Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Elton just wants a pharaoh chance
At this rate, his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour is going to carry on indefinitely, but Sir Elton John still has one last gig on his bucket list...
The singer wants to perform in front of the pyramids in Egypt but there’s a slight hitch as he has been banned from the country.
The 75-year-old rocker – who returned to the Dodger Stadium in LA, where he performed in 1975, for the final dates of his US tour this weekend – was banned from Egypt in 2010 for comments about the treatment of homosexuals in the Middle East.
“The only place I’ve ever been banned outright is Egypt, which is a shame,” he says, adding wistfully. “I’ve always wanted to play in front of the pyramids.”
Sir Elton is no stranger to controversial performances, after touring the Soviet Union in 1979.
“I wasn’t prepared for the reception we were going to get when we played Moscow but it was astonishing,” he recalls in his final tour guide.
“Fans storming the front of the stage, pushing past the Politburo officials in the best seats. I fell in love with Russia because of it, the country, the people.
“The authorities told me not to perform Back in the USSR, so, of course I sang Back in the USSR every night.
“If someone tells me not to do something I always do it. I’m not going to go to Russia in the Putin era and not mention human rights and what’s happening to the gay community there. I owe it to people to do that.”
His tour continues until July – and then he’ll no doubt perform in front of those pyramids...