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| ELTON JOHN NEWS |
| Ticketmaster: we were not involved in Canadian Elton ticket trouble Wednesday, July 16 2008 |
As the issue concerning Elton John tickets in Canada continues to swirl, Ticketmaster is reportedly denying any involvement in placing tickets to some of the upcoming Canadian shows on its TicketsNow subsidiary website.
In recent days, Ticketmaster has faced considerable scrutiny over the matter, where premium Elton John tickets that the public allegedly did not have access to on Ticketmaster's website last month, quickly turned up on the TicketsNow website, a secondary ticket resale site where prices are often much higher.
The issue is not new to Ticketmaster, which has been accused of such behavior on more than one occasion since it bought TicketsNow earlier this year.
In the case of the Elton John shows, which sparked widespread interest throughout the country because he is performing for the first time in certain regions, government officials are looking into the matter following complaints from numerous fans.
But, according to published reports, Will Antonishyn, head of ticketing for Ticketmaster's Saskatchewan office, was quoted saying, "The inventory belongs to the promoter and artist, and the artist determines who has what privileges in advance of the public on sale or not, like fan clubs for instance."
In May 2008, Ticketmaster CEO Sean Moriarty told ticket brokers something similar during a meeting in Las Vegas to quell some of their concerns. Brokers were angry that they and the public seemingly did not have access to premium tickets before they were turning up on TicketsNow. Moriarty blamed the artists and their representatives for placing their own tickets on TicketsNow and other secondary sites. The company also removed links on its site that redirected Elton John fans to TicketsNow.
Ticketmaster spokesperson Albert Lopez told TicketNews the company would not comment on the Elton John matter. The company also did not confirm Antonishyn's statement.
| Elton John performed solo in Starnberg, Germany on July 15, 2008 Wednesday, July 16 2008 |
Elton performed a private solo show at the wedding of German soccer player Michael Ballack on July 15, 2008.
The reception took place in a yacht club at lake Starnberg near Munich. Elton took the stage at approx. 10.00 pm and performed for about 90 minutes.
Following Elton's set there was a laser show and fireworks above the lake.
Following is the complete set list that Elton performed at this private event:
Photo copyright by Sabine Thomas, Textfactory
| Choc Ice goes Goodbye Yellow Brickle Road Wednesday, July 16 2008 |
Elton John has joined the rarified and rather delicious ranks of Stephen Colbert, Jerry Garcia, Monty Python, Dave Matthews and Phish, becoming the latest celebrity inspiration for a Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor: Goodbye Yellow Brickle Road.
The limited-edition treat will be rolled out for one week only in July 2008 to coincide with Elton's first concert in the pint purveyors' home base of Vermont, the last state in the U.S. Elton has yet to perform in. Proceeds from the flavor will benefit the Elton John AIDS foundation.
"I can't think of a more fun way to celebrate playing my 50th state, Vermont, than having Ben & Jerry's create a special ice cream, Goodbye Yellow Brickle Road, with all my favorite flavors and ingredients," Elton said. "I'm especially pleased that they will be donating the proceeds to the Elton John AIDS Foundation."
The custom flavor was concocted with input from Elton himself and consists of "an outrageous symphony of decadent chocolate ice cream, peanut butter cookie dough, butter brickle and white chocolate chunks." "We're thrilled with the final combination, plus we've got the Rocket Man's seal of approval," Ben's partner-in-crime (and business), Jerry Greenfield, said.
The flavor will be available in Vermont Scoop Shops for just one week only, July 18-25, 2008 in anticipation of Elotn's Vermont show on July 21, 2008.
Further sweetening the pot, the coneheads will also play tunes from Elton's latest album, "Rocket Man: The Definitive Hits", as well as the DVD of his recent 60th birthday concert at Madison Square Garden, in their stores that week.
| More "Aida" coming your way Tuesday, July 15 2008 |
RVL S.C.O.R.E. proudly presents "Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida" in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.
Under the direction/musical direction of Mike Walker and choreographed by Marie Madera Gleerup, performances will take place August 7-9, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. and August 9 & 10, 2008 at 2:00 pm at Miraleste Intermediate School, 29323 Palos Verdes Drive East, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275.
This show is being produced by a charity supporting victims of spinal cord injuries. Indeed, the producer of the show, Robbie Vierra-Lambert, is himself a paraplegic. From the confines of his electric wheelchair, he is very involved in many of the day-to-day aspects of mounting this show.
The cast of this show is comprised of youth between the ages of 11 and 18. Some are already veterans of many musical theater productions, while others are involved in their first show ever.
