Elton John is still every bit of a “prima John-a” as he was in 1999, and we’re not mad at it.
The “Tiny Dancer” hitmaker, 78, apparently threw a fit backstage at Saturday night’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony, spies told Page Six.
The show was running a bit too behind for the “Rocket Man” crooner before he went on, and it sent him spiraling and hurling insults at organizers behind the scenes at the Peacock Theater, we’re told.
John was so incensed, he was yelling and asking things like, “What the hell is wrong with you people? Nobody knows what they’re doing!” a spy told Page Six.
Elton John had a mini-meltdown before he hit the stage at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony. Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
John paid tribute to Brian Wilson, who passed away in June. FilmMagic
Like so many travelers caught in intense airport delays caused by the government shutdown, John was apparently concerned about travel hiccups.
Though Sir Elton’s concerns were a wee bit different than most.
We’re told the 1994 Rock Hall inductee barked, “My plane is waiting!” as he was standing by to pay musical tribute to late Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson.
Wilson was a co-founder of the Beach Boys. Michael Ochs Archives
John’s mild tantrum was reminiscent of that infamous time he allegedly blew up at none other than Tina Turner during a rehearsal for VH1’s “Diva’s Live ’99.”
“I made a mistake when I needed to show him how to play ‘Proud Mary,’” Turner once explained in an interview with Mike Wallace for “60 Minutes” in 2000.
John once threw an alleged past fit rehearsing with Tina Turner at VH1’s “Diva’s Live ’99.”
“The mistake is you don’t show Elton John how to play his piano,” she further explained.
Turner further said of the alleged “Diva’s Live” incident, John “just exploded.”
“Oh lord… it was like the past slapping me back in my face, truly before all of those people, when all I simply was trying to do is get an arrangement from him, so then he stormed off and he just went into a rage,” she said. (John did eventually apologize for his behavior, Turner told Wallace).
John allegedly apologized for his meltdown with Turner, she once said.
John took the stage at Saturday’s Hall of Fame show without his famous piano, and — despite there being “some scrambling and discussions in the hallway” — “he went on stage, no problem,” another source told Page Six.
John said Wilson inspired him more than anyone when it came to writing songs and playing piano. Getty Images for RRHOF
John honored the musical genius Beach Boys co-founder, who passed away in June at age 82, with an emotional cover of “God Only Knows.”
He also described Wilson as his “idol.”
John paid tribute to Wilson performing a cover of “God Only Knows.” Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
“He was the one that influenced me more than anybody else when it came to writing songs on the piano. It was an evening we would never forget,” John told the crowd of his first meeting with Wilson.
Page Six has reached out to John’s rep for comment.
