Goodbye, fancy dress costumes ... Elton says he's too old for sequins and skintight clothes
Robson Vianna
Elton John Hitting Manchester, New Hampshire March 6 for Show at the Verizon Wireless Arena
Atlanta, Ga. 3/01/2008 08:41 GMT (FINDITT)
http://www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=38750&cat=16
Elton John, owner of five Grammy Awards, will be back on U.S. soil on March 6 for a show at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire. The eclectic and incredibly influential rocker will be playing a pair of shows in Ontario, the first in Sudbury on March 2 and the second in Kitchener on March 3.
Following his performance in New Hampshire Elton John will hit a handful of U.S. cities before traveling to Las Vegas for 14 straight shows at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace beginning April 19.
John ranks as one of the most successful pop and rock artists of all time with more than 250 million albums sold world wide over a career that has spanned more than four decades.
The 60-year-old artists was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 1992 and two years later he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1995 John was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1995.
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Sunday should be about music - Editorial (add your comment)
http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=924399
It's time to enjoy the show. When the city announced in late January that Elton John would perform at the Sudbury Community Arena, there was a collective sense of astonishment, followed by ear-to-ear smiles on many faces in Greater Sudbury.
One of the biggest names in pop-rock was coming to our 6,400-seat arena. It was a genuine coup for Greater Sudbury.
One-million website hits and 45 minutes after tickets went on sale, the show was sold out.
And then the, em, yogurt hit the fan. In the controversy that erupted in the following weeks, it has been underplayed that Sudbury is beginning to establish a reputation for major acts - Michael Buble and Anne Murray among them. Whatever part the arena management played in this success must be acknowledged.
There are still issues to resolve in the ticket fiasco (more on that below), but Sunday should be about the showman and the music.
This is an occasion to celebrate.
There are bound to be many families at the concert. Elton John's music career took off in 1970. His fans multiplied through the seventies, eighties and nineties with 1994's Academy Award for his hit Can You Feel the Love Tonight, penned as a theme to the billion-dollar making animated film The Lion King. The Circle of Life, by Sir Elton, was also a giant hit from the film.
From Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting, to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, to The Bitch is Back to the Lion King, Elton John has gained fans worldwide spanning several generations. It will truly be a family affair.
And that should be the focus. There has been controversy, but this is a time for Sudburians to be at our best - and our best is mighty impressive. It is not a time for politics. Save that for another day.
The Star's Bob Vaillancourt will pen a review, and photographer John Lappa will get snap-happy with his lens. We'll post photos on our website, and we'll invite readers to post comments and photos on our URSudbury Community site.
It will be a night to remember for 6,400 people. We should make it so for Sir Elton, as well.
RECORD STAFF
KITCHENER
When Elton John rocks the Kitchener Aud Monday evening, Lisa Curtain will be on the floor rooting for him.
Curtain has been a fan of the singer "forever" and went to his concerts in Toronto in 2005 and Hamilton (2006).
Baby Jacob Henry Curtain almost cancelled his mother's big night out.
Curtain was due on Feb. 20 but baby Jacob missed the date.
On Thursday, her doctor said she had to be induced into labour. "She said she could do it yesterday or wait till Sunday," said Curtain, 29, Friday.
She opted to go into labour Thursday and minutes after midnight gave birth to Jacob Henry Curtain, the first leap year baby in Waterloo Region.
"It's great -- we have a leap year baby and I'm also going for the concert," said Curtain, who is going with her husband, Brian, and her in-laws.
Her older daughter, Lillian, 2, and Jacob will stay home with family.
"I didn't want to miss it," said Curtain, who bought the tickets for the show online. "But it's all doubly exciting now."
Jacob, who weighed nine pounds and four ounces at birth, was born at Grand River Hospital at 12:27 a.m. He's the first leap year baby in the family.
"I was leery about it briefly -- I wondered how it would affect him later in life," said Curtain. "But I soon realized leap year babies are special."
They are, indeed.
The chance of being born on a leap year day is about one in 1,461.
In Canada, there are 21,400 leaplings, according to Statistics Canada, while about 7,700 Ontarians celebrated their birthday yesterday. Some 300 people in Waterloo Region are leaplings.
Leap years have an extra day to balance the difference between the solar year (the time it takes for the Earth to circle the sun) and the calendar year.