Tickets cost $15 (adults) or $10 (kids 18 & under). You may order tickets by calling +1-310-377-3706. Reserved seating based on a first come first served basis.
| Deluxe Edition of early Elton John albums Monday, July 14 2008 |
Universal Records has now also released deluxe editions of "Elton John" and "Tumbleweed Connection" in the US.
In addition to the original album tracks, the two disc releases also contain the following bonus material:
"Elton John"
"Tumbleweed Connection"
| Happy Birthday, Bob! Monday, July 14 2008 |
Elton John band bass player Bob Birch is celebrating his 52nd birthday on July 14, 2008.
On behalf of the Hercules team and all Elton John fans around the world we would like to wish him all the best and happy birthday!
| Auction to benefit the Elton John Aids Foundation Monday, July 14 2008 |
During their two week performance of Aida (July 10-20, 2008), the Chattahoochee Community Players will be auctioning off a Brian Perrymond original Aida-inspired oil painting (30" x 40").
All proceeds will go to the Elton John Aids Foundation. We encourage you to bid and to check back often. This is your opportunity to own an original painting by Brian Perrymond and the opportunity to make a difference.
Chattahoochee Community Players (CCP) is thrilled to announce the 2008 production of Aida. This musical presents a beautiful love story where hatred is overcome by love and compassion. A strong-willed Nubian princess, Aida, is captured by an Egyptian captain, Radames. As the story progresses, difficult choices must be made that alter the course of history forever. It is a story about different people and different traditions, but one love. This universal theme is the very reason why the CCP are so excited about producing this show.
The origianl production, 'Legend of Aida', opened in 1998 in Atlanta, GA. Eventually, Elton John and Tim Rice, in a collaborative effort with the Walt Disney Company, re-vamped the musical to what has now become the Broadway hit, Aida. The musical features a modern-rock score that includes twists on gospel, pop, as well as many ethnic and classic musical elements. Memorable musical numbers include "Elaborate Lives," "My Strongest Suit," "Written in the Stars," and many more.
The final three performances take place July 17-19, 2008 at the Chattahoochee Theatre in Alpharetta, GA. Please see www.ccplayers.org. for more details.
| Elton John and band performed in Doncaster on July 12, 2008 Monday, July 14 2008 |
Fan repory by Mark Danby.
Thankfully the poor English July weather relented and we had a little sunshine at Doncaster's Keepmoat Stadium on July 12, 2008. First of all a mention for the support Richard Fleeshman who took to the stage a little early at 7.00 pm but the stadium appeared pretty full and he gave an excellent performance that received the approval of the audience which I would compare to the reception that James Blunt received a few years ago.
Elton also appeared a little early at 8.00 pm and was in great form and went through the same set list as the other UK shows. I have now attended more Elton shows than I can easily count but for this show I took my mother who is in her 80's and my eldest son (Thomas) 14 to their first Elton John concerts, I also took my youngest son (Lewis) 12 who was attending his second. We were in block A4 7 rows from the front so we had a great view and both my mother and sons had a great time and said that he had exceeded expectations so Elton really does appeal to all generations.
A story a like to tell about my youngest son after I returned home from a Elton concert in Sheffield 3/4 years ago. I had managed to get my programme signed by Elton and I showed it to Lewis saying look I managed to get his autograph. He took the programme looked at the autograph and then proceeded to look in the programme when he said to me "Oh yes there you are dad I can see Elton signing your programme". Not believing him I just nodded but sensing this he took the programme to my wife who took a look and shouted out hey is it you and sure enough there in the programme was a picture of Elton signing my programme at a previous concert. Unfortunately Lewis did not get his ticket signed by Elton but I did get my programme signed and Lewis and Thomas did get Clive Franks autograph.
Some other comments from my sons and mother, Thomas thought John Mahon was fantastic and that Davey was cool (not a bad compliment from a 14 year old) and was impressed by his many guitar changes. Lewis really enjoyed "Crocodile Rock" and my mother thought that Elton's hair looked good and would like to attend another Elton concert.
From my view point I think Elton has the set list just about right with some songs from "Madman Across The Water" followed by "Believe" and "Take Me To The Pilot" before launching into the hits with "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road". The days when the audience would sit throughout the entire concert are now in the past because when the hits start its party time and this was no exception. As previously mentioned the only thing a I miss is the absence of a new song because it is always a thrill to hear a song performed live for the first time. With Elton's recording career apparently on hold it may be some time before we hear any new material.
Following is the complete set list of the Doncaster show on July 12, 2008:
| Elton John and band performed in Brooklands, Surrey on July 11, 2008 Sunday, July 13 2008 |
Fan report by Julio, Jose and Rosa from Spain.
