|
John, who was a friend of Diana, sang the new
version of the hit song using revised words penned by lyricist
and frequent collaborator Bernie Taupin.
His performance at London's Westminster Abbey in 1997, after
Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris, was a standout moment
at a televised service watched by hundreds of millions of people
around the world.
The song, featuring the line "Goodbye England's rose" instead of
the original words "Goodbye Norma Jean", went on to become the
fastest-selling single in Britain.
"It's the first time I had a teleprompter, a teleprompter down
on my left hand side, because I thought if I sing 'Goodbye Norma
Jean' I'm gonna get hung, drawn and quartered," John told a
London audience late on Tuesday.
"So just for precaution, I had the teleprompter there."
The 72-year-old was speaking at the Royal Academy of Music,
where he once studied, at an event to mark the publication of
his autobiography "Me: Elton John".
He described the process by which he and Taupin worked together
on some of their greatest hits.
"He (Bernie) always gives me a lyric," John said. "I go into a
room, put the lyric on the piano, look at the title. And as I
start reading the song, a little movie comes in my head a bit
like writing a film score where you get the visual part.
"By the time I finish the song or the lyric, I kind of know what
tempo it might be or what genre it could be. And I just
literally put my hands on the piano and that's it. I hope for
the best. That is it."
(Writing by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