The first leap year dates back to Roman Emperor Julius Caesar. His mathematicians and astronomers calculated that it takes 365.25 days for Earth to make its way around the sun.
Modern-day astronomers say it takes 365 days, five hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds for Earth to take a full trip around the sun.
Curtain knows she will be explaining the calendar anomaly in a couple of years. "Jacob will want to know why he doesn't have a birthday every year."
James and Suzanne Watkins won't have to explain it to their son, Ryan James Watkins, who was born at 1:18 p.m. at Cambridge Memorial Hospital.
"His cousin will do the explaining," said James. His nephew, Kyle Gibson, 20, is a leap year baby.
"Kyle is so excited. He has someone to share his birthday with now," said James, who works for Air Canada.
Baby Ryan was due March 7 but "my cousin had been teasing Suzanne that she would have a leap year baby," James said.
"That's what happened."
He thinks it's an exciting and a unique start for the baby, who is their first child.
The Watkins' baby may have a real birthday every four years but his parents say they won't shortchange him on presents or a party.
"We'll have a party every year and an extra special one on in the leap year," said James.
Goodbye, fancy dress costumes ... Elton says he's too old for sequins and skintight clothes
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=523109&in_page_id=1773
When I first met him 40 years ago, Elton had neither the money nor the confidence to indulge his outrageous impulses, sartorially or otherwise.
He was 20 years old, and yet to have a hit single, and the most extravagant thing I can remember the rather shy young Elton wearing was a pale yellow shirt emblazoned with Mickey Mouse.
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LEFT: Captain Fantastic - Elton joins the Russian army for his 60th birthday party. RIGHT: His flamboyant, feathery 50th birthday extravaganza
We met in the late Sixties, when I was working on Jackie, the iconic teenage magazine.
Sharing the same sense of humour, we had bonded immediately, and stayed in touch.
At his invitation I was part of the planeload of family and friends he flew to Los Angeles in 1975 when he played Dodger Stadium, dressed in a rhinestone-encrusted skin-tight white baseball outfit (he was thin as a pin - a rare moment in time, he'd be the first to admit).
I wasn't at the huge gig in Central Park in New York in the Eighties when he clambered into a vast Donald Duck costume for his encore.
But later, when I was visiting his home in LA (a house which once belonged to silent movie star John Gilbert, fiance of Greta Garbo) he showed me footage of the event, laughing hysterically.
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LEFT: Pantomime dame. Elton steals the show starring in Mother Goose. CENTRE: Hello Ducky - Elton going quackers on stage as Donald Duck. RIGHT: Star-spangled jacket and hair-raising wig as he sings in concert.
There had been no time to rehearse and he finally managed to stagger on stage, tripping over his webbed feet.
"But when I tried to sit down, the costume's bum was so big that it tipped me forward, so my nose was practically pitched onto the keyboard. It was a disaster!"
And as for his Minnie Mouse outfit? Says Elton: "The first time I met Sting, at The Forum in Los Angeles, I was dressed as Minnie Mouse. So embarrassing! He's never let me forget it."
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LEFT: Easily spotted at a Prada party in London. CENTRE: What an Eiffel hat for a night out. RIGHT: Frilled to be at a fancy-dress wedding
His famous 50th birthday party outfit ten years ago is an image that will define his style and his sense of fun for ever: a dazzling Louis XIVth concoction of white satin and silver sparkle, complete with a 15ft feather train.
This extravaganza was topped off with a wig so tall he had to travel to the party in a removal van, which got stuck for an hour-and-a-half in a limo jam of his guests.
Putting the boot in as the Pinball Wizard in the film Tommy
On arrival at the Hammersmith Palais, in a towering rage because of the delay and the weight of the wig, he had to be lowered to the ground, mechanically, on the tailgate.
But now, it seems, those days of excess are over.
Earlier this week, in the wake of his legendary Oscars-night party in Los Angeles, he told Larry King on his CNN TV show: "As you get older, you change the way you think, the way you dress.
"I could not wear some of my chicken outfits to the Oscars party. First, because I would not fit into them and secondly, because I am 61 next month, and I do not dress as flamboyantly as I used to."
Which is a pity. He has an excellent eye for design.
It's not just his stage outfits that Elton is toning down. He has changed the way he shops for clothes.
