Random Notes

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In the 70's, Elton John had over 200 glasses and over 200 pairs of shoes (mainly consisting of platform shoes/boots) along with his seemingly endless flamboyant costumes. Some of his costumes he claims to have worn only once.

:: Interesting Fact ::

 Elton John's glasses designer also designed glasses for
'The King Of Cool' - Steve McQueen.
McQueen is one of my favorite actors. 

The blue tinted sunglasses, Persol 714, worn by McQueen in
'The Thomas Crown Affair' sold at 
a Bonhams & Butterfields auction in LA for $70,000 in 2006.

'I don't know how much I spend on stage clothes. A suit often costs around $5,000, which is pretty expensive when I often wear an outfit only once or twice.

I give a lot of my stage stuff away, mostly to my family. Half my relatives are walking around in glitter suits!'

- Elton John 1975

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** Due to lack of hits to the new 
Interviews section I added, I have taken it down. 
If you would like to see it back let me know.
I love to read about Elton.
There is way more to him then just looking at pictures of him, people!!
Speaking of reading about Elton, this is totally hilarious!
'Kiki (Dee) had a bit of a studio complex, and couldn't seem to get the vocal together,' Gus Dudgeon, the producer, remembers. 'While she was doing it, Elton crept in through a back door, hid behind a screen, took off all his clothes and suddenly streaked across the studio, stark naked. Kiki nearly freaked, but kept on singing. That's why the vocal came out so great.' 

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:: Featured Elton John Lyrics Of The Week ::

Elton on Marilyn Monroe:

'When I think of Marilyn (Monroe), I just think of pain. I can't ever im
agine her being that happy.' (1974)

'...he's (Bernie Taupin) really into Marilyn Monroe, man, and you should probably talk to him about that. I'm a Marilyn Monroe fan too, but I think he's more 'into' Marilyn Monroe than I am, because he knows far more about her, and goes to auctions when they sell her things. I think that's terrible. You imagine, they had an auction in Los Angeles where you could buy her driving license. It's very sad to think that nobody loved her enough to actually keep her driving license.' (1974)

'Well, she (Marilyn Monroe) wasn't a cult figure while she was alive, I don't think. I don't think anyone is til they die. She was very popular, but when she died it was like the tragic Hollywood story wasn't it? I mean, everybody loves a story like that.' (1974)

Graphics on this blog were created by me using Blingee 

Pictures & articles are from my personal collection

Do Not Use Anything On This Blog Without My Permission!

Elton John Wanted + Recent Adds To My Collection

:: Elton John Items Wanted ::

(I will not consider selling or trading any of my collection, 
so please don't ask! I am only interested in buying!)

:: I BUY FROM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD! :: 
(will pay through PayPal only)
 
If anyone has 70's merchandise on Elton
they are selling please contact me!

I am currently looking for anything
Elton's (ex) manager John Reid
and the items below:

*Zigzag magazine #26 dated: January 11, 1972 (open to price)
*Billboard magazine dated October 18, 1975 (open to price)

Elton John bobblehead w/green feather boa - willing to pay up to $30
WANTED ASAP!

Disc magazine dated: December 14, 1974 (open to price)
WANTED ASAP!

Billboard magazine ad for 'Island Girl' from 1975 issue of Billboard (open to price)

:: Recent Adds To My Collection ::

*Caribou, rare org. 1974 JAPAN LP + Obi w/12 pg. picture booklet

* Muscle Mag - ' Guard Of Rock - The Jim Morris Story' (interview w/Elton's bodyguard Jim Morris)

* I have every issue of Record Mirror and NME from the 70's that featured Elton on the cover. This is totally awesome! I have just purchased every issue of of these two magazines that has articles/pix of him in them - not just on the cover!

I could not believe I got this! Extremely beautiful candid of Elton in his fox fur boa (did you know that the lovely ruby pin on his lapel was gifted to him by John Reid?)
 

