Bernie Taupin, known for his collaborations with music legend Elton John, has opened up about the beginnings of his creative partnership with the rocket man.

During a recent interview with Goldmine magazine for their Winter 2023 edition, Taupin recalled the start of his over five-decade songwriting career, during which he became known for his work as Elton John’s lyricist.

The songwriter told the publication that John is one of the first people he reaches out to for advice, calling him “the ultimate psychiatrist.”

“If you need to get something off your trust, he’s the first person you need to go to to get some easy answers,” Taupin said. “He is a complete constant. You can always rely on him.”

Taupin also stated that when he first moved to London in the 1960s, he depended on the support of John.

“So he was definitely a crutch to lean on, and he did it magnificently and took care of me and made sure that I wasn’t abused by the cynical mindset of others that might have viewed me as being a little wet around the ears and green when l actually really wasn’t. I was far more Intelligent than they give me credit for,” Taupin added.

Source: RTT Music News

KISS have revealed that their fans will have to wait more than three years to catch their digital avatar show.

KISS played their final show at Madison Square Garden in New York on Friday, December 1. At the end of the concert, after the actual band played its last song, fans were able to watch a one-song performance of “God Gave Rock and Roll to You” by digital KISS avatars.

“Today, A New Era Begins. #KISSARMY, the end is only the beginning!” the band wrote on social media. “KISS have been immortalized and reborn as avatars to rock forever.”

Last Friday, the legendary rockers shared a teaser clip through social media revealing when their digitized characters will next peform.

“50 years is a long time, and what the future holds is in the making,” KISS captioned the clip on X, formerly Twitter.

The 25-second teaser includes previously seen footage of KISS’ digital avatars and concludes with the message, “2027 A Show Is Coming.”

The KISS avatars were created by George Lucas’ visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic using motion-capture technology involving the band members themselves.

The forthcoming KISS avatar shows will be in partnership with Pophouse Entertainment Group, the Swedish company behind the recent virtual ABBA Voyage production in London.

Source: RTT Music News

Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour is currently working on new solo album.

Gilmour’s wife Polly Sampson shared photos on social media of her husband working on a “new album” at British Grove Studios.

In the pictures, Gilmour is seen with various artists such as Brian Eno’s brother, pianist Roger Eno and Guy Pratt – who has worked with both Pink Floyd and Gilmour on various occasions.

Other artists seen in the photos include drummer Adam Betts, who has worked with Pulp and dance acts including Pete Tong, Goldie and Squarepusher, and bassist Tom Herbert, who has played with Mercury Prize-nominated bands The Invisible and Polar Bear.

Producer Charlie Andrew, known for his work with the likes of Alt-J, Marika Hackman and Suvi, is also present in the pictures.

The project would mark Gilmour’s first album since 2015’s Rattle That Lock. In between, he has only released a stand-alone single, “Yes, I Have Ghosts,” in 2020.

Source: RTT Music News

The Doors’ John Densmore and photographer Henry Diltz recently celebrated the rebirth of Morrison Hotel after the historic rock and roll landmark building was saved from demolition.

The Morrison Hotel in Los Angeles, which became popular after the release of legendary Doors’ album of the same name, was acquired by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation for $11.9 million earlier this month. The building is set to be converted into 111 units of low-income housing.

Doors drummer Densmore and photographer Diltz, who shot the iconic album cover more than 50 years ago, joined Healthy Housing Foundation (HHF), a division of AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), on Tuesday, December 19, to celebrate AHF’s acquisition of the historic Morrison Hotel.

“Jim Morrison would be very pleased to know that the site of the cover of our fifth album, Morrison Hotel, is now going to be the site of affordable housing,” said Densmore. “The people who work in the city can’t afford to live in the city, so the Morrison Hotel is now going to be a solution to that problem. On behalf of Jim and me, we’re very pleased about that and proud.”

“After doing a couple hundred album covers in the past 50 some years, this is the one that everybody knows,” said Diltz, as he then told the story of how the cover shot came to be.

“It was almost accidental, this whole thing,” he continued, explaining how the young guy in the lobby wouldn’t let the band pose inside. But once outside, Diltz saw the elevator light go on through the window, realized the guy had left the desk, and told the band to run inside. “It took five minutes,” Diltz added. “One roll of film.”

The single-room occupancy hotel was built in 1914.

Source: RTT Music News

In a recent interview with Esquire, Julian Lennon discussed his relationship with his brother Sean and said rumors of an alleged feud between them are “such bull.”

The elder son of Beatles legend John Lennon said Sean was initially reluctant to attend the red carpet premiere of the Beatles’ 2021 documentary series Get Back.

“He felt overwhelming pressure. And I didn’t particularly want to go. But he said he felt obligated to go,” Julian told Esquire. “So, because I love him so much I said, ‘Listen, I’m coming with you. We’ll face the demons together.’

“And it’s funny because there’s always been, especially in the U.K. press, ‘Lennon Sons Feuding,’ this, that,” he added. “We’ve never had a fight in our life. It’s such bull.”

However, at one point during the interview, Julian acknowledged that things haven’t always been on such good terms with his family in the past, due to the overwhelming legacy of the Liverpool band.

“I posted lots of happy pictures of us [Sean and me] doing nothing but smiling, laughing and acting like idiots,” he said.

“This was important for me and for the peace and for family, because there has been friction, no question, in the past between everybody. But we’re all getting a bit older, and as we get older we lose people and we realize now what’s most precious in life.”

He also added that the sentiment relates to his relationship with surviving members of the Fab Four.

“The love for Sean, and the love for Yoko [Ono], and Stella [McCartney], and Paul, and Mary [McCartney], and Dhani [Harrison] and Zak [Starkey] — it’s a big old, weird family,” Lennon added. “But as they say, families are always a bit screwed up.”

Source: RTT Music News