Elton John - Interview with Johnny Carson during November 6th, 1980

what have I gonna do to make you love me what have I gonna do to make you care why do I do when lightning strikes me and I always to find that you're not there what do I do to make you want me what have I gotta do to be what I say when it's all over siren seems to be the hardest word so say it's not that situation and scattered for so say what can we told it all oh it seems to me sorry seems to be the hardest word you the situation one more so say what cam went over all it sends to me sorry seems to be the hardest world what do I do to make you help me what have I gotta do to be what I do as I can strikes me when sorry seems to be the hardest sir seems to be the ha Oh deal because even the applause meter shows they like you help ya have this new your stuff for years it fits nice to have you here finally thank you yes I've always wanted to see that bang you should coffee cup and somebody want a picture on it and it's just straight straight ball yeah I always give you mugs in there no well if you get older it's hard to get a firm grip on to head to put another handle on here in a couple of years so you're gonna really get a hold over there you uh you've been performing for about how long now I mean really oh you became rulers Elton John for about ten years right but before that in the dark ages um probably about six years before that yeah somebody told me you came when I find her I believe more other conservative background your parents uh yeah my father was a squadron leader in the Royal Air Force England and I came from working-class background that because of the rank that he attained it became a little very middle class right yeah I'm typical middle class English why do you so why do you suppose elder than in the in the past few years decade or so that so many English groups caught the imagination of the American kids um there's something about it a lot I think in England you see them when I grew up and I'm 33 and I can remember growing up the radio yeah which one very pleased as I did grow a radio because it's tremendous thing um I remember likes like a goober and we had one a like acre burning and revenge little Chris on the radio which I mean what a free ride yeah ssam strange again way to get away the harder Oh something I think a lot of the English acts to come over and lead singers and I like the lead singer from Queen Freddie Mercury me drag her people like that there are things have a sense of audible and they they're always far more ostentatious usually the American counterparts who tend to be far more laid-back um English people it's like English comedians they can't wait to do shows and put drag on I mean you know Benny Hill like I grew up I was about seven I've been bending outside about seven or eight years older all of a sudden he becomes cult video here yeah he puts me away it's got great delivery he plays great characters me that wonderful there's people caught way to get into drag Englishmen I'm saying I mean he was receive yourselves come to the forum I just expect that is true yeah they like to put on more as you say a vaudeville oriented show yeah when you listen to radio were your favorite musical personalities I mean oh in England I never leave Boswell she was South African counter-plan could win it for that well right I know right now in the American performances all no really because uh when I sort of took notice of American performers when television first came in and everybody would sit at home on Sunday afternoons and watching the Bharati show I mean I was like everyone used to come round or the Perry Como you gotta admit he's flamboyant yeah I once did the raw variety show in England which is a command performance for the Queen of England and you fly back there I was on tour American you fly back in you it's horrible you sort of have one hour rehearse and everyone's herded around like cattle it's expiry once but I had the chief dressing with a plating which is not very big there was Jack Jones myself and Liberace and I'd arrived and Jack Jones was there and I had three outfit especially made these are the days my war shoes that made me a high of John Wayne yeah this is now your now when you want more conservative huh periods because you've gone through a few transitions where you for you for you in severity oh you used to come on with some really why I still got them all at home and I just stopped stairs and look at them sometimes then how the hell did you ever I still I got a slice - where there's 18 shoes on I became chairman of a football club earning and I was some six foot six foot three when I'm joined by 95 anyway anyway mr. Perotti story yeah I had these three outfits may not know you're not gonna beat me this time I got these three flashy outfits he came in with trunk after truck after truck thought it was a one outfit yeah electric they actually outfit with a bald something and he was so sweet and so nice and uh III liked him a lot you know where she could reach the audience I can't so we get a little bit edgy but now he knows exactly what he's doing oh yeah yeah I there was a there's a documentary on PBS some we should go about your trade your trip to Russia which is rather fascinating did we little apprehensive about that because you're the first rock performance not not not really the first they've had people at BB King and I think in Nitty Gritty Dirt Band went over all right but yeah we were very apprehensive well last year I did a tour just a percussion player and I wanted to play places in Europe that I hadn't played before I hadn't really played Europe to that greatest time and we were there my parents were invited so it's very protocol I mean we were scared to death of flying Aeroflot couldn't get out of it and right on the way home when we took off my purse assistant and myself when the plane took off our seats weren't fastened to the floor and we went straight back right now only when you get off of air flood do you find out that