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Elton John

๐Ÿ‘ค Speaker
See mentions of this person in podcasts
357 total appearances

Appearances Over Time

Podcast Appearances

Fresh Air
Someone Once Told Elton John He Would Never Be A Pop Star

And I loved George Shearing. He was a jazz player, pianist, who was blind, who came from Pinner, where I came from. And when I first became successful in the early 70s, I went to New York and I phoned him. And I said, thank you. I grew up with your music. And it was fantastic. And I was only six or seven years old when I heard your music. But I loved it.

Fresh Air
Someone Once Told Elton John He Would Never Be A Pop Star

And it made me want to play the piano like you, although I couldn't play as well as you. But I was very grateful to the music I had. But when Elvis Presley came knocking on the door and little Richard and Jerry Lewis, who started jumping on the piano, then that was what I wanted to do.

Fresh Air
Someone Once Told Elton John He Would Never Be A Pop Star

And it made me want to play the piano like you, although I couldn't play as well as you. But I was very grateful to the music I had. But when Elvis Presley came knocking on the door and little Richard and Jerry Lewis, who started jumping on the piano, then that was what I wanted to do.

Fresh Air
Someone Once Told Elton John He Would Never Be A Pop Star

And it made me want to play the piano like you, although I couldn't play as well as you. But I was very grateful to the music I had. But when Elvis Presley came knocking on the door and little Richard and Jerry Lewis, who started jumping on the piano, then that was what I wanted to do.

Fresh Air
Someone Once Told Elton John He Would Never Be A Pop Star

Well, of course. Liberace came to England and there was a columnist in the Daily Mirror who said he was gay, a guy called Cassandra. Well, that was his pseudonym. And Liberace sued and won. And he said, I'm not gay. And he won the libel case. When I was young and I watched the Liberace show or any show that came from America that was musical โ€“ It was pure magic.

Fresh Air
Someone Once Told Elton John He Would Never Be A Pop Star

Well, of course. Liberace came to England and there was a columnist in the Daily Mirror who said he was gay, a guy called Cassandra. Well, that was his pseudonym. And Liberace sued and won. And he said, I'm not gay. And he won the libel case. When I was young and I watched the Liberace show or any show that came from America that was musical โ€“ It was pure magic.

Fresh Air
Someone Once Told Elton John He Would Never Be A Pop Star

Well, of course. Liberace came to England and there was a columnist in the Daily Mirror who said he was gay, a guy called Cassandra. Well, that was his pseudonym. And Liberace sued and won. And he said, I'm not gay. And he won the libel case. When I was young and I watched the Liberace show or any show that came from America that was musical โ€“ It was pure magic.

Fresh Air
Someone Once Told Elton John He Would Never Be A Pop Star

The Americans did things on a bigger scale. Liberace, because he played the piano, I was very much interested in. He was a good pianist, but he was not a great pianist. And I was enchanted by him and I loved him. You know, his dialogue with the audience was very, very funny, especially when he did live shows. And I did get to meet him.

Fresh Air
Someone Once Told Elton John He Would Never Be A Pop Star

The Americans did things on a bigger scale. Liberace, because he played the piano, I was very much interested in. He was a good pianist, but he was not a great pianist. And I was enchanted by him and I loved him. You know, his dialogue with the audience was very, very funny, especially when he did live shows. And I did get to meet him.

Fresh Air
Someone Once Told Elton John He Would Never Be A Pop Star

The Americans did things on a bigger scale. Liberace, because he played the piano, I was very much interested in. He was a good pianist, but he was not a great pianist. And I was enchanted by him and I loved him. You know, his dialogue with the audience was very, very funny, especially when he did live shows. And I did get to meet him.

Fresh Air
Someone Once Told Elton John He Would Never Be A Pop Star

I did the Royal Variety Show with him in London at the London Palladium. And I planned my two big outfits and I thought, well, Liberace, I've got to do something special. So I had two fabulous lurex suits made in red, white and blue. And they were hanging up, you know, very proudly in the dressing room. And then Lee, who he liked to be called Liberace, Lee walked in with trunk after trunk.

Fresh Air
Someone Once Told Elton John He Would Never Be A Pop Star

I did the Royal Variety Show with him in London at the London Palladium. And I planned my two big outfits and I thought, well, Liberace, I've got to do something special. So I had two fabulous lurex suits made in red, white and blue. And they were hanging up, you know, very proudly in the dressing room. And then Lee, who he liked to be called Liberace, Lee walked in with trunk after trunk.

Fresh Air
Someone Once Told Elton John He Would Never Be A Pop Star

I did the Royal Variety Show with him in London at the London Palladium. And I planned my two big outfits and I thought, well, Liberace, I've got to do something special. So I had two fabulous lurex suits made in red, white and blue. And they were hanging up, you know, very proudly in the dressing room. And then Lee, who he liked to be called Liberace, Lee walked in with trunk after trunk.

Fresh Air
Someone Once Told Elton John He Would Never Be A Pop Star

He wore that outfit with the light bulbs in it. And, you know, so my attempt to, you know, go one up on Liberace failed absolutely miserably. But he was so charming and so lovely and very, very funny and very, very intelligent. And he was a huge influence on me. It's like he was being who he was. He wasn't publicly out. He didn't give a flying monkeys about what he was wearing.

Fresh Air
Someone Once Told Elton John He Would Never Be A Pop Star

He wore that outfit with the light bulbs in it. And, you know, so my attempt to, you know, go one up on Liberace failed absolutely miserably. But he was so charming and so lovely and very, very funny and very, very intelligent. And he was a huge influence on me. It's like he was being who he was. He wasn't publicly out. He didn't give a flying monkeys about what he was wearing.

Fresh Air
Someone Once Told Elton John He Would Never Be A Pop Star

He wore that outfit with the light bulbs in it. And, you know, so my attempt to, you know, go one up on Liberace failed absolutely miserably. But he was so charming and so lovely and very, very funny and very, very intelligent. And he was a huge influence on me. It's like he was being who he was. He wasn't publicly out. He didn't give a flying monkeys about what he was wearing.

Fresh Air
Someone Once Told Elton John He Would Never Be A Pop Star

He just went for it. And that was who he was. And that, of course, influenced me when I started wearing the clothes and, you know, subconsciously must have, you know, if you're stuck at a piano and you're not a lead guitarist or lead vocalist, you're kind of at a nine foot plank and you have to. do something about it.

Fresh Air
Someone Once Told Elton John He Would Never Be A Pop Star

He just went for it. And that was who he was. And that, of course, influenced me when I started wearing the clothes and, you know, subconsciously must have, you know, if you're stuck at a piano and you're not a lead guitarist or lead vocalist, you're kind of at a nine foot plank and you have to. do something about it.

Fresh Air
Someone Once Told Elton John He Would Never Be A Pop Star

He just went for it. And that was who he was. And that, of course, influenced me when I started wearing the clothes and, you know, subconsciously must have, you know, if you're stuck at a piano and you're not a lead guitarist or lead vocalist, you're kind of at a nine foot plank and you have to. do something about it.

Fresh Air
Someone Once Told Elton John He Would Never Be A Pop Star

So my thing was to leap on the piano, do handstand and wear clothes that would attract attention to me because that's the focus for two and a half hours or two hours. I'm not walking around the stage. I'm not moving. So he gave me that idea probably subconsciously because before then I'd never seen anyone dressed like that.