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Elton John

Elton John

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Elton John: Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only The Piano Player

Profile and Interview by Steve Turner, Beat Instrumental, January 1973

Elton John is a fast worker. He just about has to be because he allows himself only ten days to write and rehearse all the ...

Elton John: Jump Up! (Geffen)

Review by Gene Sculatti, Creem, August 1982

REMEMBER THE 70's? Not much of a decade, you say. Yeah, well. Fella here used to be a mover and a shaker back in the ...

Audio interviews

Elton John (1971)

Interview by Rick McGrath, Mike Quigley, Rock's Backpages audio, 22 April 1971

Elton chats backstage about doing interviews; the Friends soundtrack and the 17-11-70 live album; on being hyped and the hype machine; doing TV with Andy Williams; on why he likes Canada; on Liberace; on his own style, and his hero worship of Leon Russell.

File format: mp3; file size: 11.7mb, interview length: 27' 56" sound quality: **½

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Elton John: Good Laugh

Interview by Lon Goddard, Record Mirror, 18 April 1970

PEOPLE ARE too serious in this business is the conclusion presented by Elton John. Elton and Bernie Taupin composed 'Border Song', which is receiving wide ...

Elton John: Elton John (DJM)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 25 April 1970

IT'S NICE TO see Cat Stevens and Elton John providing the British answer to Neil Young, and Van Morrison. And make no mistake, Elton is ...

Elton Storms The States

Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 26 September 1970

AL KOOPER, talking about Elton John's last album: "That album's really got me screwed up. It's just the perfect album, and I carry it around ...

Elton John, Fotheringay: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Penny Valentine, Sounds, 10 October 1970

PUTTING ELTON John second billing to Fotheringay at the Royal Albert Hall on Friday night was a taste of mistaken booking if ever there was ...

Elton John: The Great White Hope

Profile and Interview by Penny Valentine, Sounds, 17 October 1970

CALL ELTON John what you will. The most brilliant singer/pianist we have ever produced, one of the best artists on record or on stage you ...

Elton John Steams 'Em Up

Report and Interview by Robert Greenfield, Rolling Stone, 12 November 1970

LONDON – "If this is the revolution, why are the drinks so fucking expensive," someone has written on the wall in the toilet of London's ...

Elton John: Elton John

Review by John Mendelsohn, Rolling Stone, 12 November 1970

GIVEN THAT HIS voice combines the nasal sonority of James Taylor with the rasp of Van Morrison with the slurry intonation of M. Jagger with ...

Elton John: New Superstar

Interview by Jacoba Atlas, Circus, December 1970

ELTON JOHN played the Troubadour in Los Angeles and overnight became an industry superstar. Public relations people, having no personal or professional claim to the ...

Elton Sings 'Your Song' and Finds Himself New Star of the 70s

Interview by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 19 December 1970

ELTON JOHN is a pianist, singer, songwriter and newfound hero of musicians and music lovers alike. Bob Dylan came to see him one night and ...

Elton John: Tumbleweed Connection

Review by Penny Valentine, Sounds, 1971

IT IS ALL too easy to go overboard with praise about Elton John. I am guilty of doing it – frequently. But then, when faced ...

Elton John: The Record Rise Of A Superstar Called Reg

Essay by Penny Valentine, Disc and Music Echo, 1971

IN APRIL 1970 an album was released that was to whisk Reg Dwight of Pinner into Elton John. It was, quite simply, titled Elton John, ...

Looney Tunes: The Myth of the Vicious Circle

Essay by Dave Marsh, Creem, March 1971

ROCK AND roll began in a twilight zone, a pure thing swirling in out of a pretty pristine void. That it grew from blues and ...

This Is Your Song: The Elton John Interview

Interview by Rick McGrath, Mike Quigley, The Georgia Straight, 11 April 1971

WE ENTER THE Holiday Inn on Howe Street through its Southern-fried colonnade and up its Harlequin Romance staircase into the Columbia Room with its Christmas ...

Elton John (1971) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Rick McGrath, Mike Quigley, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 22 April 1971

This is a transcription of Mike & Rick's audio interview with Elton, conducted in Vancouver. Listen to the audio of this interview. (Note that due to ...