*Continental Airlines magazine titled 'Flightime' w/Elton John - 1976
*MidSummer Music - Wembley Stadium 1975 ticket stub

*Extremely rare! 24x20 canvas art of a birthday card The Beatles' John Lennon gave Elton for his 28th b/day (with sexually explicit innuendos and naked men)

*1974 Triad magazine (a Chicago based radio trade mag.)
this issue featured Elton
*Extremely rare book titled: 'Elton John: Le Gentleman Musicien'
*In Touch (1975 adult gay men's magazine w/Elton John)
*1976 Muscle Training Illustrated Bodybuilding magazine (with Elton and his bodyguard Jim Morris)

DVDs:

Dvd - Elton John & Bernie Taupin: The Lost Interviews
1976 Tribute to Elton John countdown special (The Midnight Special)

CDs:

192 Honky Chateau tour
1972 St. Petersburg, Florida
1977 live Europe 'Fine China'
ROCK ME WHEN HIS GONE (Demo's Of Elton's First 3 Albums)
HONKY CHATEAU (vocal only)
GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD (vocal only)
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC & THE BROWN DIRT COWBOY (vocal only)

Graphics on this blog were created by me using Blingee 

Pictures & articles are from my personal collection

Do Not Use Anything On This Blog Without My Permission!

Elton John Photos

All photos/pictures are from my personal collection over the past 36 years. They range from actual photos to magazine, book, tour program pix, etc. I will try to update the photo slide show often....
 

Slideshow Last Updated: February 2

 :: Please Allow SlideShow Time To Load ::

SlideShow Requires Flash Player 

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For more pix/photos visit:

A few of the photos in the private gallery include:
* Many candids (including several of Elton in his limo)
* Unpublished concert photos and other photos
* Elton with godchild Amoreena, his eyeglasses designer,
his manager John Reid, lyricist Bernie Taupin, et al

If interested, visit the 

ELTON JOHN PRIVATE GALLERY 

for more details. 

 

Graphics on this blog were created by me using Blingee 

Pictures & articles are from my personal collection

Do Not Use Anything On This Blog Without My Permission!

Featured Article Excerpts

These are not complete articles - only excerpts from the articles.

If you are interested in reading an article in its entirety, contact me.

(**Please note - due to my very busy schedule, and depending on the length of the article, I may not be able to find the time to supply some of the articles in their entirety upon request)

Following excerpt is from 1976 'The Elton John Interview':

Elton John is a man with nothing to hide. Meeting him is instantaneous recognition that his image - puckish but professional, easy going, tolerant, a gentleman with a flair for sartorial supernova - is simply a totally natural and organic outgrowth of his private self. He is in love with his work, and it is a very healthy relationship. We found him in his hotel suite, cherub in a soccer uniform, snapping his fingers and bouncing while listening, with a self-critical attentiveness that bordered on the ruthless, to his latest single...  

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Following excerpt from 'Jim Morris - Guard Of Rock' article (1979):

 (Above - Elton on plane w/bodyguard Jim Morris - 1976)

'...Thousands scream in orgasmic delights while an absurdly attired character in sequins and satin known as 'the Pinball Wizard' and 'Captain Fantastic' cavorts onstage fueling their wild musical fires.

Off to one side in the shadows of the wings stands a monolithic, massively muscled black man.

His job - watching to see that the audience's spastic ecstasy does not turn to hero-engulfing, mob-like cannibalism. This man is the 'Guard Of Rock'.

   Jumping madly and banging away on his customized piano, Elton John, the world's No. 1 Rock 'n Roll star, screams these words - 'He's a Pinball Wizard, there has to be a twist; a Pinball Wizard, got such a supple wrist...'

   Elton John, the king of rock glitter and spasmodic, symphonic, mundane, kicks, tilts and bounds, jumps, rocks and leans back, throwing his petite feet about in their glowing red lurex sneakers. As he sings, the black knight in the wings silently stares on. His job is two-fold - to both watch over Elton's performance on stage and to get him off, through the grasp of his admiring devotees wherever he performs.

This particular night the air was particularly these at NYC Madison Square Garden...'

(**I have about 15 photographs of Jim Morris w/Elton which I have added to the private gallery)

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This is one of many of my favorite descriptions of Elton John
it was of his 1974 Oakland Coliseum concert:

'Elton played up a heterosexual female/homosexual male erotic fantasy by riding on the sinewy shoulder of his bodyguard, Mr. America Jim Morris, who wore a sparkling lioncloth that showed off a plethora of rippling ebony muscles.

Morris acted as a rickshaw, returning his regally feathered employer back to the stage and the screaming legions.

 (Above - Bodyguard Jim Morris delivering Elton to the stage - 1974)

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(Above animation: Elton John w/Diana Ross
 at the 1975 Rock Music Awards)

Diana Ross and Elton John Make Spectacles of Themselves

Rock superstar Elton John - in spangled threads
that could make even Liberace blush - lets singer Diana Ross
try on his spectacular diamond studded eyeglasses.

