Sir Elton Speaks

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50 Michael Jackson Facts

1. Jackson's Billie Jean was the first video by a black artist to air on MTV.
2. Jackson owned the rights to the South Carolina State Anthem South Carolina on My Mind, recorded by Hank Martin and Buzz Arledge.
3. Jackson's waxwork features in five Madame Tussauds museums across the world. Only Elvis Presley and Madonna have more Tussaud figures - they have six each.
4. Jackson's total lifetime earnings from royalties, solo recordings and music videos, revenue from concerts and endorsements have been estimated at $500 million.
5. Jackson received a Presidential Humanitarian Award from Ronald Reagan in 1984 for his support of charities helping people overcome alcohol and drug abuse.
6. Michael Jackson was the seventh of nine children.
7. Jackson fought fellow 50 year old Madonna on MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch - he lost.
8. Three of Jackson's albums - Bad, Dangerous and Thriller - are among the bestsellers of all time.
9. Thriller remains the biggest-selling album since records began.
10. Jackson has sold more than 300 million records worldwide.
11. Jackson wore his trademark black armband to remind fans of the suffering of children around the world.
12. Jackson's favourite superhero was Morph from the X-Men.
13. Jackson picked up his iconic moonwalk moves, which he debuted at the Motown 25th Anniversary show in 1983, from streetdancers he spotted performing outside a hotel.
14. MC Hammer once challenged Jackson to a dance-off. He was told to Beat It. Jackson reportedly responded, "I've seen your videos and every single dance move you use, you got off of me."
15. Little Richard wanted Jackson to play him in a biopic.
16. Bubbles the chimp and Ben the rat are two of Jackson's most famous pets, but he also befriended a ram called Mr Tibbs, a python called Crusher and Louie the llama.
17. An obsessed French Jackson superfan committed suicide in 1984 after his mother refused to allow him to undergo surgery to look like the star.
18. In 1984, a U.S. library accused Jackson of owing it over $1 million in overdue book fines. Officials said they would scrap the fines if he returned the books autographed.
19. Jackson dedicated his 1997 Blood On The Dancefloor album to Sir Elton John.
20. Jackson was a vegetarian.
21. Jackson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Jackson 5 on May 6, 1997. He was inducted as a solo artist on March 19, 2001.
22. Jackson once dated Brooke Shields and Tatum O'Neal.
23. Jackson had several media nicknames. They include The Gloved One, Wacko Jacko, Jacko, The King of Pop, and MJ. Close friends call him Smelly!
24. Jackson's music video for Thriller was voted the greatest music video of all time in a recent Channel 4 (UK) poll.
25. Jackson won an MTV Movie Award for Best Movie Song in 1994 for his song Will You Be There from the movie Free Willy.
26. The Scream music video Jackson made with sister Janet is the most expensive promo ever made, costing more than $7 million.
27. Jackson's double album HIStory is the biggest selling double album ever released in the U.S.
28. Jackson's Blood on the Dance Floor is the biggest selling re-mix album of all time.
29. Jackson really was a King in West Africa - he was given a royal title by villagers in Gabon, Ivory Coast in 1992.
30. Jackson's pre-concert ritual included drinking Ricola candy dissolved in hot water. He claims the beverage helps to keep his throat and his singing voice clear.
31. Jackson owned the patent for a stage shoe device that allows performers to lean forward and appear to defy gravity.
32. Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana in 1958. The town is planning a tribute museum to the pop superstar.
33. Movie star Macauley Culkin is godfather to Jackson's two eldest children, Paris and Prince Michael.
34. Oliver! star Mark Lester is also godfather to Jackson's kids, and the pop superstar was godfather to the former child star's children.
35. Macauley Culkin helped Jackson design the amusement park at his former Neverland Valley Ranch home in California.
36. Lisa Marie Presley's former brother-in-law and his wife were the witnesses at her Dominican Republic wedding to Jackson in 1994.
37. Jackson shares the record for the most Grammy Awards won in one year with Carlos Santana and Norah Jones - they each won eight.
38. Jackson co-wrote charity anthem We Are The World with Lionel Richie.
39. Jackson was godfather to Nicole Richie and Bee Gees star Barry Gibb's son Michael.
40. Jackson and brother Tito were best men at Liza Minnelli and David Gest's wedding.
41. Jackson's performance during the 1993 SuperBowl half-time show drew the largest TV audience in American history.
42. The directors of Jackson's videos have included Martin Scorsese, John Singleton and John Landis.
43. In 1999 Jackson paid $1.5 million for the 1939 Best Picture Oscar, which was presented to producer David O. Selznick for Gone With The Wind.
44. Jackson appeared on a postage stamp in the Virgin Islands in the mid-1980s after locals voted him the superstar they'd most like to honor.
45. An extensive 1997 survey declared Jackson was the Most Famous Person in the World.
46. Jackson helped plan neighbor Gregory Peck's funeral.
47. Jackson once described close friend Elizabeth Taylor as "a warm cuddly blanket that I love to snuggle up to and cover myself with".
48. Jackson provided a voiceover on The Simpsons - but it remained a secret for 12 years. He voiced a character in a mental institution in the Stark Raving Dad episode, which aired in 1991, but, because of a contractual problem, Jackson had to be credited as John Jay Smith. His contribution to the classic cartoon series remained a rumor among fans until The Simpsons creator Matt Groening.confirmed it really was Jackson when the episode was released on DVD in 2003.
49. Jackson shares the same birthday as U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain. Other celebrities who share Jackson's birthday include moviemakers Sir Richard Attenborough and William Friedkin, and actresses Rebecca DeMornay and Carla Gugino.
50. Jackson's comeback plans were scuppered by an online poll a year ago - before he announced plans to take over the 02 Arena in London for 50 shows - 71 per cent of 59,000 people voting on website PopEater.com answered `Not a chance' to the question 'Can the King of Pop make a comeback?'

