Gay Elton John not for Malaysia, says PAS Youth
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/gay-elton-john-not-for-malaysia-says-pas-youth/October 24, 2011
Furnish (left) and John (R) arrive at a charity event in West Hollywood, California February 27, 2011. — Reuters pic
“The authorities are aware that hedonism or excessive entertainment akin to poison, is spreading fast among Muslim youths,” he was quoted as saying today by Harakah Daily.
“It is this culture that brings the downfall of morality in a society and encourage activities such as promiscuity, drinking, fornication, and also cause them to neglect their religious duties,” he added.
Shahril said religious authorities should band together against the concert to stem moral decay in society.
“Organisers should not be proud of activities which are profitable now, but ruin institutions in the long run,” he said.
John, who is famous for songs like “Candle in the Wind” and “Rocket Man”, married his partner David Furnish in 2005 when same-sex marriage was legalised in Britain.
Their son, Zachary Jackson Levon John, was born December 2010 in California through a surrogate mother.
John’s concert, set for November 22 at the Genting Arena of Stars, would be his maiden concert in Malaysia.
PAS against Elton John show
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/10/25/nation/9765795&sec=nation
KUALA LUMPUR: Pahang PAS Youth is protesting against Elton John's Nov 22 concert, saying that the gay singer is incompatible with Malaysian culture.
Harakah Daily reported its chairman Shahril Azman Abdul Halim Al-Hafiz as saying that since the singer was married to another man, this would have a negative influence on the younger generation.
“The authorities should be aware that the culture of hedonism or excessive and extreme entertainment is spreading swiftly like poison among young Muslims.
“It is this culture, including inter-mingling among both sexes, alcohol drinking, adultery and cases of illegitimate children that can cause damage to society.
“This situation is made worse by prevalent homosexual behaviour,” he said yesterday.
Shahril Azman said the authorities should work together to put a stop to such moral decay.
In an immediate response, MCA central committee member Loh Seng Kok described PAS' proposal as extreme.
“We are only interested in his music,” he said.
“But PAS is making Malaysia a laughing stock in the eyes of the world.”
Loh said such concerts helped earn tourism revenue and also enabled Malaysians to watch world-class acts.
He urged the promoters to ignore PAS as the party was not reflective of the Malaysian majority.
Elton John, famous for songs like Candle in the Wind and Rocket Man, married David Furnish in 2005 when same-sex marriages were legalised in Britain.
Their son Zachary Jackson Levon John was born in 2010 through a surrogate mother in California.
This will be the singer's first performance in Malaysia.
The show, which will be held in Genting Highlands, is part of the music icon's Greatest Hits Tour.
KUALA LUMPUR: Pahang PAS Youth is protesting against Elton John's Nov 22 concert, saying that the gay singer is incompatible with Malaysian culture.
Harakah Daily reported its chairman Shahril Azman Abdul Halim Al-Hafiz as saying that since the singer was married to another man, this would have a negative influence on the younger generation.
“The authorities should be aware that the culture of hedonism or excessive and extreme entertainment is spreading swiftly like poison among young Muslims.
“It is this culture, including inter-mingling among both sexes, alcohol drinking, adultery and cases of illegitimate children that can cause damage to society.
“This situation is made worse by prevalent homosexual behaviour,” he said yesterday.
Shahril Azman said the authorities should work together to put a stop to such moral decay.
In an immediate response, MCA central committee member Loh Seng Kok described PAS' proposal as extreme.
“We are only interested in his music,” he said.
“But PAS is making Malaysia a laughing stock in the eyes of the world.”
Loh said such concerts helped earn tourism revenue and also enabled Malaysians to watch world-class acts.
He urged the promoters to ignore PAS as the party was not reflective of the Malaysian majority.
Elton John, famous for songs like Candle in the Wind and Rocket Man, married David Furnish in 2005 when same-sex marriages were legalised in Britain.
Their son Zachary Jackson Levon John was born in 2010 through a surrogate mother in California.
This will be the singer's first performance in Malaysia.
The show, which will be held in Genting Highlands, is part of the music icon's Greatest Hits Tour.
Drive's Musical Man of Mystery David Weber on - The Spencer Davis Group - GIMME SOME LOVIN’
26/10/2011 , 9:26 PM by Leonie Harris
http://blogs.abc.net.au/wa/2011/10/drives-musical-man-of-mystery-david-weber-on-the-spencer-davis-group-gimme-some-lovin.html
The Spencer Davis Group hailed from Birmingham and was formed in 1963 when guitarist Davis came together with brothers Steve and Muff Winwood, the former on vocals and keyboards and the latter on bass. Steve was only 14; they’d already played in the Muff-Woody Jazz Band. Pete York would join on drums.