Elton John: How fat Reg lost lbs, and won dollars

Profile and Interview by Phil Symes, Disc and Music Echo, 8 May 1971

ELTON JOHN USED TO BE A FAT GUY CALLED REG WHO FELT INFERIOR. HE COULDN'T WEAR 'NICE CLOTHES'. IN GROUPS HE WASN'T ALLOWED TO SING. ...

Elton John: Carnegie Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Mike Jahn, The New York Times, 12 June 1971

Solo, or With Group, Elton John Thrills Carnegie Audiences ...

Nigel Olsson's Utopia

Interview by Dick Meadows, Sounds, 7 August 1971

"I DON'T always want to be known as Elton John's drummer and nothing else. I owe that man so much, but it would be nice ...

Elton John: Madman Across The Water (DJM)

Review by Penny Valentine, Sounds, 30 October 1971

IT'S AN ODD fact that the British tend to malign their own products to the point of insanity. We managed to ignore Joe Cocker, almost ...

Bernie Taupin: The B-Side of Elton John

Interview by Steve Turner, Beat Instrumental, February 1972

The offices of DJM records in new Oxford Street give the feeling of being a shrine to the glory of Elton John. Button-size stickers are ...

Elton John: Start of a New Era

Interview by Penny Valentine, Sounds, 26 February 1972

MIDNIGHT ON Monday evening and in his luxury ranch-style house in Surrey, where the carpet grows deep and the huge knife-edged plants threaten to eat ...

Step Right Up And Feel The Man’s Muscles: Honky Chateau

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, Cream, June 1972

THESE DAYS you have to get fashionable before you get successful or else you get resented, and, if you get too successful without first being ...

Elton John, Family: Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale NY; Dan Hicks & his Hot Licks, Sailcat: Carnegie Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 19 October 1972

ON THE CUTTING EDGE ...

Elton John: Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only the Piano Player (DJM)

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 27 January 1973

WELL, WHADAYA know – another fine Elton John album. Despite sneers, calumny and general foulness, the former Reg just keeps on writin', playin', singin' and ...

Elton John: They Laughed When He Played The Piano

Retrospective by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 3 February 1973

FOR MANY MOONS it has been ever-so-chic to take pokes at Elton John. To admit to a considerable admiration for the man and his work ...

The Fightin' Side of Elton John

Interview by Danny Holloway, New Musical Express, 17 February 1973

ELTON JOHN SITS cornered on his sumptuous settee, talking about the comic strip character he portrays. And as if to emphasise the image, he's wearing ...

Elton John: Sundown, Edmonton, London

Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 31 March 1973

I WAS counting the number of fainting chicks pulled up out of the audience. After the 38th, I gave up. ...

Elton John: Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player

Review by John Pidgeon, Let It Rock, April 1973

THE ONLY SUPERFICIAL sign of the album's French origin is its title, a contrary translation of Truffaut's film Tirez Sur Le Pianiste. Truffaut's pianist was ...

The Elton John Story: Final Part

Interview by John Tobler, ZigZag, April 1973

ORCHESTRA ONSTAGE ...

What do Bowie, Elton, and Mantovani have in common?

Interview by Harold Bronson, Music World, 1 June 1973

I DON'T KNOW why so many of the stars take up residence at Hollywood's Chauteau Marmont Hotel on the Sunset Strip. Perhaps it's because of ...

The Rolling Stone Interview: Elton John

Interview by Paul Gambaccini, Rolling Stone, 16 August 1973

ELTON JOHN wanted to do The Rolling Stone Interview when we first suggested it to him in February. A grueling British tour kept him occupied ...

Elton John, Sutherland Brothers and Quiver: Oakland Coliseum, Oakland CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 11 September 1973

Magnificent Ham and a Musical Genius ...

Elton John: Starship Trouper

Report by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 15 September 1973

THE DAY Starship One landed in Hollywood it effused a trace of the old redolence and affaced just a little of the Hollywood myth. The ...

Elton's Finest Hour!

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 15 September 1973

Elton John: The Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles ...

Elton John: Madison Square Garden, New York

Live Review by Ian Dove, The New York Times, 25 September 1973

Elton John Subdues "Side Issue" Tactics; Fans Provide Extras ...