An astonished Diana recoils in wonder after
she dons the glittering goggles - part of John's huge
collection of 200 eyeglasses.

The musical pair were hosts at the recent

Rock Music Awards which was held in 

Santa Monica, CA.' (this was from a 1976 article)

Graphics on this blog were created by me using Blingee 

Pictures & articles are from my personal collection

Do Not Use Anything On This Blog Without My Permission!

Aloha, Bobby & Rose

I just recently obtained the Japanese movie program of this movie.

The movie is considered a 'cult classic' from the 1970's (1975 to be exact).

The synopsis:

A young garage mechanic Bobby (played by Pat La Mat) and fast food hostess Rose (played by Dianne Hull)  meet and quickly fall in love. While out on a date one night, Bobby “fakes” holding up a convenience store. The prank goes horribly wrong, resulting in the death of a young shop keeper. The couple are now on the run from the law and themselves.

The sound track for 'Aloha, Bobby & Rose' consists of songs by various artists. Elton John is one of the artists. His songs dominate the soundtrack - being played a lot throughout the movie - much like the soundtrack for the 1971 movie 'Friends'.

I can't count the numerous times I have watched this movie - also saw it in theatre when it came out in '75.

It definitely is one of my favorite movies (you can view the list of my other favorites in my profile or on my MySpace profile).

I totally hate what becomes of Paul La Mat's character 'Bobby' - that is the only disappointing thing about the movie. The movie is awesome how it ends with the DJ talking about Elton.

Watching it brings back fond memories of the 70's...

Graphics on this blog were created by me using Blingee 

Pictures & articles are from my personal collection

Do Not Use Anything On This Blog Without My Permission!

Elton >>---N---> John

Have you often wondered who Elton's lover was in the 70's? 
It was his manager of 25 years, John Reid.

  













:: About Mr. Reid ::
He was born in Paisley, Scotland. He was well known for his temper and getting in highly publicized verbal and physical fights with the press defending Elton.


"We (Reid and Elton) had a very strange, a very complicated relationship," says Reid, who has submitted to his lawyers a 600-page autobiography, tentatively titled 'Too Close to the Candle' he has written over the past years. John has reportedly said Reid was his "first love".

"He had always relied on me," says Reid, who was reportedly paid a £3.4 million out-of-court settlement (in 2000). "We had a very solid close relationship, both business and personal. That sort of thing never went away."

Elton John lost his virginity to Reid at the age of 23 (1970); lived together for five years.

In the 70's, Elton gifted Mr. Reid a yacht which they had christened 'Madman'.

( Above L-R) John Reid, photographer, Elton John

and Connie Pappas (Elton's personal assistant).

John Reid in fight with a photographer in Rome.
.............................................................

I have tons of articles and very rare pictures of Elton and

John Reid together - along with video footage/interviews. 

I really liked the idea of them - their relationship. 

It is too bad it didn't last - personally and professionally.

** My take on their relationship: 

I believe one of the reasons Elton confessed in the famous
'76 Rolling Stone interview, that he was bisexual, was because he was on the rebound from the break up of his personal relationship with John Reid.

In my opinion, it seemed to have changed him 
for the worst - personally & professionally...

According to what I've read, the reason why they broke up was because Elton was accusing John of being unfaithful to him.
It kills me that someone so extremely talented, legendary and unbelievably beautiful would be so insecure.

Graphics on this blog were created by me using Blingee 

Pictures & articles are from my personal collection

Do Not Use Anything On This Blog Without My Permission!

Elton John's Costumes

Here are a couple of a very cool articles 
on how Elton dresses (well - used to dress...)

 

Dress Like A Star

(from 1976)

Elton is famous for his music, talent, generosity, flamboyancy and the hundreds of glasses he's had designed exclusively for him!
For Elton to wear the glasses they must either have glitter, plumes, lights, hearts, stars, be over-sized, or have at least four colors on them.

For the honor of being the 1,662nd entertainer to have his gold star on The Walk Of Fame on Hollywood Blvd., Elton got a pair of star-shaped specs specially-made to go along with his specially-made star outfit that boasted over 50 stars complete with names!

Elton is one superstar who doesn't have any trouble coping with the tremendous amounts of $$ his talent has brought him. He digs spending money on glasses, clothes, friends, and fun.