Muff later claimed that the group was named for Spencer because he was the only one who liked doing interviews. They signed a contract in 1964 after Chris Blackwell of Island saw them perform—he became their producer. In 1965, they had their first Number One single with ‘Keep On Running’.
‘Running’ was followed by ‘Somebody Help Me’, ‘Gimme Some Lovin’’ and ‘I’m A Man’. The first two were written by Jackie Edwards, a reggae star. All became classic singles—‘Gimme Some Lovin’’ was produced by Jimmy Miller, who would record some of The Rolling Stones’ best LPs. In an Uncut interview in 2011, Spencer Davis said “When The Rolling Stones heard our stuff, they jumped on him”.
Steve Winwood’s strong soul voice atop his Hammond organ amid beat-heavy arrangements was a singular sound. The Group did three albums in their original incarnation, each of which pretty much fell into the ‘hits and filler’ category.
Somehow the group ended up in a musical comedy film, The Ghost Goes Bear, which Steve Winwood later said was a mistake.
Then in April, 1967, both Winwoods left the group, Steve to form the brilliant Traffic, and Muff to a very successful career as a record company executive. The Spencer Davis Group had contracts to play gigs in The United States so the guitarist was pretty unhappy with the break-up. Peter York said he was shocked, and was made to feel as though he wasn’t good enough to play with Steve.
Spencer Davis had no more hits and the Group’s history from here on is only interesting for the people who were in it (don’t read ahead if you’re not).
Davis recruited guitarist Phil Sawyer and keyboardist/vocalist Eddie Hardin. This lineup recorded (along with Traffic) music for a movie called Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush.
They then did some mildly memorable singles, and the album With Their New Face On, which featured some psychedelia. Ray Fenwick replaced Sawyer and then the band had to stop due to legal hassles over a single they’d recorded that a German band had also covered—but which was originally done by a Dutch band featuring Fenwick (still with me?).
Pete York and Eddie Hardin formed the duo Hardin & York, and were replaced by Dee Murray on bass and David Hynes on drums. Nigel Olsson then replaced Hynes for the album Funky, which only got released in The United States in 1969. Then the group split up.
In 1973, The Spencer Davis Group came together for two more albums, featuring some of the previous members, and Charlie McCracken on bass (Olsson and Murray had gone on to work for Elton John). They recorded two poorly-received albums and split up again. Spencer Davis did some jazz stuff, and reformed The Group in the 2000s, with Hardin the sole member from the Sixties. At time of writing, there’s a version of the band in The United States and one in the European market.
In the 2011 interview referred to earlier, Spencer Davis said the groove that the Group had in the Sixties was unique. He also said “I’d like to try to capture it again. Though everybody would have to put their stupid, petty squabbles aside”.
Bernie Taupin
http://www.backpagemagazine.com/2011/10/17/the-visual-art-of-8-more-famous-musicians/
The man known for his symbolic lyrics and his contribution to some of rock’s greatest songs is also a master in the visual arts. Through painting, Bernie Taupin has expanded his artistic horizons. Where timing and cadence once served him, now texture and his brush bring vision to new expressions on canvas.
Bernie Taupin is represented by several galleries and his art is currently touring the U.S.
Hana Hou for Elton John in Hawai`i
October 25th, 2011 · http://mauinow.com/2011/10/25/hana-hou-for-elton-john-in-hawaii/
Elton John. Courtesy photo.
Elton John and his band played in Hawai`i earlier this year to sold-out crowds, that included back to back concerts on Maui on February 24 and 25, 2011.
This time around, there is only one date set, and that’s in Honolulu on the first Friday in January.
“The Blaisdell Arena is ecstatic to have Elton John return to the stage in Honolulu,” said John C. Fuhrman, Events and Services Manager of Blaisdell Arena. “January 6th will be quite a treat for our audience,” he said.
The concert will feature number one chart hits and classic album tracks Elton’s career, that spans five decades, with songs such as: Your Song, Daniel, Rocket Man, Bennie and the Jets and more.
Elton John will be joined by band members Davey Johnstone on guitar, Bob Birch on bass, John Mahon on percussion, Nigel Olsson on drums, and Kim Bullard on keyboards.
Elton John is one of the top-selling solo artists of all time, holding the record for the biggest selling single of all time, Candle in the Wind ’97, which sold 37 million copies.
Tickets for the Jan. 6 concert go on sale to the general public on Saturday, October 29th at 9 a.m.
Tickets are $39, $79 and $139 and will be available online at Ticketmaster.com, at the Blaisdell Center Box Office, or charge by phone at (800) 745-3000.
The concert is a Tom Moffatt Production.
***A service charge is added to each ticket, and there is an eight ticket limit per customer.
Courtesy image.
