Anniversaire Sir Elton John 24 mars 2007

Le 25 mars 2007, une soirée d'anniversaire fut célébrée en l'honneur de Sir Elton John.  La pop star anglaise fêtait ses 60 ans, de nombreuses personnalités furent présentes dont Madame et Monsieur Jon Bon Jovi.

 

Elton John's 60th Birthday Celebration

NEW YORK - MARCH 24: Recording artist Jon Bon Jovi (R) and his wife Dorothea Hurley attend Elton John's 60th Birthday Celebration at Gothic Cathedral of St John the Divine March 24, 2007 in New York City. (Photo by Ray Tamarra/Getty Images)

A night to remember for the birthday boy

Friends help Elton celebrate at Garden

By Doug Miller/eltonjohn.com 

NEW YORK -- It was an unforgettable occasion from the very beginning, as if Elton John's 60th birthday concert at Madison Square Garden would be anything less.

 Before the house lights even went off, there was Bill Clinton, introduced as the "last great American President" to an adoring crowd and extolling the virtues of the guest of honor and the man over 20,000 people packed the "World's Most Famous Arena" to see.

 "Thank you for coming tonight to help celebrate Elton John joining my favorite club - the 60-year-olds," said Clinton, who joined that club last August. "I love it every time he sings. He reminds me that we've still got a little juice."

 That might have been the understatement of 2007, even from a politician.

 Soon after Clinton's touching introduction, which included heartfelt thanks for all the great things the Elton John AIDS Foundation has accomplished, it was time to rock and rock and rock some more.

 Elton kicked off his longest concert in years with the appropriately titled "Sixty Years On" as a giant number 60 danced across the huge video screen behind the stage.

 Elton's longtime band, including guitarist Davey Johnstone, drummer Nigel Olsson, bassist Bob Birch, keyboardist Guy Babylon and percussionist and backup vocalist John Mahon, was immediately joined by the accomplished Swiss cellist Martin Tillman, who added the orchestral drama that often accompanied the exquisitely produced albums of Elton's early career.

 Right away it was clear that Elton was keen on celebrating his latest milestone by pulling out all the stops on his setlist. One hardly-ever-played-live song followed another early in the set, with perfectly realized renditions of "Madman Across the Water," "Where To Now St. Peter" and "Hercules" in succession stunning the crowd.

 After the Brooklyn Youth Chorus took their spots on a riser behind the stage, Elton and the band ripped through what Elton estimated was the first live version of the classic Tumbleweed Connection tune "Ballad of a Well-Known Gun" in about 30 years.

 "Take Me To The Pilot" was followed by another rarity, the gorgeous "High Flying Bird," which featured a video backdrop of a ribbon of piano keys stretching out and undulating like a roller coaster through the sky.

 The chorus stuck around for another deep-track classic, "Holiday Inn" and then lent its collective power to another Tumbleweed Connection chestnut, "Burn Down The Mission." Elton represented Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy with the rarely played "Better Off Dead" before a solid version of "Levon" that got the crowd going.

 Then came the most emotional moment of the evening for Elton, an admittedly difficult " Empty Garden ," the song he wrote after his friend John Lennon was shot to death mere miles from this arena while walking outside of his Upper West Side apartment in 1980. The video accompaniment treated Lennon's legacy lovingly before ending with a photo of Elton and Lennon during the recording of their No. 1 single, "Whatever Gets You Through The Night."

 Elton's favorite Garden memory was the Nov. 28, 1974, show in which Lennon honored a losing wager between the two and joined Elton on stage for several songs. But there have been plenty more memories of Elton in this building, which was recognized by the Garden in the next extra-special portion of the show.

First, Whoopi Goldberg walked onto the stage, and soon after, she was followed by her Comic Relief buddy, Robin Williams. The two bantered, with Williams taking over and saying that Elton is "a man who used to make Liberace look Amish."

 But the applause and laughter for Goldberg and Williams was dwarfed by the thunderous ovation for the man the two comedians brought on stage: Mr. Bernie Taupin, the Brown Dirt Cowboy himself.