Elton John, the Sutherland Brothers and Quiver: Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by John Swenson, The Village Voice, 27 September 1973

ELTON JOHN is the embodiment of pop consciousness. Few performers have an on stage personality that so totally reflects their audience, a fact that was ...

Elton John: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 29 September 1973

AND HELLO Elton John all set to smash a path to the top of the album chart with this superb new collecion of songs. He ...

Elton John at the Hollywood Bowl - July 1973

Live Review by David Rensin, Rolling Stone, 11 October 1973

THE HOUSE LIGHTS dimmed and a lonely spot picked out a single figure onstage. ...

The Elton John Career

Profile and Interview by Richard Cromelin, Phonograph Record, November 1973

AMERICA IS BEGINNING to recover now. The damage has been assessed, the injured have been treated, and the jangled buzzing has started to fade from ...

Elton John Steps Into Christmas

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 24 November 1973

ELTON JOHN is a happy man as 1973 draws to a close. He has established himself not merely as an elitist's delight and king of ...

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road — Elton John Rockets Over The Rainbow

Interview by Stephen Demorest, Circus, December 1973

Running up against Evil Alice and The Rolling Stones, the good spell-caster fights to be head wizard in the Emerald City of rock. ...

Elton John: The Leaving Of America

Interview by Arthur Levy, Zoo World, 6 December 1973

Beau Brummel Meets Yogi Berra ...

Elton John: Belle Vue, Manchester

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 8 December 1973

FOR THE first time since Bill Haley's motion picture triumph Rock Around The Clock, played at the now-demolished Queen's Cinema, Catford, in 1956, the urge ...

Elton John: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Review by Wayne Robins, Creem, January 1974

REMEMBER WHEN the Stones and Beatles were English bands? If you do then it's just barely, because both ceased being foreign bands years ago, somewhere ...

Elton John

Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 26 January 1974

THERE WAS a curious smell in the Belle Vue Hall, Manchester. ...

Elton John, Prisoner of Wax

Report and Interview by Ben Edmonds, Creem, February 1974

Could it be that this mild-mannered popstar is actually... a vinyl junkie? ...

Fashion: The Politics of Flash

Report and Interview by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, 6 April 1974

NICK KENT traces the Rise and Fall of The Satin Jacket...and generally walks it like he talks it into the land of 'Rock Chic.' ...

Elton John: Caribou

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 15 June 1974

Take a holiday, Elton. Take two. ...

Elton John: Caribou

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 15 June 1974

IS IT AS GOOD as Yellow Brick Road? That will be the cry, where 'ere Elton John fans congregate and exchange notes. ...

Elton John: The Short Hello

Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 6 July 1974

OL' COCONUT Bonce is back. Elton Schmelton himself in the too, too solid flesh, still opening up interview sessions by walking into the room at ...

Elton John: Caribou

Review by Bud Scoppa, Phonograph Record, August 1974

For an artist with distinct limitations – vocal, compositional, and stylistic – Elton John makes awfully good records. One of the reasons is his avowed ...

Elton John: Caribou (MCA-2116)

Review by Tom Nolan, Rolling Stone, 15 August 1974

Maestro of Mediocrity ...

Elton John: Ms. Streisand & The Pants of John

Report and Interview by Richard Cromelin, New Musical Express, 30 November 1974

LOS ANGELES. – It was a busy week for Elton John: a couple of hours in the DJ chair at KMET radio, a tennis game ...

Elton John: Greatest Hits; Randy Newman: Good Old Boys; Pete Atkin: Secret Drinker

Review by Simon Frith, Let It Rock, January 1975

Randy Newman’s album starts:‘Last night I saw Lester Maddox on a TV showwith some smartass New York Jewand the Jew laughed at Lester MaddoxAnd the ...

Elton John: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by John Tobler, ZigZag, January 1975

THE SUBJECT OF this piece is a man who could justly be called one of ZigZag's favourite people, Elton John. ...

Elton's Tour Ends: Tears, Lennon and Whatever Gets You Through the Night

Report by Ed McCormack, Rolling Stone, 2 January 1975

NEW YORK — Elton John's opening words to the audience at Madison Square Garden were: "Hello, New York! Happy Thanksgiving!" ...

