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Pops vs. Pups

Cute pooch? More about him later. But first Elton is to be honoured for his AIDS work by the APPG (All-Party Parliamentary Groups) in his home country. A reception is to be held in November at the Speakers House, currently the official residence of Lindsay Hoyle. An early, erroneous report had said that Elton would be performing in Parliament to raise awareness of HIV and AIDS.

At iHeartRadio’s Can’t-Cancel-Pride last year, Elton received the Impact award. It is now the Elton John Impact award, and Brandi-Carlile was the recipient on Thursday. Elton saluted his friend, via video, for her Looking Out Foundation, which uses music to empower those without a voice. Brandi said there was no one more important ”as a mentor or soulmate” than Elton.

When Elton played Birmingham, England, on the 10th of June, he told the crowd about a group of Telford Priory students he invited to the concert. During lockdown, they came up with an I’m Still Standing video, which ”blew me away.” Music teacher Ben-Millington was with them, and was thrilled to get VIP seats and to be complimented in front of 16,000 fans.

It hasn’t all been smooth sailing, though. Last week at P&G Live in Aberdeen, Scotland, Elton branded the security guards ‘morons.’ Believing that many were getting too close to the stage area, the guards put up barriers. Elton demanded they be taken down, and that people ought to be allowed to dance. ”It’s not a f******g tea party!” he roared.

Bernie Taupin wasn’t at a tea party recently (as far as we know), but was a Burrito Stand guest. The host is his friend Chris-Hillman, and Part One (there are three parts) made its SiriusXM debut on Friday night. There are replays on the 22nd, 24th, and 27th of June (at 11 p.m. ET, 12 p.m. ET, and 3 p.m. ET, respectively).

It was also on Friday that Elton’s bandmate premiered his YouTube channel and the video for a song from his solo album, Deeper Than My Roots. The Davey-Johnstone number, Black Scotland, coincides with the guitarist’s final live dates in Scotland with Elton.

Although he won’t be performing, Elton does plan to return to Scotland . . . with his boys. When he appeared at the Ovo Hydro in Glasgow on Saturday night, Elton told the crowd he considers it one of the most beautiful places he’s seen.

Did you ever catch Elton’s Empire Pool concert in 1977? At the establishment, now known as Wembley-Arena, Elton announced his retirement, but of course at that time, he didn’t follow through. A condensed version of the concert aired on BBC One, but on the 30th of the month, BBC Four will present a far more substantial show for the first time. Fans can expect a Stevie Wonder appearance as well as restored performances of classics.

The 24th of June marks the anniversary of two seminal album releases. It was on this date in 1974 that Caribou came out, and one of our favourites was Pinky, with the picturesque line about the candelight falling ”like a crescent” on a feather pillow.

Also on this date in 1988, Reg Strikes Back hit the record stores. The-Camera-Never-Lies was one of the stronger tracks, and included the lyric, ”A negative becomes my plus.” This was rather clever as ”negative” could apply to someone’s attitude or a photographic image.

James Thomsen, a Glastonbury fan and filmmaker, has used AI to imagine what some of the festival’s entertainers would look like in everyday jobs. Among them was Elton, at a supermarket checkout!

When Elton was making plans to wrap-up his tour of America last year, he and David Furnish thought they would check out the Super Bowl. But not everything is live, as certain instruments are prerecorded.  That was no good, since there’s ”no click track with Elton’s band,” David pointed out. He added that doing a Dodger Stadium livestream to 150 million people was too big an opportunity to decline.

Elton also appreciated that at one of these shows in Los Angeles, California, Joni Mitchell got up and danced!

We’re off for now, but not before wishing Elton and David-Furnish a belated Happy Father’s Day and welcoming Jacob, the newest (canine) member of their family!

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