VINIL DE COLECIONADOR . ELTON JOHN ótimo estado
http://www.bomnegocio.com/sao_paulo/grande_sao_paulo/vinil_de_colecionador___elton_john__timo_estado_8507218.htm
- Preço: R$ 10
- Código: 8507218
- Tipo: Oferta - Vendo
- CEP: 21250-510
- Município: Rio De Janeiro
- Bairro: Cordovil
- Zona: Zona Norte
Gulliver’s Gone
http://cheesemetal.com/?p=6387We’re still in Dogville on WMMCM, and I fear Tank will not approve of this one, either:
Puppy dog-eyed e-mail link
This obscurity is very early Elton John, from 1969′s Empty Sky, which wasn’t even released in the U.S. until 1975, after Goodbye Yellow Brick Road had elevated Elton to pop deity status. Skyline Pigeon was the only really decent track, pretentious harpsichord and all, and Bernie Taupin’s lyrics throughout the album show every evidence of having been written by an 18-year-old, as indeed they were. But “Gulliver” and “Skyline Pigeon” would have likely been the tracks that made the label people see the potential in this 22-year-old singer and his teenage lyricist. (“Skyline Pigeon” was released as a single in the UK by another artist, Roger Cook, but went nowhere.)
The video above is seven-plus minutes, but I’m talking only about the “Gulliver” portion of the track, which takes up a little over three minutes. It’s followed on the same track by a ridiculous instrumental, called “It’s Hay Chewed” (get it?), and a “reprise” that’s nothing more than brief clips of the album’s other tracks. The only reason for all that was really that it was 1969, and “Sure, why not?” was the answer to many, or perhaps most, questions.
Empty Sky was the only Elton John album from his prime period not produced by Gus Dudgeon, and it makes Dudgeon’s contributions on later records all the more clear. Dudgeon never tried to tone down John and Taupin’s eagerness for musical exploration, including a love of American country music that influenced their work right through Yellow Brick Road and a taste for subject matter that could range from cryptic and pretentious to sometimes just weird. But he did make all the eager experimentation hang together — the records he produced, for all the varied styles, are always coherent. The arrangements, production, and particularly Elton’s vocals, the whole way of attacking a song, are thoughtful and consistent, even when the songs themselves are wildly different. On the earliest albums, Paul Buckmaster’s string arrangements are also frequently a unifying factor.
But there is a fuzzy-mindedness about Empty Sky, with roving lead guitars and Hammonds and silly harpsichords popping up everywhere they don’t belong. Dudgeon would never have permitted such randomness.
The vocals throughout Empty Sky tend to be either overwrought or underplayed — on the peculiar (and peculiarly spelled) “Val-Hala,” which is, of course, about Vikings, Elton sings of blood and glory apparently while sleepwalking. (The song also mentions the Sirens, who were not a problem for Vikings; the predatory singing ladies’ habitat was considerably further south.)
“Gulliver” is closer to Elton’s familiar vocal style than much of the album, sung in the lower range he often used on earlier records, and in which I think he had more power than in the higher tenor range he favored more as time went on. The lyrics are, and we finally get to the point here, about the death of a working dog who has sadly outlived his usefulness.
Gulliver’s gone to the final command of his master
His watery eyes have washed all the hills with his laughter
And the seasons can change all the light from the gray to the dim
But the light in his eyes will see no more so bright
As the sheep that he locked in the pen
It’s very earnest, but not terribly well thought out — the last two lines are a syntactic mess, and dogs hardly ever make use of locks. But the chorus that follows, while not graceful, has a certain power to it.
There’s four feet of ground
In front of the barn
That’s sun-baked and rain-soaked
And part of the farm
Now it lies empty,
So cold and so bare
Gulliver’s gone, but his memory lies there
That could be the spot where Gulliver is buried, or perhaps where he was often found in his working life, sleeping there each night and guarding the sheep.
The second and final verse describes Gulliver’s sad end, as he has grown too old to “bare teeth to a stranger” and thus can no longer do his guarding job. (Some people hear this song as a sort of pop “Old Yeller” in which Gulliver is put down after going mad, but there is nothing in the lyrics to support that.) So men come out from the town, and: “They said, ‘Clear the child’/This won’t take a while/And Gulliver’s gone with the dawn.” (Would it really take a brigade of townspeople to put down and bury an elderly farm dog? Perhaps.)
“Gulliver” is an oddity, as is really the whole Empty Sky record, but those were days when not much was expected from a baby act, saleswise. Labels could (quite literally) afford to spend the time and resources on an artist with potential who just wasn’t there yet, as Elton and Bernie clearly were not. But “Gulliver” seems to be heartfelt at least.