Elton John: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 4 January 1975

MAYBE IT WAS the pre-Christmas spirit or the entire packet of chocolate I had just consumed, but a lump rase in my throat during the ...

Elton John: "It's Not All Down To Elton..."

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 11 January 1975

...he's just part of a band'. And that's the way Elton John's always wanted it, drummer Nigel Olsson tells CHRIS WELCH, in a rare behind-the-scenes ...

The Life And Times Of Elton John, part 1

Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 22 February 1975

Part one: how the sand kicked in his face turned to gold-dust after all ...

Elton John, part 2: They Laughed When I Stood Up To Play The Piano

Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 1 March 1975

NME: Earlier, you said that when you first met Taupin his lyrics were somewhat influenced by the Flower Power fad. It was a period when ...

Elton John: Baileys Club, Watford

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 1 March 1975

THEY DON'T strike medals for rock stars — do they? A pity, because E. John, singer and songwriter of this parish, deserved some kind of ...

Singles from Elton John, David Bowie et al

Review by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 1 March 1975

Elton gets lost ...

Elton John part 3: Maybe It's Because I'm A Socialist…

Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 8 March 1975

TELL US, El, what is Rock all about? Having a bloody good time. When I was a kid and went to see those Larry Parnes-Billy ...

Elton John: Elton's Bitter Sweet Album

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 10 May 1975

Chris Charlesworth in New York previews Elton John's new album Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy – and talks to the man himself... ...

Elton John: Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy

Review by Greg Shaw, Phonograph Record, June 1975

THE TIME HAS come to acknowledge just how big Elton John has become. His preeminence has come to pass so gradually that the present magnitude ...

Elton John: Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (MCA); Wings: Venus And Mars (Capitol)

Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 15 June 1975

Two Instant Hit Packages Full of Extra Goodies ...

Elton John: I Want To Chug, Not Race

Interview by Caroline Coon, Melody Maker, 21 June 1975

IN AMSTERDAM LAST WEEK, while canals evaporated in the heat wave, eight musicians and three singers were stirring the sluggish air with an electric sound ...

Elton & Company Seduce Wembley

Report by Paul Gambaccini, Rolling Stone, 31 July 1975

LONDON — "An English audience is like a good fuck," Glenn Frey of the Eagles explained earnestly in a trailer-cum-dressing room behind Wembley Stadium. "You ...

A Million Dollar Friendship: An Interview with Gus Dudgeon

Interview by Jon Tiven, Circus Raves, August 1975

NARY A POTENTIOMETER breathed a word at the Caribou Ranch high in the Rocky Mountains. And the baffles relaxed as the massive array of equipment ...

Elton John: Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (MCA)

Review by Wayne Robins, Creem, August 1975

IT WASN'T UNTIL I watched a black restaurant worker make it through his shift singing ‘Bennie and the Jets’ to himself that I began to ...

Gus Dudgeon

Interview by Jon Tiven, International Musician & Recording World, October 1975

Jon Tiven talks to Gus Dudgeon about Elton, Bowie and recording in general. ...

Elton John: Rock Of The Westies

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 25 October 1975

FACT: ELTON JOHN is one of the nicest people ever to touch ground while walking. ...

Elton John: Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy

Review by John Tobler, ZigZag, November 1975

THIS IS PROBABLY the latest review you've read of the record under scrutiny. Having read several other reviews in various weekly and monthly publications, a ...

Elton John: Rock Of The Westies (MCA)

Review by Ben Edmonds, Phonograph Record, November 1975

It might seem ridiculous to contend that an artist was weakened by two albums which sold a higher number of copies than I can count ...

Elton John: Rock Of The Westies

Review by John Tobler, ZigZag, February 1976

IT DOESN'T SEEM long since the last EJ album, and in fact, it isn't, which I suppose is more fuel for the fire that says ...

Paul Simon: Still Crazy After All These Years (Columbia PC 33540); Elton John: Rock of the Westies (MCA 2163)

Review by Mike Jahn, High Fidelity, February 1976

ROCK MUSIC, like basic black in fashion can hide a multitude of sins — such as poor lyrics. In rock that is played at any ...