they they don't have any emergency procedure they have no oxygen masks or no sooner they don't go through a procedure when you take off on a pilot friend of mine do works a British Airways said no they only the crew get oxygen Oh No well you get a prayer book or you know or something I've got a few friends I'm buying their flock together but you are you were tremendous success over there yes I think it's fairly become I was very disappointed in fact when they invaded Afghanistan because I was growing some of my best pop there now we came away with a sense of a little achievement in the fact that they wanted people to come over they wanted the Neil Diamond's and but groups like the WHO and the Beach Boys and people like that Paul McCartney and we were sort of like a test they flew over to England I was like a guinea pig and I would say I'm fairly safe I'm a sort of I'd compare myself to Roger a lot because I we're friends and if we ever live next door to each other in semi-detached house he would always have a terribly untidy garden and have his head rolled up in a scarf and having clothes on the line I would have my garden all prim and proper me so I called oh you know I'm sorry Jurgen syns and he's Safeways so I was pretty I was but he's safe you know um and they liked it you know I wasn't too outrageous least they said please don't kick the pianist to who I inventing the Jets and don't sing back in the USSR so I compromised I thought blur stupid nothing him back in the SSR cuz the Russian kids loved it right I didn't kick the pianist or you have to make a little compromise I got criticized a little because of political situations if you want to chip away at situations you have to realise that you're not that important when it comes to the particular political event you just have to chip away these things and I was really pleased when I came away because the Russian kids the same as kids anywhere please tell people to come and they're kind of closeted fans too because they don't want to come on and say they dig the Western knows it's not gay population didn't mean I would close it oh no they know they're not really you mentioned it you mentioned the food you know they had a terrible thing happened over here one of their concerts where the kids got out of control that either oversold the thing or they were delayed and everybody charged in and a lot of the promoters of concerts got very weary because they didn't know how to control that enthusiasm never be a little scared of some of those concerts when the fans are all lined up did something like that could happen yes I think you'd I've rigged carried away very conscientious by security is very tight ik that comes it's now there and about seven years in Baltimore I played there and it was really tight security and this young girl came forward just to take the photograph and this huge guard picked her up and threw it like 20 feet in there and that was it I stopped the shirt over we act right yeah so I said right security guards out or I'll you know tear down the building and five minutes later the security guards around we have five hundred people on stage with us I got banned from playing Baltimore's and up to this year because I was getting carried away with my no importance I I created a scene which is far more dangerous really the mayor being thrown in the air it's just that sometimes you can't help feeling that people who are given responsibilities like that I'm sure you do have to have discipline responsibilities but I wish they wouldn't enjoy it so much yeah you toured for almost two without let her promote about six years steady why could the access short went out at six three days yes yes it was like a it was when I first happened I came to the Troubadour Club in our Sounders and it was an absolute fluke I 1970 I came over I wasn't that keen I just came over on the off-chance and I had an album out and people expected me to come out and play very classical type music which was on the Elton John album at the time and the fact I came out with a two three-piece band we played rock and roll and I got one review from Robert hilburn and when I scientists times which broke me right across the country which is yeah I'm phenomenal he would do have some classical background something yes nice to go to the Royal Kalia music on Saturdays after going to school from money to Fridays which really was a real actually yeah because if I don't know you know I want to play soccer on Saturdays but I stole my the sort of kid that didn't do much work but just about meet the grades yeah and so I did that and in fact looking back on it now I wish I'd have started a little harder because at the time my heart was set on rock and roll and things like that and I learned to play music by side and man fact I don't practice anymore so I I can't really play music I play chord sheets looking pretty good for you know it's not like the good thing about getting a formal education as far as classical music goes is that it teaches you chord structures and it gives you a an everlasting love of melody better depth there yeah in performing you are I had a question a tip of my mind indeed it evaded me for a moment you've made a lot of money in your career if you enjoyed it and we've invested in I've even put in a shocker around yeah I have many investments but I Alice I have a soccer team in England are you full body from oh oh mana i I was associated one for the like since 1973 and I used to go and watch him as a boy then my local team Isis damage items and now I'm chairman and we're in the second division we were in the fourth unless I got the very tail pardon Express okay we're back in back in Russia we'll be right back

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Views: 68,823

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Keywords: Elton John Interview Johnny Carson show tonight November 6 1980 live on from during

Id: GjdbSe_oJPY

Length: 14min 12sec (852 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 03 2014