Because Tina Turner and Elton John are actually two of the greatest music Legends of all time, it would have been wonderful if they had always been friends. After all, with their shared love for performing and everything each of them was forced to pull off, it certainly seems like they had a lot in common.
While John was often open about having too many celebrity friends, it turns out that Turner definitely wasn’t one of them. Instead, at one point Turner and John’s relationship was so strained that both spoke publicly about what led to their rift.
What did Elton John say about the feud with Tina Turner?
During the 60’s and 70’s, Elton John and Tina Turner gained international fame due to their immense musical talents. Unlike most musicians who rise to fame, the two artists overcame all odds to stay relevant for decades.
By the late ’90s, John and Turner were considered legends by most. More importantly, it was clear to everyone that many people who love Turner’s music love John’s songs and vice versa.
Given their shared fan base, it was a no brainer for Turner and John to work together, and as it turns out it almost happened. In 2019, John released a memoir titled “Me” in which he went on to attempt to work with Turner.
In John’s memoir, his first mention of plans to work with Turner in the late ’90s paints a picture of how things played out. “The idea of doing a joint tour with Tina Turner in 1997 was a great idea that quickly turned into a disaster.”
According to what John described, Turner called him while planning a tour they intended to go on. Instead of engaging in a friendly or professional conversation, John described Turner’s phone call as incredibly rude.
“When it was in the planning stage, he called me at home, apparently with the intention of telling me how terrible I was and how I had to change before we could work together. He didn’t like my hair, he I didn’t like the color of my piano and he didn’t like my clothes.”
John continued, “You wear too much Versace, and it makes you look fat – you have to wear Armani,” she declared. Armani said that Versace makes really vulgar clothes, and Gianni thought Armani was incredibly beige and boring. I hung up the phone and burst into tears: ‘She looks just like my f*****g mother,’ I yelled at David.”
As terrifying as John’s description of his phone call with Turner was, he claimed that things didn’t improve when the two veterans started working together in person.
“Incredibly, our working relationship deteriorated. In rehearsals, Tina wouldn’t address any of the musicians in my band by name – she just pointed and shouted ‘Hey, you!’ We started playing Proud Mary. It felt great. Tina stopped singing, sad. ‘It’s you,’ she shouted, pointing to Bob Birch, my bass player. ‘You’re doing it wrong.’ ‘”
John continued, “She assured her that he wasn’t and we resumed singing. Once again, Tina yelled at us to stop. This time, it was my drummer’s fault. It went on like this for a while.” This goes on, with each band member being accused of messing around, until Tina discovers the real source of the problem.
“This time, his finger was pointing in my direction.” John wrote, “‘It’s you! You’re not playing it right!'” From there, John described his poor working relationship with Turner.
“The subsequent debate about whether I knew how to play Proud Mary got pretty heated before I ended up telling Tina Turner to put my f*****g song on her. Take that to a conclusion and storm off. I’ve had a lot of tantrums in my time, but there are limits: There’s an unspoken rule that musicians don’t treat their fellow musicians like s***.
John further wrote, “I went into his dressing room and apologised. He told me the problem was that I was improvising too much – filling out a bit and running around on the piano. That’s how I’ve always performed – it is part of what I love about playing live.”
“But Tina didn’t think so. Everything had to be exactly the same every time; it was all rehearsed for the slightest movement. It became clear that the tour wasn’t working”.
What Tina Tuner Said About Her Feud With Elton John
In 1999, Tina Turner was interviewed for a special titled “Divas Live ’99”. During that interview, Turner’s past argument with John is brought up and she tells her version of events that led to the breakup of their planned tour.
According to Turner’s description of what happened, she mishandled how she talked John into playing the song “Proud Mary”. “I made a mistake when I needed to show her how to play ‘Proud Mary’.”
Turner then went on to describe how John reacted to his criticism. “You don’t tell me how to play my piano.” More specifically, Turner said that things spiraled out of control at that point, and he revealed what took him back.
“Oh my god, it just exploded. It was like the past slapping me back.” After making it clear that she only wanted to “get a new arrangement” from John. Turner claimed that John lost it only to later come to her and apologize.
“I was wrong, I was wrong, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Lastly, Turner accused John of not being “professional enough” and talked about his reaction to the whole situation. “She’s very sensitive. Very, very sensitive.”
Did Elton John and Tina Turner Make Up Before They Died?
Looking back on the fact that Elton John wrote about his argument with Tina Turner more than two decades later, the situation stuck with him. For her part, Turner clearly had strong feelings about what happened for at least two years afterward.
Given the quotes that have come out about this whole situation, it’s easy to conclude that John and Turner are most likely never getting back together. Luckily, how John’s feud with Madonna finally came to an end saw him make peace with Turner.
In John’s aforementioned memoir “Me”, he writes of how he may have been triggered by what happened, showing sympathy for Turner. “Perhaps it was insecurity on his part. He was treated horribly earlier in his career, years and years of being reprimanded, beaten and pushed around. Perhaps that affected how he treated people. behaves.”
More importantly, John revealed in his book that he and Turner patched things up, writing, “We made up afterward: She came over for dinner and left a big lipstick kiss in the visitors’ book.” ” Furthermore, when Turner passed away in May 2023, John was one of her teammates to pay tribute to her life.
“We have lost one of the word’s most exciting and electric artists. A great legend on record and on stage. She was untouchable. Condolences to Irwin and her family. Saddest news. @tinaturner #RIP”