Elton John: Ol' Four Eyes Is Back

Live Review by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 8 May 1976

Elton John: Grand Theatre, Leeds ...

Elton John: Here And There (DJM)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 15 May 1976

DO NOT FEAR a rip-off, for this is a worthy selection of live performances from two major concerts which will long serve as a reminder ...

Elton John, Dave Mason, John Miles: Schaeffer Stadium, Boston

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 17 July 1976

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: The sheer pageantry of Elton John's Stars and Stripes bicentennial show here on Independence Day had the power alone to earn a standing ...

He Puts Words Into Elton John's Mouth

Interview by Wayne Robins, Newsday, 8 August 1976

WHEN ELTON John takes the stage of Madison Square Garden Tuesday night in the first of an unprecedented seven shows there (long ago sold out), ...

Elton John: He's Got The Whole World In His Hands

Report and Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 14 August 1976

THE WHOLE FAMILY was there. Mum, dad and three children all waited patiently by the elevators in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency hotel on ...

Elton John: Blue Moves (Rocket) ****

Review by Mick Brown, Sounds, 23 October 1976

EVEN BEFORE I'd heard one note of Blue Moves I had divined that this album was going to be the Big One. ...

Elton John: Blue Moves

Review by Bud Scoppa, Phonograph Record, November 1976

THIS ISN'T SO much a review as it is a personally conducted poll. You see, I've been traveling around with Elton (the new album, that ...

Elton John: Blue Moves

Review by John Tobler, ZigZag, December 1976

IN A REVIEW of one of Elton's earlier albums I wrote something to the effect that those who already liked Elton would inevitably enjoy that ...

The Real Elton John Stands Up - ‘Hoorah!’

Interview by Phil Sutcliffe, Sounds, 18 December 1976

ELTON JOHN is 29. So am I. We both wear glasses and they make his eyes look pink and mine look piggily smaller than they ...

Elton John: Elton's Blue Moves

Interview by Wesley Strick, Circus, 17 January 1977

In One Era and Out Another ...

Elton John: Blue Moves (Rocket)

Review by Richard Riegel, Creem, February 1977

Elton Cops Some ZZZ's ...

Britain's Tax Exiles; Keeping a Piece of the Rock

Report by Simon Frith, The Village Voice, 28 March 1977

It's difficult to feel sorry for an exile whose alternative to an impoverished Britain is unfettered hedonism in the south of France. ...

Elton John: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 7 May 1977

Elton enthrals ...

John Reid, Elton John's Manager: "Welder's Son Who Built A Pop Empire"

Profile and Interview by Ed Jones, The Sunday Times, 8 May 1977

WHILE ELTON John was wowing the pearl-strung punters at last Monday's concert in aid of the Queen's Jubilee Appeal at the Rainbow Theatre, London, John ...

Elton John: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by Tony Stewart, New Musical Express, 14 May 1977

THE SOCIAL division between rock star and audience is usually more obvious than it was at the Rainbow last Monday night. ...

Motorhead, Mighty Diamonds et al: Singles Reviews

Review by Giovanni Dadomo, Sounds, 25 June 1977

REVIEWED BY PAUL SIMENON (BASS) AND RODENT (ROADIE) OF THE CLASH. TRANSCRIPTIONS: GIOVANNI DADOMO (AMATEUR) ...

Elton's Royal Return

Report and Interview by Mick Brown, Rolling Stone, 30 June 1977

LONDON — "IT WAS so good to play in front of real people," Elton John said in his dressing room, looking tired but exultant after ...

Mr. Ramone, Meet Mr. Rotten

Report by Fred Schruers, Circus, 16 March 1978

CIRCUS Invades Britain for a Classic Punk Clash ...

The Producers: Gus Dudgeon

Interview by Fred Dellar, Sound International, May 1978

The producer's job is possibly one of the least-understood and most under-rated in the entire recording business. One usually thinks of a producer as providing ...

Singles: PiL, Cabaret Voltaire, X-Ray Spex, Chris Bell, The Cars et al

Review by Hugh Jarse, ZigZag, November 1978

PUBLIC IMAGE: 'Public Image' (Virgin) 'ELLO, A LOW-key re-emergence which grows on ya. I know everybody was expecting another anthem but here ya go, this ...

