Elton John spoke to ET about touring, his family, and his partnership with eBay to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
Elton John is celebrating Pride Month in a delightfully generous way: offering fans the opportunity to own an item of his legendary wardrobe via eBay to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation!
"This is the seventh out the closet we've done," Elton, 77, told ET's Rachel Smith about the sale. "This is our third one in America; we've done four in England and they've always been successful. I always think, 'You know what? Let's sell the clothes to people who would really like them and appreciate them.' And the money goes to the Elton John AIDS foundation, what could be better?"
"Rocket Man Resale" gives collectors and fans a once-in-a-lifetime chance to own a piece of fashion history with hundreds of items from Elton's closet, including bespoke Gucci jackets, Versace robes, customized Prada loafers, as well as affordable items such as historic concert T-shirts and baseball caps.
"I mean, what [else] can you do with this? You say let's get rid of it, let's make use of it and hopefully people will come and love what they see and they can go away with something. Most of this stuff hasn't been worn," Elton shared.
Elton's longtime love and husband, David Furnish, added that the pair is "really, really proud" of the work the foundation's been doing, which includes many events like the sale.
"One of the key things we have to continue to address with HIV AIDS is stigma, so proceeds from this sale -- specifically during Pride Month -- will go towards that initiative," David explained. "Which is great because we have to break down as many barriers as we can [for] people wanting to get tested and wanting to take medication for HIV AIDS."
Elton told ET that it wasn't particularly hard to part with any of his wardrobe knowing that it was for a good cause. "I would say that you pass things on in life and let someone else get the pleasure of them and we do that with lots of things in our life," he sagely shared. "They're just things and I love them and I love clothes, I always have, but it's nice to let someone else have the use out of them."
It's been almost a year since Elton wrapped up an incredible five-decade run of the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour last July with his final planned tour performance in Stockholm, Sweden, during which the musician told the crowd it’s been "52 years of pure joy."
When asked if he ever plans on getting back on the road, Elton firmly tells ET the answer is "no."
"We've got our sons, you know, they're getting into their teenage years now," David said of the pair's two sons, Zachary, 13, and Elijah, 11. "We don't want to miss anything. We want to be present for that. It's sort of a key decade, I think, in a child's life."
"He's been doing it for 60 years," David added. "So it's nice to have that time to spend at home with family."
"The last show in Stockholm on the farewell tour after Glastonbury, I got in the car and went: 'Yes! yes!' We went out on the biggest high, just the way I wanted to, and there's no going back [after] that," Elton said.
The Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour kicked off on Sept. 10, 2018, in North America and subsequently saw Elton play to over 6.25 million fans across the U.K., Europe, North America and Australia.
The "Tiny Dancer" singer bid America farewell last November, with his final U.S. performance at Dodger Stadium — the famed setting for his 1975 breakout stadium concerts.
Coldplay paid tribute to the British superstar, when Chris Martin and his band — who were simultaneously performing in Gothenburg, Sweden — appeared onscreen through a live video broadcast at Elton's show to honor the musical icon.
After performing a cover of "Rocket Man," Chris gave a speech about Elton’s incredible career.
"Elton, from all of us here, from all the bands and all the artists that you’ve loved and inspired and helped, we just love you so much," Chris said. "We are so grateful for everything you’ve done for us, everything you’ve done for the AIDS Foundation. Every time you’ve been kind to anybody."
He continued, "For everything you’ve done for LGBTQ. Everything you’ve done for fashion and eyewear. Everything you’ve done for sexiness, and love and dressing gowns. Everything you’ve done for music, everything Bernie has done for lyrics, everything your band has done over the thousands of shows you’ve done. We love you so much, happy retirement, and we’re going to miss you so much."
Before singing "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," his final song in Stockholm, Elton took a moment to reflect on his career.
"I’ve had the most wonderful career, beyond belief," he told the audience. "Fifty-two years of pure joy playing music. How lucky am I to play music? But you know, I wouldn’t be sitting here and talking to you if it wasn’t for you. You bought the singles, the CDs, the albums, the cassettes, but more importantly, you bought the tickets to the shows. You know how much I love to play live. It’s been my lifeblood to play for you guys. You’ve been absolutely magnificent."
Elton continued, "I will never be touring again, but I may do something in the future — a one-off thing — but that’s miles away. I want to appreciate my family, my sons, my husband, everything. I’ve earned it. And I don’t regret it tonight. I want to thank the band, the crew, everybody. I will miss you guys so much, but I’ll see you much sooner than you think. I love you guys!"
While he won't be returning to the road, the Emmy winner has a lot of projects coming down the road, including the West End's upcoming musical adaptation of The Devil Wears Prada starring Vanessa Williams as the iconic fictional Runway magazine editor-in-chief, Miranda Priestly.
Based on the 2003 novel by Lauren Weisberger and the 2006 film adaptation, The Devil Wears Prada musical will feature a score by Elton, lyrics by Shaina Taub, a book by Kate Wetherhead, and direction and choreography by Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell when the show begins performances at London's Dominion Theatre beginning in October 2024.
David will produce under the couple's Rocket Stage theater production company alongside Kevin McCollum who also produced the show's Chicago world premiere, with Alchemation and Jamie Wilson joining for the London bow. They present by special arrangement with Buena Vista Theatrical.
The couple is also working together on the biographic stage musical Tammy Faye, based on the life of Tammy Faye Messner.
The musical begins Broadway previews on Oct. 19 at the newly refurbished Palace Theater, with an opening night on Nov. 14. It features music by Elton, lyrics by Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears, a book by James Graham, music supervision, arrangements and additional music by Tom Deering, choreography by Lynne Page and direction by Rupert Goold.
Producing are Rocket Stage, Greene Light Stage, and James L. Nederlander.
"They're shows we've been working on for eight years, 10 years, 12 years," David told ET. "It takes a long time to build a musical, they're challenging to get right and to sculpt. You have to get the right team working with you and we're just so excited that both of them are sort of ready to launch."
With such a legendary career and even more on the horizon, it wouldn't be surprising if Elton is ready to take a step back. But the EGOT recipient says he's just excited to check off more items on his bucket list.
"Things seem to just arrive unexpectedly," Elton said when asked what he still wants to accomplish. "For example, in 1993 I got a phone call from Tim Rice about doing a thing called The Lion King, Disney's first-ever original animation film... I said, 'Are you kidding me, I'll do it!' That changed my life... It's the great, unexpected things that happen and the gift that keeps giving."
He added, "We've got a lot of things in planning stages and I still do my radio shows every week, I've done 400 shows for Apple and that way I can meet new artists like Chappell Roan and Stephen Sanchez. It's just wonderful because it keeps me in touch with new music and I can actually meet the artists."
And those opportunities to meet new artists could always lead to new music down the road. David told ET he would love to see his husband collaborate with Chappell, "who is just storming up the charts."
"Such a brilliant, authentic pop voice and a great lady who is so much fun," he said of the 26-year-old "Hot to Go!" singer. "I would love to see her and Elton collaborate."
Elton chimed in, saying that he would love to collaborate with "the girls."
"Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Gracie Abrams -- all the girls are cracking! They're killing it and it's so fantastic to see," he continued. "It's all the girls and it's about time and they're all doing great stuff."
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