A wet night under the mysterious London sky. I think is the best title for this show! After some hours of travel by plain and train, my friends and I arrived at Mercedes Benz Pavillion at 4 pm. The grey London sky made us foretell a concert "under water"! and ... it was really!
Elton was great and played the full set list including songs as "Are You Ready For Love", "Believe", "Levon" and of course "Bennie And The Jets", playing very hard and with very good stage with his LED Panel!.
The only bad thing about the concerts was the horrible bad weather. Elton signed a lot of autographs, one for me.
It was a very good experience with my friends Jose and Rosa- also from Spain. Thanks Elton... and remember... Spain is waiting for you!
Following is the complete set list of the Brooklands, Surrey show on July 11, 2008:
| Elton John and band performed in Konstanz on July 8, 2008 Wednesday, July 9 2008 |
Fan report and photos by Ulrick Garde.
On my way to last nights concert I was trying to count the amount of times I have seen Elton live. I ended up with the show in Konstanz being number 17 since 1995. People may ask : “Doesn't it get boring?"
The answer is NO and after last nights show I am convinced and happy that I have already booked my 18th in Copenhagen the coming November 2008.
The funny thing about Elton is that he gets better and better the older he gets. His voice, the total sound and tightness of the band keeps improving. Last night was a blast.
With tickets in the 5th row in the middle my friend and I took our seats, and at 7 pm sharp the band was ready and the intro to “Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding” began. Elton came on stage wearing a black suit with a long jacket. He looked fairly trimmed, happy, smiling and ready to rock Konstanz which he did for about two and a half hours.
We all got what we came for, all the major hits we there. To mention a few highlights “Believe” was in the set and sounded great. “Rocket Man” came out very well, and the solo on “Bennie And The Jets” shows what a superb piano player this man is. Elton started playing the German national hymn leading directly into “Crocodile Rock” which surprised the crowed a lot.
Again at this show he took more than five minutes only to sign autographs. There was a great atmosphere, people were happy, singing along and dancing. The weather kept dry until almost the last song where it started heavily to rain.
After thanking the German people for loyalty and support over the years he took off in the waiting helicopter bringing him to his private jet at the airport in Memmingen. Thank you Elton for rocking me (again).
Following is the complete set listKonstanz show on July 8, 2008:
| Elton calls in the lawyers as satirical piece strikes a wrong note Wednesday, July 9 2008 |
Elton John is used to being lampooned by comics around the globe, but his sense of humour only seems to extend so far.
Lawyers acting for Elton have fired off an angry letter to The Guardian to complain about a spoof item that appeared in its Saturday magazine, part of a series titled, "A Peek at the Diary Of... ", with Elton the object of the writer's satire.
Among other things, the article poked fun at Elton's annual White Tie and Tiara Ball, which took place at his home in Windsor a fortnight ago. Elton is upset that the article implied that the overheads required to put on the bash, which raises funds for the Elton John Aids Foundation, were excessive.
"Naturally, everyone could afford just to hand over the money if they gave that much of a toss about Aids research – as could the sponsors," it read. "But we like to give guests a preposterously lavish evening, because they're the kind of people who wouldn't turn up for anything less... Once we've subtracted all these costs, the leftovers go to my foundation. I call this care-o-nomics."
Sources close to the singer describe the piece as "unpleasant". It's not the first time he's locked horns with the press over the party. In 2006, he successfully sued the Daily Mail over claims that he'd ordered guests at the party in 2005 not to approach him.
Meanwhile, The Guardian confirmed that it had received a lawyers' letter, and was now deciding how to respond.
| SERIES: I'm an Elton fan, but I also ... Tuesday, July 8 2008 |
... wrote a book about a five months bicycle trip through Europe - Rainer Preuss, Germany (now moving to Canada).
In May 2007 Rainer Preuss and his wife Susanne started on a five months bicycle trip through ten countries of Middle and Southeast Europe. They quit their jobs and want to abstain consumption and the everyday strain of living. They want only one thing: Concentrate on the here and now, enjoy the beauty of the little moments in life and find the time to deeply absorb strange cultures and people.
But is it possible to do all this? Can we shake off everything that formed our civilised lives by travelling old roman roads, climbing steep dolomite passes, visiting Italian cultural capitals, exploring Slovenian caves, working on Croatian organic farms, tiptoeing around Bosnian mine fields and looking in amazement at Serbian garbage dumps. And more: Can you find happiness and what so many people are looking for: personal freedom?
Rainer is what you can call a long-time Elton-Fan whose addiction specializes in collecting old vinyl versions of "Madman Across the Water" and "Tumbleweed Connection", from India to Guatemala, Israel to New Zealand and the rest of the world. Now he’s becoming a madman too. He and his wife are just on their way to Canada to find some more answers to personal freedom.