Elton John: Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London

Live Review by David Hancock, Evening News, London, 3 April 1979

Elton is still way ahead of the rest ...

Elton John: Concert in Central Park, September 1980

Live Review by Roy Trakin, Musician, January 1981

SOME PERFORMERS just don't know when to quit — and thank goodness for that. We followed tennis star Jimmy McEnroe into Central Park's Sheep Meadow ...

Elton John: Capital Centre, Landover MD

Live Review by Geoffrey Himes, Baltimore Sun, 18 October 1984

Elton John offers finest of throwaway pop-rock ...

The Fall and Rise of Reginald Dwight

Interview by Chris Salewicz, Q, December 1986

Chris Salewicz meets the occupant of the Presidential Suite, Floor 30, Century Plaza Hotel, Los Angeles. "I’ve had my scrotum removed, and I'm having it ...

Elton John: You've got to laugh…

Interview by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, August 1988

There aren't many options when you're alleged to have cancer, be involved in scandalous sexual malpractices and your hotel room has been bugged by the ...

Elton John: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 24 May 1989

Battered and upright ...

Bernie Taupin: Elton's Write Hand Man

Interview by Steven P. Wheeler, Music Connection, August 1989

IT IS THE summer of 1989, six months of phone calls and patience have finally paid off. Bernie Taupin, the man who has been placing ...

Elton John: Great Western Forum, Los Angeles

Live Review by Steven P. Wheeler, Music Connection, September 1989

LIKE THE title of last year's album suggested, Reg is back. ...

Ray Cooper: Who Are Those Blokes Up There With Ray?

Profile and Interview by Robert Sandall, Q, October 1990

Wherever stellar rockular personages gather together he's there at the back, shiny of pate and blurred of hand. But who is this Bongo Basher By ...

Various Artists: Two Rooms

Review by Mark Cooper, Q, November 1991

HITHERTO, TRIBUTE ALBUMS have tended to be the preserve of the American college circuit with R.E.M. seemingly ubiquitous as today's aspiring eccentrics queue up to ...

The Rebirth of Elton John

Interview by Philip Norman, Rolling Stone, 19 March 1992

Drugs, fame and alcohol turned him into a monster. Now, after rehab, he's clean, happy and in love. ...

Various Artists: The Freddie Mercury Tribute, Concert For Aids Awareness, Wembley Stadium, London

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 2 May 1992

IT'S, UH, KINDA TRAGIC ...

Bernie Taupin: Him Indoors

Interview by Robert Sandall, Q, July 1992

The 25-year You-wash-I'll-dry relationship between Elton John and lyric-writing househusband Bernie Taupin has never been happier. ...

Elton John: The One

Review by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, August 1992

Elton John returns with one great song, a few deft touches and some stodge. ...

Elton John

Interview by Mat Snow, Q, January 1995

HOW THE devil are you? ...

Elton John: Nobody's Perfect

Interview by Adrian Deevoy, Q, April 1995

Especially Elton John. Cocaine seizures, Martini marathons, curry 'n' cockle blow-outs, condom-free congress, surprising marriages, violent evacuations, rent boys… he's had a few. But that ...

Elton John: My life with the Rocket man

Memoir by Caroline Boucher, The Observer, 30 June 1996

Katharine Hepburn in the swimming pool and Stevie Wonder locked in the loo. Just two more problems for Elton John's former PR, Caroline Boucher ...

Humbug in the wind

Comment by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 12 September 1997

Elton John aside, pop's tributes to the Princess seem to be rather lacking in sincerity ...

Elton John: Sound Your Funky Horn

Interview by Cliff Jones, MOJO, October 1997

Elton John blows his own horn ...

Bernie Taupin

Interview by Paul Zollo, Musician, January 1998

AS ELTON John's lyricist for three decades, Bernie Taupin is one of the most famous British songwriters of all time. ...

Twentieth Century Blues: The Songs Of Noel Coward

Review by Gavin Martin, Uncut, May 1998

PAN-GENERATIONAL tribute to The Other Noel, benefiting International AIDS-prevention projects ...

Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida

Review by Eric Weisbard, The Village Voice, 7 April 1999

THESE SONGS, derived from an as-yet-unfinished musical that pops open the Verdi opera, are only putatively set in Egypt. ...