"Now I get all my clothes made by Yohji Yamamoto in Japan," he told me, as we sat at his dining table.
"It's like haute couture. He makes things specially for me, and he makes all my stage clothes," he sighed, matter-of-factly.
"At my age, I can't walk around in Dior."
In fact, Elton has always liked suits. Back in 1974, he told me that he was really into the whole ties-and-jackets bit: "I've just bought six suits in Paris," he said.
"The jackets fitted really well, but the trousers were a bit big. So my mum altered them."
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LEFT: Clowning around in baggy trousers. CENTRE: Letting his hair down as he turns 47. RIGHT: I'm still standing. At the Ritz with partner David Furnish
LEFT: Honky cat. A little costume drama of the furry kind in the early days. RIGHT: Going for gold. A glittering display from the Rocket Man.
Size has always been a problem for Elton, and the suit is a most forgiving garment.
He and his partner David Furnish have a new film project in the pipeline - a musical fantasy version of his life, with screenplay by Billy Elliott writer Lee Hall - and when I asked who he wants to play him, Elton answered with a rueful grin: "A succession of people with different weights!"
It doesn't take a psychologist to realise that his flamboyant costumes have been, in some part, his camouflage and his armour. His costumes have always cheered him up.
Although, ironically, when he was at his skinniest at Dodger Stadium, he was deeply unhappy.
Those were the onset of the dark and desperate cocaine days.
Elton, who overcame his bulimia and addictions to drugs and alcohol in 1990, is still battling with his weight, though he plays lots of tennis.
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LEFT: Fancy pants, boots and a blue biker jacket. RIGHT: Tartan overload for a stroll around town
A much slimmer Elton in pink and rhinestone wows Miss Piggy during his appearance on The Muppet Show
I told him that if I don't exercise, I feel stuffed and bloated.
He seized on the words with glee, and quick as a flash - for some reason in a fine Welsh accent - came back with: "Stuffed and Bloated? That should be the title of my autobiography!"
On the Parkinson Show, Parky once told him that his favourite costume was the Marie Antoinette one Elton wore in Australia.
Elton had indeed donned a powdered wig and make-up to match, complete with beauty spot.
But before he could get any further, Elton snapped back: "Marie Antoinette? That wasn't Marie Antoinette. It was bloody Chopin!"
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LEFT: Fancy pants, boots and a blue biker jacket. RIGHT: Tartan overload for a stroll around town
A much slimmer Elton in pink and rhinestone wows Miss Piggy during his appearance on The Muppet Show
They both roared with laughter, and Elton grinned ruefully: "To me, I thought I was Chopin. But everyone else in the world thinks I'm Marie Bloody Antoinette. That could be the story of my life!"
However he dresses, we will watch and be endlessly entertained - even without the sequins.
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below?
Regardless of his lifestyle, costumes, or any other personal quirks, Sir Elton is unquestionably one of the premier entertainers of our time. Rock on, Elton!
- Chris Phillips, UK
A real showman, Britain could do with a few more like him.
- Norman Miles, Chengdu,China
TV STAR POPS UP FOR ELTON GIG
09:00 - 29 February 2008
Former Coronation Street star- turned-singer Richard Fleeshman (pictured) has been named as a support act for Elton John's summer gig in Swansea.The young musician, who played troubled teen Craig Harris in the soap, will open the concert at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday, June 29.
He joins Swansea band The Storys on the bill for the show.
In 2006 the singer/songwriter won ITV's Soapstar Superstar contest and he has just finished his debut album.
"After coming to the public's attention on Coronation Street, he has won a whole new set of fans thanks to his new music career," he said.
"I'm sure that everyone present for the concert will realise that it is a rare chance to witness an up-and-coming star live in concert at the very start of his career.
"With Richard, The Storys and, of course, Sir Elton John on the bill, it promises to be a memorable occasion.
"This will build on last summer's successful Who concert and further enhance Liberty Stadium's growing reputation as an outstanding live music venue."
Elton John mulling concert dates in East Coast
Updated Thu. Feb. 28 2008 7:00 PM ET
Singer Elton John, left, and David Furnish pose on the press line at the Elton John Oscar Party in West Hollywood, Calif. on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2008. (AP / Dan Steinberg)
CTV.ca News Staff
Eastern Canada's concert promoters are keen to find out whether they'll soon be able to lure Sir Elton to Saint John.