Elton John's Genting concert costs more than $1.3 million
Confirming the news, an industry source, who spoke to The Daily Chilli on condition of anonymity said: "He is very expensive. And can be difficult to take care of."
Among the pop legend's pet peeves are flowers.
Get this: Elton hates chrysanthemums, lilies, carnations and daisies.
And during his brief stay at a luxurious hotel for his concert, Elton asked for 74 towels to be prepared just for him.
No flowers and sweaty towels aside, the piano man is still worth a date if you're a huge fan of his evergreen hits like Rocket Man, Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word, Candle in the Wind, Sad Songs (Say So Much) and Can You Feel the Love Tonight.
So make sure you mark November 22 in your calender of events as Elton descends on the Arena of Stars in Genting Highlands for a one-night concert.
Organised by Tune Live, tickets to Elton John & Band Greatest Hits Tour are priced at RM1,380 (S$561), RM1,180, RM880, RM780, RM480 and RM380 each. (Ticket price excludes RM3 ticketing fee).
Showtime begins at 8pm.
Elton John Chose London Designer To Create His New Shades
http://cocoperez.com/2011-10-24-elton-john-chose-london-designer-to-create-his-new-shades?from=PHheadlineFiled Under: Elton John Sin City Sunglasses
London designer Anna Laub can now add Elton John to her list of celebrity clientele.
Elton chose the designer to create his new shades for his Las Vegas show The Million Dollar Piano.
Elton had previously purchased some of her frames before asking Laub to create a custom collection for his show.
Reveals Laub:
“Richard James was making [John’s] suits and his long-time friend Jo Levin is his stylist, so I worked with them and came up with some ideas to coordinate with what they were thinking. I think we managed to strike a good balance of Elton meets Prism.”The designs are edgy and loud, featuring angular frames and lots of studded crystals ad bright colors.
As a special treat, a number of frames similar to Elton’s will also go on sale as part of Laub’s limited edition collection later this year.
Ben Babylon Releases Contradiction With Elton John Band
As the son of late Grammy-winning keyboard player Guy Babylon, Ben Babylon grew up in the shadow of the Elton John Band, studying and learning from some of the world's greatest rock artists, while developing his own unique style. Now, the 14-year-old singer/songwriter has released "Contradiction," the first single from his upcoming album of original songs, "Dreams for Sale," recorded with the help of legendary EJ musicians Davey Johnstone, Nigel Olsson, Bob Birch and Martin Tillman."It's so cool having them on my record," said Babylon, an accomplished pianist and keyboardist. "I'm surprised at how great it came out. When I started working on it, it was just piano, but I love how everyone else added their parts, and it became a powerful rock song. Martin's electric cello really adds an ethereal quality that I wasn't expecting."
"Contradiction" is more complex than what might be expected from most adolescent songwriters. With Johnstone's hard-driving, electric guitar riffs, it is a classic rock-style tune about, as the titled suggests, conflict: "Heaven and Hell sit side by side," sings Babylon. "Good and bad can't make up their minds, right and wrong can't understand, that peace and war battle again."
"Everyone will have their own interpretation, but for me, it's about how so many things in life don't seem to make sense," Babylon said. "When you fight a war, you're doing it because you want peace, but what you are really doing is the complete opposite."
Babylon began studying music at age 4, and spent countless hours watching his father work, and many more hours jamming with him, in their private recording studio in Southern California. When Guy Babylon, who was Elton John's keyboardist and arranger, passed away unexpectedly in 2009, Ben channeled his grief into "Goodbye Superman," an epic, heartfelt song he composed in just three days, in his dad's memory. Early versions, which were recorded when Ben was 11 and 12, can found on the Internet. Now that his voice has matured, he plans to include a new recording of "Goodbye Superman" on his album, which will be released early in 2012.
Members of the Elton John Band have previously collaborated with other artists on independent projects, but Babylon is the youngest. For Johnstone, it is a way of paying tribute to the memory of his late friend and band mate.
"I have seen the talent of Ben Babylon emerge from a 4-year-old kid sitting on the couch in his dad's studio, watching how Guy and his musician friends would put a song together, to a teenager who seems to be taking on the world with his multi-faceted playing," Johnstone said.
"Ben is a true vision of his dad," added drummer Nigel Olsson. "He has a long way to go to fill the shoes of a true genius, but he has the faith, joy and inspiration that will take him to new heights."
"Contradiction" features Ben Babylon on piano, clavinet with Castlebar and lead vocals, Davey Johnstone on lead guitar, Bob Birch on bass, Nigel Olsson on drums and Martin Tillman on electric cello. The single was produced by Jesse Johnstone and by Greg Penny, who produced Elton John's "Made in England" album in 1995.
"Contradiction" is available on Amazon, CD Baby and iTunes and through www.BenBabylonMusic.com.
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