Elton John: Rocket***

Review by Nick Hasted, Uncut, October 2001

BACK TO basics, and partial return to form, on 28th studio album ...

How Sir Elton Recovered His Cool

Comment by Ian Gittins, The Guardian, 2004

WHEN THE VERY first psychedelic rock star, William Blake, declared that the fool who persists in his folly shall become wise, he hit on a ...

Elton John: Peachtree Road

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2004

IT HAS BECOME an irritatingly common marketing ploy for any new release by a music veteran to be declared a "return to form". If we ...

Guilty Grooves and Covered-Up Covers: When Stadium Rock Stars-In-Waiting Earned Their Tea-Breaks Anonymously In The Studios Of London

Retrospective by Alan Clayson, unpublished, December 2007

ON THE 17th September, 2007, Your Time In Gonna Come: The Roots Of Led Zeppelin 1964-69 was released by Sanctuary Records. Blighted severely by the ...

All Star's Concert For T Bone Is Well Done

Live Review by Jim Sullivan, Boston Herald, 18 October 2010

I FIRST SAW T Bone Burnett in 1975 when he was 27 and one of the less-known musicians on Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue tour. ...

Elton John/Leon Russell: The Union

Review by Bud Scoppa, Uncut, November 2010

Elton reconnects with his original mentor, under the watchful eye of T Bone Burnett. And Neil Young guests! ...

Elton John: The Man Who Loved Records

Interview by Rob Fitzpatrick, The Word, March 2011

No downloads for Sir Elton John, thank you. No miming either. And don't get him started on Simon Cowell. Rob Fitzpatrick meets a passionate purist ...

Britain in song

Essay by John Lewis, Do Not Disturb, Summer 2011

How do the British address their cities in song? With bathos, pathos and a large helping of silliness, says John Lewis ...

Elton John: Panning for Gold

Retrospective by Andy Gill, The Word, August 2012

Elton John was prospecting in the land of his dreams long before he set foot in the States as a flamboyant frontiersman. ...

Don't Shoot the Piano Player: Elton's Croc-Rock Reconsidered

Retrospective by Gene Sculatti, Rock's Backpages, 17 June 2013

FOR SOME REASON — most likely the much-reported news of his participation in the new Queens of the Stone Age album — I've lately found ...

Elton John: Rocket Man on a New Mission

Report and Interview by Andy Gill, The Independent, 13 September 2013

After serious illness, the star is back with his best album in years. He tells Andy Gill how he found a new lease of life. ...

Is There a "Gay Aesthetic" to Pop Music?

Comment by Geoffrey Himes, Smithsonian , 12 August 2015

From Elton John to Mika, the "glam piano" genre may be as integral to the Gay American experience as hip-hop and the blues are to ...

Madmen Across the Water: How Elton John (and Bernie Taupin) stormed the USA

Retrospective by Harvey Kubernik, Rock's Backpages, April 2017

IN NOVEMBER 1970, Elton John performed an intimate concert at A&R Studios in New York, recorded for WABC FM. In front of 125 people, Elton ...

Elton John: Twickenham Stoop Stadium, TW2

Live Review by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 5 June 2017

The singer was back where he feels at most home – on stage, in sparkles, sitting sideways on a stool. ...

Neil Sedaka on Elton John and more

Retrospective and Interview by Graeme Thomson, Mail On Sunday, 10 June 2017

Elton John loved his songs so much that he rescued him from the recording wilderness. So why did Neil Sedaka, creator of 'Oh! Carol' and ...

Rocketman: Melody Maker Memories of Elton

Film/DVD/TV Review by Chris Charlesworth, Just Backdated, June 2019

MONDAYS ON Melody Maker were always a bit stressful for me. It was the day when we had to come up with a front-page lead story ...

Elton John with Alexis Petridis: Me

Book Review by Chris Charlesworth, Just Backdated, October 2019

A POPULAR musician who has stepped on stage dressed as Donald Duck, Minnie Mouse and Amadeus Mozart, complete with elevated, powdered wig, is unlikely to ...

see also Bernie Taupin

see also Bluesology

see also John Reid

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