band Carrow Road Norwich UNITED KINGDOM
03 Jun 05 EJ Band Galpharm Stadium Huddersfield UNITED KINGDOM
04 Jun 05 EJ Band Britannia Stadium Stoke On Trent UNITED KINGDOM
05 Jun 05 EJ Band Bolton Wanderers Football Club Reebok Stadium, Bolton UNITED KINGDOM
08 Jun 05 EJ Band Spektrum Oslo NORWAY
10 Jun 05 EJ Band National Ice Arena Nottingham UNITED KINGDOM
11 Jun 05 EJ Band Coventry City Football Club Highfield Road, Coventry UNITED KINGDOM
12 Jun 05 EJ Band S.E.C.C . Glasgow UNITED KINGDOM
14 Jun 05 EJ Band International Arena Cardiff UNITED KINGDOM
15 Jun 05 EJ Band International Arena Cardiff UNITED KINGDOM
16 Jun 05 EJ Band The Embankment Peterborough UNITED KINGDOM
18 Jun 05 EJ Band Watford Football Club Vicarage Road, Watford, Herts UNITED KINGDOM
19 Jun 05 EJ Band County Ground Swindon, Wiltshire UNITED KINGDOM
25 Jun 05 EJ Band Easter Road Stadium Edinburgh, Scotland UNITED KINGDOM
26 Jun 05 EJ Band Rugby Park Kilmarnock, Scotland UNITED KINGDOM
29 Jun 05 EJ Band Mijas Costa Hipodromo Marbella SPAIN
30 Jun 05 EJ Band Municipal Football Stadium Guadalajara SPAIN
02 Jul 05 EJ Band R.D.S. Arena Dublin IRELAND
04 Jul 05 Philadelphia Freedom Concert & Ball Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA
07 Jul 05 EJ Band Museumsplatz Bonn GERMANY
07 Jul 05 EJ Band Ullevaal Stadium Oslo NORWAY
09 Jul 05 EJ Band Aarhus Stadion Aarhus DENMARK
10 Jul 05 EJ Band Schüco Arena Bielefeld GERMANY
12 Jul 05 EJ Solo Jazz Arena di Santa Giuliana Perugia, Umbria ITALY
13 Jul 05 EJ Solo Stadio Bergamo ITALY
26 Jul 05 EJ Band, The Colosseum, Caesars Palace Las Vegas, Nevada
27 Jul 05 EJ Band, The Colosseum, Caesars Palace Las Vegas, Nevada
29 Jul 05 EJ Band, The Colosseum, Caesars Palace Las Vegas, Nevada
30 Jul 05 EJ Band, The Colosseum, Caesars Palace Las Vegas, Nevada
31 Jul 05 EJ Band, The Colosseum, Caesars Palace Las Vegas, Nevada

About Eric Olsen

Career media professional and serial entrepreneur Eric Olsen flung himself into the paranormal world in 2012, creating the America's Most Haunted brand and co-authoring the award-winning America's Most Haunted book, published by Berkley/Penguin in Sept, 2014. Olsen is co-host of the nationally syndicated broadcast and Internet radio talk show After Hours AM; his entertaining and informative America's Most Haunted website and social media outlets are must-reads: Twitter@amhaunted, Facebook.com/amhaunted, Pinterest America's Most Haunted. Olsen is also guitarist/singer for popular and wildly eclectic Cleveland cover band The Props.

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