One of his rules of thumb about clothing is that it must feel good next to his body. He likes the feel and softness of silk. Many of his casual and formal clothing are either entirely silk or silk-trimmed.

Elton's definitely of the 'Got it? Flaunt it!' generation.

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Glamour On the Grand

 ( from 1974)

On a hot summer night in L.A., 25,000 people had crowded into the famous Hollywood Bowl. 

After the supporting acts had come and gone, and with the stage bare, the spotlight fell on the female MC who, with a succession of superlatives, was announcing the star of the show.

Finally the words, 'Elton John', preface a deafening roar, and as the back of the stage miraculously turns into a stairway reminiscent of Hollywood's heyday, the man appears.

He is dressed from head to foot in ostrich feathers, a jumpsuit and a hat about twice his own size. Arms aloft, accepting the cheers, like royalty out for the day, he slowly minces down the steps - maintaining a precarious balance on six-inch heels. The hat is swept aside with another grand gesture as he seats himself at the piano. Is it a joke?

Yes and no is the answer, as Elton and his band swing into a two our repertoire of songs - co-written with Bernie Taupin - that many a serious 'artist' might envy. 

The feathers are removed to reveal a podgy, gold lamé-d body cavorting on stage like a mad teddy bear. And still the music goes on, a mixture of '50s rock and singer/songwriter sensitivity; a mixture of art, slush, volume and daring; the work of a serious charlatan, a musical clown - the boy from Middlesex taking L.A. by storm.

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IF I were to pick which costumes of Elton's I like the most would be these three:



I find it extremely hard to be partial towards Elton! I definitely couldn't choose a favorite album or song of his - although I have to admit, am very partial towards him of the 70's.

If I had to choose, my favorite glasses would be:

The feather framed glasses

Mink framed glasses

Star shaped glasses

Heart shaped glasses

Rhinestone framed glasses

and the white plastic framed glasses



  (Above) 2 of many of Elton's platform boots and shoes

'I don't know how much I spend on stage clothes. A suit often costs around $5,000, which is pretty expensive when I often wear an outfit only once or twice.
I give a lot of my stage stuff away, mostly to my family. Half my relatives are walking around in glitter suits!'
- Elton John 1975

Graphics on this blog were created by me using Blingee 

Pictures & articles are from my personal collection

Do Not Use Anything On This Blog Without My Permission!

Elton John '78 On...

English television presenter Russell Harty to Bernie Taupin in a 1975 interview:
'There's a legend that there really isn't an Elton John - that it's you, you're the real Elton John' talking about an article written by an American reporter.
In a way, I wouldn't blame the reporter for implying that Elton isn't real - because, personally, I have a hard time believing that he is!
Words escape me when it comes to his talent!!

I realize this might upset, intimidate or whatever Elton John fans, but everyone has the right to their own opinion and this is mine:

If I were to be asked what is my favorite Elton John song or album I couldn't answer that, because I can not play favorites when it comes to him!
Although there is one thing that I can play favorites on - the Elton John of the 70's vs. beyond that decade.
Why?

To compare him now to then, looks alone, he almost looks like a totally different person. For one thing, all the weight he has gained...
There was just something about the ways he looked in the 70's that I so loved.

Gone are the breathtaking flamboyantly outrageous costumes, platforms and glasses. The handstands on the piano and the very energetic performances he gave in the 70's. He seems so docile now (yes I realize he is much older now)...

I used to love the idea of wondering whether or not he was gay - it was such a wonderful mystery...
I cannot stand David Furnish and this marriage bit about Elton - I just can't get into it or hardly anything he has 'involved' himself in since the 70's...

Then there's his vocals. Ever since he had that throat surgery - ruining the original sound of his singing, which I so favor!
Yes, the piano playing is always so amazing even now.

To me, he even behaves different compared to how he did in the 70's.
Anyone who has footage on him from the 70's, get it out, watch it - then watch something of him past that decade and tell me you don't agree with everything I've written here!

I could go on and on, but I'll stop here.
After the release of Blue Moves, I guess I just became lost in the 70's - the Elton of the 70's...

Love Ya, Elton!!

'It seems to me a crime that we should age
These fragile times should never slip us by
A time you never can or shall erase
As 'Friends' together watch their childhood fly'
(from Elton John's 'Friends' - 1970)

Graphics on this blog were created by me using Blingee 

Pictures & articles are from my personal collection

Do Not Use Anything On This Blog Without My Permission!