Elton John's Greatest Hits 2008 tour kicks off in Portland, Maine on Thursday as speculation abounds as to whether the Rocket Man will be soon be playing right across the border in the Maritimes and Newfoundland.
After CTV reported yesterday that John's Ontario promoter, Riley O'Connor, is looking to set up "three or four" concert dates in Eastern Canada, event planners in that region are licking their lips in excitement at the possibility.
The Harbour Station venue in Saint John, N.B., has been trying to set up an Elton John show for almost five years. While General Manager Mike Cadell admits efforts have continued recently, but "nothing concrete" has been decided.
"We've had discussions with the promoter like we have for the past five or six years," he told CTV Atlantic's Elizabeth Chiu on Thursday, adding three or four people call each week requesting concerts by the legendary musician. "With the Canadian dollar being at par it certain makes venues in Canada a lot more attractive than it did five years ago."
Many international artists are paid in American dollars, so the strong loonie means Canadian venues now have a bit more money to entice performers with.
Fred MacGillivray, Halifax's events chair, is touting his city's 10,000-seat Metro Centre as a stop on the proposed tour. It's the largest venue of its kind in Eastern Canada.
"Come to Halifax," he urged John on CTV News. "We'd love to have you for a performance or a couple maybe."
O'Connor said John prefers to play concert halls to outdoor shows, that they could happen any time before December, and that an East Coast tour will only be feasible if he can line up more than one event. He said John is interested in visiting places that are not "your typical triple-A five-star attractions."
Elton John concerts were recently announced in two small Ontario cities: Sudbury, which will host him on Saturday, and Kitchener, which has a concert scheduled for Monday. A controversy arose around the Sudbury concert when fans who couldn't secure tickest to the sold out show found out that each city councillor was to receive eight tickets each.
With a report from CTV Atlantic's Elizabeth Chiu
Elton John: "Troppo vecchio per vestire ancora sgargiante"
Los Angeles, 28 febbraio 2008 - "Non sarò mai più un fashion victim", parola di uno dei vip più eccentrici del jetset: sir Elton John. "Sono diventato troppo vecchio per continuare a divertirmi e divertire con il mio modo stravagante di vestire" aveva dichiarato il baronetto a 'Now magazine' solo qualche giorno prima della Notte degli Oscar.
Detto, fatto: il cantante si è presentato sul red carpet con un sobrio completo nero, in netto contrasto con la sua fama di 'arlecchino' del rock. "Ho 61 anni e non posso più vestirmi come un giullare come facevo una volta". Ritirata totale dunque? Niente affatto. "Nell'armadio ho ancora una cravatta argentata e una camicia luccicante..", confessa l'autore di 'Your song' e 'Goodbye Yellow brick road'.
Elton John et Madonna en guerre
La soirée que Madonna avait co-organisée avec le couple formé par Ashton Kutcher et Demi Moore, ses partenaires dans la Kabbale, a attiré une foule de célébrités, et notamment Tom Cruise et Katie Holmes, Pénélope Cruz, et Josh Hartnett.
Alors que celle d'Elton John n'aura attiré que des personnalités de second rond, comme Simon Cowell, le fondateur d'American Idol .
Une source a confié « Elton n'a jamais vraiment porté Madonna dans son cœur. Ce genre de choses ne font que le conforter dans ce sentiment ».
Elton John en veut à mort à Madonna !! D'après les médias américains, Madonna aurait organisé une soirée après la cérémonie des Oscars qui aurait fait de l'ombre à la soirée caritative de Sir Elton.
La soirée pour la lutte contre le SIDA organisée par Elton John devait être LA soirée post-Oscars. Mais Madonna n'a pas vu les choses de cette façon, elle a décidé d'organiser sa propre soirée à la dernière minute ! De grandes stars comme Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Pénélope Cruz et bien d'autres ont donc loupé la soirée d'Elton au profit de celle de Madonna.
Quant à Elton John, il s'est retrouvé avec des célébrités un peu plus has-been comme Lionel Ritchie, Larry King, Simon Cowell, etc. Excédé, Elton John aurait déclaré : « J'ai toujours détesté Madonna. Mais ce qu'elle a fait la rend encore plus détestable. »
Dommage que toutes ces célébrités ne sachent pas se mettre d'accord pour la bonne cause…
--
Robson Vianna.