You can order the book "Die Illusion der Freiheit" (in German) online from Books On Demand.
Are you also a die-hard Elton fan? And did you do something special in your life that you would like to report about? Then send us your story for this series "I'm an Elton fan, but I also ...".
| Hercules Fan Convention - cancelled! Monday, July 7 2008 |
Unfortunately, the feedback from the fan community in regard of the planned fan convention to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Hercules Elton John Fan Club was rather disappointing.
This is why we are now downsizing the event that was originally planned to run over the whole weekend. We will update you about the new plan in due time.Related News
Tuesday, June 10 2008 at 22:52:56
Thursday, May 8 2008 at 00:00:01
| Elton John and band performed in Swansea on June 29, 2008 Friday, July 4 2008 |
Following is the complete set list of the Swansea show on June 29, 2008.
| Elton John and band performed in Leipzig on July 3, 2008 Friday, July 4 2008 |
Fan report by Marcel Zürcher.
Holiday Inn .. With our city trip to Leipzig there's not only the fact that elton & his band were playing in front of this 91 meters high impressive monumental, which will celebrate his 100 year of being build in 2013; we've had also the opportunity to check-in at the Holiday Inn near the main station.
Leipzig & his culture .. Daniel & me took the sightseeing bus to discover some historical points from this interesting city. Along with the Völkerschlachtdenkmal there is e.g. the house of Schiller, who wrote "Lied an die Freude" back in 1785.
Perfect concert .. Sir Elton & band were in a great mood again. during the instrumental parts of few songs Elton put his left arm in the air and played with one hand, which he really enjoyed. "Madman Across the Water" was one of the evening's highlights with its improvisations. Powerfully played by Elton and the boys were "Levon" and "Believe". These two genious songs were rarely played live in Europe over the past few years. So happy enough to welcome them back to the set list.
Just one negative point is to say, that there is no newer song - especially from "The Captain & the Kid" - in the set.
We all know that Davey Johnstone is the best, if not the king of his genre. But what he did during the final of the song "Honky Cat" just blew us away! He took all possibilities out of his banjo and played some groovy fragments we - as hardcore-fans - had never heard before .. absolutely amazing!
Elton gave all of the band members a hobby, so for example Guy Babylon is exporting pumpkins, Bob Birch is hopping everywhere and Davey walks very cool around, which he enjoyed to demonstrate, what a funny moment!
During "Bennie and the Jets" the party in front of the stage began! Untill the end of "I'm Still Standing", Elton sang the last refrain in his mysterious vocal-part, as he did in his recent solo shows, that was very cool!
After a 5-minute-autograph-session, which made the crowd even more enthusiatic, the boys powered on with a fantastic rendition of "Pinball Wizard". All of us played a mean pinball!
Following is the complete set listLeipzig show on July 3, 2008:
| Acer Arena in Sydney acts to benefit kids Thursday, July 3 2008 |
Elton John fans will be lining up to get their piece of music memorabilia history – and will be helping disadvantaged kids in the process.
Acer Arena has joined forces with The Australian Children’s Music Foundation (ACMF), and plans to auction off unique music memorabilia all in the name of a good cause. Acer Arena has proudly announced that ACMF will be its sole charity beneficiary. The partnership provides a wonderful opportunity for the ACMF to raise extra funds through their association with Acer Arena.
The ACMF helps disadvantaged children, including Indigenous children and teens in juvenile detention centres, to improve their lives through music. Acer Arena Business Development Manager, Don Elford, said that his organisation is proud of the association, as the synergies between the two organisations are very strong. “This is a perfect fit, Australia’s busiest concert venue being able to support such wonderful work.” Don Spencer, Founder & Director of ACMF, couldn’t agree more. “An innovative partnership like this can provide valuable funds to assist us to continue our programs across Australia”.
The two organisations are looking at creative ways to work together and are excited to unveil their initial fundraiser. For the first time ever, Acer Arena has agreed to auction off the unique banners that are displayed outside the venue - promoting current & future performers.
Fans will be very interested to view what’s on offer over the coming months, as there is a diverse range to choose from. The next banner to be auctioned on Ebay is from the recent Elton John tour, which is bound to be a collector’s item.
Bidding for this unusual piece will be taking place from Friday 4th July, 2008 on Ebay. The auction will be live for 7 days only so don’t delay if you want to grab your piece of music history.
| © 1997-2008 by HERCULES International. Hercules is not affiliated with Elton John`s management or the Elton John Aids Foundation. |