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, where he performed in 1975, for the final dates of his last- ever 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...
Lesley Manville
Likewise, Lesley Manville is grateful she never risked her role as Princess Margaret in The Crown by going under the knife.
Princess Margaret, she explains, had a face “untouched by needles and surgery”.
“How can I be one of those women if I’m looking like something else?” asks the 66-year-old. “I need my forehead to move.”
Speaking at the Bazaar At Work Summit yesterday, she added she had no desire to “change” her look, saying: “This face is a result of all my years of being here.”
Plus, as she notes of the late royal: “I also love the fact that she wanted a whisky at 11am.” Which is not conducive to a smooth and pristine face.
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Marcia Warren
Playing royalty is no joke.
As actress Marcia Warren discovered, after she initially laughed at the suggestion she could play The Queen Mother in The Crown.
“I thought it was a joke and burst out laughing,” she admits. “Plus, I’d never seen it because I don’t have Netflix.”
Presumably she rectified that before taking on the role for the fifth series - where, she laments, despite only being 79, the makeup department didn’t have to age her at all.
“On screen, I actually look older than The Queen Mother ever did,” she sighs to Saga magazine. (MUST) “It’s just that I have more wrinkles than she had. She had amazing skin, a plump face and looked incredible even at 100.
“The only similarities between me and The Queen Mother are bad teeth and arthritic hips.”
That’s just method acting.
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