Elton John and Rod Stewarts bitter 60-year feud – from | Music News

For many years, music legends Elton John and Rod Stewart have been locked in a contentious feud, with their friendship of over 60 years marred by a collection of biting insults and public jabs.

The bitter rivalry between the 2 rock icons has escalated from lighthearted jokes to vicious verbal assaults, with neither facet keen to back down.

The feud, which started once they first burst onto the music scene within the Nineteen Sixties, has seen the pair exchange some stunning barbs through the years.

Rod has described Elton as a former “fierce enemy” within the industry, claiming their initial banter was innocent and “playful” however ultimately turned nasty.

In one notorious stunt, Elton had billboards that includes his own face erected throughout the road from Rod’s Blondes ‘ave More Fun Tour venue within the Seventies, with the cheeky slogan “But Brunettes make more money”.

Rod Stewart did not mince phrases when it got here to criticizing fellow musician Elton John’s retirement announcement, declaring he would not bow out of music with such pomp as a result of it is not “rock and roll”.

In his memoir, Elton clapped back: “I certainly didn’t feel like I needed a lecture on the feral spirit of rock and roll from someone who’d spent most of the last decade crooning his way through the Great American Songbook and Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.”

Elton made clear his displeasure, stating: “He was accusing me of being dishonest about one of the biggest decisions of my life.”

Following the release of Elton’s guide, Rod supplied what gave the impression to be a lukewarm apology. Admitting: “She (Elton) doesn’t like me at the moment. I was bang out of order. Correct, but bang out of order.”

Rod tried to justify his controversial TV feedback by blaming the show’s producers for giving him an excessive amount of to drink. He defined: “Four big shots of neat vodka and with me being a butch man, I knocked them all back.”

He expanded upon his ideas stating: “I said that 300 dates in three years sounded a bit money-grabbing to me. Look, I know where’s he’s coming from. He’s just got two kids very, very late in life but I’m planning my tours around my kids. I think he’ll miss it. I can’t wait for the next show.”

Lastly, Rod tried to make amends by offering Elton’s youngsters the chance to play on his non-public soccer pitch, an offer that Elton decidedly turned down.

In November 2020, Elton hinted at a potential reconciliation when he expressed hope to finish the feud together with his outdated pal in time for Christmas.

He vowed to ship Rod a card and give him a “big hug”, however later confessed: “In the end I just sent an email to his assistant. It said: ‘I wanted to be p****d at first, but we’ve known each other for so long it’s water under the bridge. Who cares? Good luck with your new album’.”

However, any hopes for a face-to-face dialog have been rapidly dashed when Rod retorted that he would now solely converse to Elton in interviews.

“I put something out there, and it will be in the evening papers, and he’ll say something in our morning papers. That is how we fight our battles,” he defined.

Elton revealed he tried to personally attain out to Rod to clean issues over, however acquired a message from Rod’s supervisor that he was on “constant vocal rest” between his reveals and unable to speak.

Elton mentioned: “That seemed fair enough, until I noticed his complete vocal rest didn’t preclude him going on more chat shows and radio programmes calling me ‘money grabbing’ and slagging off [my film] Rocketman…He was happy enough chatting away on Loose Women, he just didn’t want to speak to me.”

Elton additionally revealed the silent therapy from Rod, stating: “I haven’t heard from him since… It just seems really strange and sad, not least because it’s deprived me of the opportunity to point out how much better my tour’s selling.”

Amidst the pressure of their relationship, Rod hinted at a potential thaw during a US chat show look earlier than New Year 2021. He affectionately expressed, “Love you baby,” and humorously remarked, “Just good luck and I am so bl**** annoyed that you have a number one album.”

The Maggie May crooner opened up to the viewers, sharing, “I miss him. He just had a hip op so I do wish him well. We still love each other.”