 "It would normally take hell and horses to get me to get up on a stage," Taupin said. "Tonight, hell and horses couldn't get me off."

Taupin, who mentioned that he and Elton have been writing songs together for 40 years now, led the crowd in a rousing sing-along of "Happy Birthday" before the Garden raised a new "60" banner to the rafters honoring Elton as the single artist with the record number of appearances in the arena.

 Confetti poured all over the stage, and after Elton thanked Bernie and said "the words always came first," he sang a particularly brilliant selection of those words in the next song, "Daniel," before running through a rare version of "Honky Cat" with Johnstone on banjo, a drawn-out, jammy "Rocket Man" that had the crowd mesmerized by Elton's echoing vocals, and a rolling honky-tonk reading of "I Guess That's Why They Call it The Blues."

 After a band introduction, Elton played "The Bridge," from his latest album, The Captain and the Kid, and then went back to the gems of his past, unearthing a magnificent version of "Roy Rogers" from Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and following it up with his ode to New York, "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters."

 "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" kept the solemn mood going for a while, but that was quickly interrupted by the unmistakable opening piano note of "Bennie and the Jets," which got the Garden-goers back on their feet in a hurry.

 The rock continued with an astonishingly rare song, "All The Young Girls Love Alice," and "Tiny Dancer" brought down the house as usual before Elton dedicated the next song, "Something About The Way You Look Tonight," to his "other half," partner David Furnish.

 The youth chorus came back on stage for a ferocious set-closing run of some of Elton's most beloved radio hits: "Philadelphia Freedom," "Sad Songs," "Don't Let The Sun Go Down on Me," "I'm Still Standing," "The Bitch Is Back," "Crocodile Rock" and "Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)."

 After a brief break, Elton and the band broke into "Funeral For A Friend" and its counterpart, "Love Lies Bleeding." When that marathon of music ended, Elton serenaded New York with his customary evening-ender, "Your Song."

 Throughout the three hours and 23 minutes of pure performance, it was clear that 60 years on, Elton is not only still standing, but still going strong. Seamless performances from deep in his enormous vault were worthy of celebration and can only get Elton fans excited for what he might do in coming shows.

 In other words, Happy Birthday, Elton, and thanks for yet another great party.

Source: www.eltonjohn.com

 

Elton John's 60th Birthday Concert Celebration

NEW YORK - MARCH 25: Recording artist Jon Bon Jovi (R) and his wife Dorothea Hurley attend Elton John's 60th Birthday Concert Celebration at Madison Square Garden March 25, 2007 in New York City. (Photo by Ray Tamarra/Getty Images)

Source : www.7/7.com

Sir Elton John a fêté samedi son soixantième anniversaire dans une cathédrale à New-York, en compagnie d'amis célèbres tels, entre autres, Michael Stipe, Pierce Brosnan, Ozzy Osbourne et Bette Midler. Elton John et son conjoint, David Furnish, ont loué la cathédrale gothique "Saint John The Divine" pour une seconde fête d'anniversaire. Le chanteur avait en effet déjà fêté son soixantième anniversaire vendredi à Londres.

La liste des invités était impressionnante, avec, pour en citer quelques-uns: James Blunt, Emma Thompson, Donatella Versace, Rod Stewart, Billie Jean King, Sharon Osbourne, Jon Bon Jovi, Richard Gere, Liv Tyler et le couple de jeunes mariés Elizabeth Hurley et Arun Nayar. Selon un convive, tous les yeux étaient tournés vers Liz Hurley. "Sa robe ressemblait à une robe de mariage, mais pouvait à peine maintenir sa poitrine en place".

Elton John a quant à lui sidéré tout le monde en arborant un costume des plus sobres. Le chanteur britannique est connu pour son style vestimentaire qui, d'habitude, ne passe pas inaperçu. Pour la fête, 1000 bouteilles de champagne ont été commandées, ainsi que des fleurs exotiques pour une somme de 13 700 euros. Les Scissor Sisters, Sting et Sir Paul McCartney se sont produits durant la fête d'anniversaire. (belga)