Let’s look at a few artists who had “beef” with Elton John.(Americansongwriter)
This is probably the most public and well-known beef involving Elton John. The Rolling Stones had once invited the pianist on stage back in the 1970s, only for John to allegedly vamp in the background for most of their set. This apparently annoyed Keith Richards and the resulting feud has lasted almost a lifetime.
Richards talked smack about John’s real name in the 1980s. He also talked smack about his version of “Candle In The Wind” in 1997, and also talked smack about his performance at Princess Diana’s funeral. That’s a certified hater in my book.
This “beef” has historically been more of a healthy rivalry, according to Elton John himself.
“We were rivals in the sense that we were both happening at the same time,” John told Graham Norton in an interview. “He a little bit before me.”
Boy George on Elton John “All that money, and he’s still got hair like a fucking dinner lady.”
Elton John on Keith Richards “It’s like a monkey with arthritis, trying to go onstage and look young.”
However, Rod Stewart did say some things that caused a temporary rift between the two musicians. Back in 2018, Stewart told Andy Cohen that he had some negative thoughts about John’s retirement from touring. He noted that he believed it was “dishonest” and “strictly a money grab”. The resulting feud lasted a few years before they made up, but the two have remained distant ever since.
The music icons first met during the early days of their career back when Elton was still playing in the band Bluesology who grabbed the ears of the nation during the swinging 60s.
But it’s fair to say their friendship didn’t get off to the best start after Rod went on to cover Elton’s song Country Comfort and allegedly “changed the lyrics completely”.
Understandably, Elton didn’t take kindly to Rod’s changes, with the star later recalling: “He changed the lyrics, something I complained about at length in the press. He sounds like he made it up as he went along!
Once Rod Stewart came up with the idea of forming a group called Nose, Teeth & Hair."
A close friend of the late Freddie Mercury has revealed how the Queen icon once considered forming a supergroup with the likes of Rod Stewart and Elton John
3. David Bowie
This beef was more of a falling out than anything. Back in the two artists’ heyday, they were friendly with each other, though not exactly friends. They were simply becoming famous around the same time in the early 1970s.
"We started out being really good friends" Elton once explained, saying: "We used to hang out together with Marc Bolan, going to gay clubs."
It sounds like they were a great match for a long-term friendship. But it wouldn't last long, as Elton added that he and Bowie eventually "just drifted apart".
There was suspicions that David thought Elton was trying to imitate him - people believed 'Rocket Man' to be influenced by David's debut single 'Space Oddity', although that wasn't actually the case according to the song's co-writer Bernie Taupin.
Elton has never been a character to suffer any fools however, later saying: "I thought it was a bit snooty. He wasn’t my cup of tea. No; I wasn’t his cup of tea."
Unfortunately, that friendliness went south after Bowie called Elton John a “rock and roll queen.” The comment was allegedly meant to be rude. It was also a bit strange considering Bowie’s own penchant for androgyny. John considered the comment to be “snooty” and that he “wasn’t his cup of tea.” John didn’t hold onto the feud too tightly, though. After Bowie passed away, John went on to say only kind things about him.
