Five musicians Elton John hates with a passion: “It’s fucking lip-synced”
Elton John has a plethora of songs that fans adore, but one of his most upbeat and humorous is 1974’s ‘The Bitch Is Back’. Fun fact about that song, Elton John is the titular “bitch”. One day, when he was in a bad mood, Bernie Taupin’s wife, Maxine, commented, “Uh-oh, the bitch is back.” Taupin thought the line had a ring to it and so decided to put it into a song.
While John has certainly settled down these days, for the decades that followed the release of this song, he certainly lived up to his “bitch” title, which is wonderfully reflected in the many musical feuds that he’s been involved in. From pop to rock, catty to heinous, John has never been afraid to bare his teeth when arguing with fellow musicians, and the result is some genuine hatred.
John’s sense of humour means that a lot of these arguments he has had throughout his career make for very entertaining reading, and it would be wrong of us to gatekeep some of his iconic quotes. While some of his feuds stem from his ideology surrounding artistry, others are as mundane as not liking how someone dresses. Regardless, they’re all quite funny.
A list covering five different musicians that Elton John hates with a passion might feel a tad harsh, but there’s some fun to be had in John’s brutal putdowns. There really is no limit to where some of these feuds will go.
Five musicians Elton John hates with a passion
Madonna
While John might be a lover at heart, as he tries to make amends with many of the people he has previously feuded with, it seems Madonna is a name he can’t help but scorn whenever a chance presents itself. It began when Madonna was nominated for ‘Best Live Act’ at the Q Awards, something which John took a particular problem with. Not one for holding his words, he said, “Anyone who lip-syncs in public on stage when you pay £75 to see them should be shot.”
John has criticised Madonna plenty of other times throughout his career, even calling her a “Fairground stripper” at one point in his career. He admitted on an appearance on The Graham Norton Show in 2016 that he was sorry for his harsh words, but then criticised the pop sensation once again a few years later while she was feuding with Lady Gaga. It seems that John and Madonna were simply not meant to get along.
Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart and Elton John have never been great at seeing eye-to-eye, as they have quite often traded catty comments in multiple interviews throughout their careers. Stewart has made jabs at John recently, as he criticised the singer’s farewell tour, saying it was a masterclass in money-grabbing as opposed to a genuine goodbye.
“I don’t think this is a big deal, it stinks of selling tickets,” said Stewart, “It’s dishonest. It’s not rock ‘n’ roll.” These certainly are harsh words, and John wasn’t too fond of them. He has admitted since that the two singers have a frosty relationship, and the two aren’t exactly on speaking terms at the moment.
Bob Dylan
John’s hatred for Bob Dylan doesn’t actually pertain to the singer as a person, but more to his fashion sense. While Dylan might be one of the greatest wordsmiths in the history of music, what he has in his lexicon, he lacks in his fashion sense. John pointed out the singer’s horrible dress sense at a party once, when he saw Dylan having a drink and thought he was a member of staff taking unwarranted time off.
“I loudly demanded to know what the gardener was doing helping himself to a drink,” said Elton John when recalling the incident. His assistant told John that it was Bob Dylan, to which he said he offered to take Dylan to his bedroom to get him in some decent clobber. “We can’t have you in those terrible clothes, darling,” John recalled saying, “Come upstairs and I’ll fit you out with some of mine at once.”
Janet Jackson
Just in case John’s comments about Madonna didn’t make it clear that he hates people who don’t sing their songs on tour, he doubled down with some harsh words about Janet Jackson to really hammer home his point. When discussing the popstars tour, he said how much it infuriated him that Jackson was receiving praise for her performances when she wasn’t actually singing anything.
“You know, fucking music magazines writing a review of Janet Jackson saying, ‘This is the greatest show – four and a half stars’,” said John, “It’s fucking lip-synced! Hello! That’s not a show!”
Keith Richards
Like John, Keith Richards has never been afraid to make his thoughts on his musical contemporaries known to the public. This resulted in him taking shots at Elton John, as Richards berated his flamboyancy and theatrical performance style. He particularly had an issue with his ‘Candle in the Wind’ tribute to Princess Diana.
John responded to these comments in the most brutal way he could, as he took issue with Richard’s musical talent and his appearance. “I’m glad I’ve given up drugs and alcohol,” he said. “It would be awful to be like Keith Richards. He’s pathetic, poor thing. It’s like a monkey with arthritis, trying to go onstage and look young.”
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