Another Night at SEE...

The Mirror says that Elton John's man, David Furnish, invited Hilton and Doug Reinhardt to a party on a friend's yacht in Cannes the other night. Almost immediately after they got on the boat, Paris and Doug started attempting to breed in plain sight.
One source who lived to tell the tale said, "As soon as Paris arrived she had her tongue down Doug's throat. Everyone kept saying how inappropriate they were being but Paris didn't care who was looking. They got so worked up she dragged Doug below deck so they could have some private time. But as they were closing the cubicle door so they could tear into each other, they were caught out. David spotted them and the captain was furious. He kicked them off for unsociable behavior. Everyone congratulated the captain."

Somewhere Over the Rainbow...

NOAH’S GAY WEDDING CRUISE

Paul Richmond has created an alternate version of the Noah’s Ark story, complete with some drowning sinners (including Ann Coulter, Larry Craig, Sally Kern, Fred Phelps, and even Pat Boone!), and a grand ark/cruise ship filled with happy gay and lesbian animal couples and a few famous human guests too (such as Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, Elton John and David Furnish, and Rosie O’Donell and Kelli Carpenter).
info & availability HERE

World AIDS Day 20th Anniversary

Home Grown

The Jackson Five in Encino, CA

Photos from the archives of LIFE magazine, giving readers a peek inside the homes of the parents/grandparents of some of the most influential musical artists from the 1970's, including the likes of Frank Zappa , Grace Slick, The Jackson Five [above], Elton John, Eric Clapton and many more...
see HERE

Elvis Costello Hosts Talk Show

Elvis Costello: Former new wave icon. Tin Pan Alley crooner. Occasional bit-part actor. Husband of a sexy jazz-pop chanteuse. And now... chat show host! Spectacle: Elvis Costello With... premieres on The Sundance Channel on Wednesday, December 3 at 9 p.m. Produced by Sir Elton John and his partner David Furnish, the 13-part series is basically a combination of Inside the Actors Studio and VH1 Storytellers, with interview segments and live performances. Guests include Sir Elton himself, Lou Reed, The Police, She and Him, and Bill Clinton, hopefully leaving his sax at home.

Andy Roddick Offers Nude Tennis Lesson

At Elton John's recent Advanta World Team Tennis Smash Hits AIDS benefit, Andy Roddick put a very special tennis lesson up for auction.
Several stars and tennis legends were there, including Andy Roddick (above), who went well beyond the call of duty to help raise money.
He originally was going to auction a private, hour-long tennis lesson to the highest bidder. Then, to sweeten the deal, he offered to take off his shirt for the 'one-on-one instruction.'
Finally, the recently engaged Roddick offered to give the lesson -- fully nude!
Winning bid: $15,000 from a female fan.
more HERE

...engaged or not, that female fan deserves a penetrating happy ending...Andy, it's up to you...don't let your fans down.

EJ Gets a BJ...Flavor...

MONTPELIER, Vermont - Ben & Jerry's wanted to salute Sir Elton John for finally playing the state of Vermont (he's apparently played in all 49 other states) so they have created an ice cream flavor based off one of his greatest classics:
"The limited-batch ice cream, made from 'an outrageous symphony of decadent chocolate ice cream, peanut butter cookie dough, butter-brickle and white chocolate chunks,' is a take-off on his 1970s album and song 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.' It will be available from July 18 to July 25, 2008 in the company's Vermont scoop shops, with proceeds going to the Elton John AIDS Foundation, officials said Tuesday."
He'll play Vermont on July 21, 2008. ticket info HERE
more HERE

Hits, Glitz and Tremendous Tits

Bette Midler's The Showgirl Must Go On, a 90-min. workout session officially opened in Las Vegas and will play five times a week, 20 weeks a year.
The other two headliners who will sport on the Coliseum stage when Bette's resting will be Elton John and Cher. "Me, Elton and Cher," Bette says of Caesar's year-round headliners, as a 1975 photo of the three flashes on the rear screen. "Does it get any gayer?"
Midler has come a long way since she was the gay guys' pin-up girl at the Continental Baths in Manhattan. She's 62 now, and her fans have matured with her. "Thirty years ago my audiences were on drugs," she confides. "Now they're on medication."
Time article HERE

Sharon Stone wears Rats Paw Pin

Sharon Stone really can't go to a public event without wearing some dead animal on her. Here she is at Elton John's Oscar party wearing the severed paw of a rat on her lapel. When asked about it she said, “It’s for luck.”

Caesars Palace Entertainment 2008

Laws that don't belong...

Elton John's man friend, David Furnish, is supporting a new bill in the UK that wants to make homophobic jokes illegal. If the bill is passed and you are found guilty of promoting hatred against homosexuals you could face 7-years in jail.

Furnish said, "I think any sort of hatred is unacceptable so yes, I support it. That said, I think this country is unbelievably tolerant and I feel privileged to live here and to be married to a Brit - as well as thankful that I can be married to a Brit."

Gee, why stop there, why not ban ALL jokes that offend ANY group?...(MORON!)

Ok, that being said: It's time for a little HOMO humor,

What's the difference between a gay man and a freezer?

Freezers don't fart when you pull the meat out...

The moral of this story: free speech is the bedrock of any Democracy and helps reign in people like David Furnish...