Elton John and Rod Stewart have been embroiled in one of the longest-running showbiz rivalries. (Image: Getty)
and have been embroiled in one of the longest-running rivalries in the entertainment world. Despite a friendship that spans six decades, these iconic rockers have engaged in a bitterly contentious rivalry, evolving from juvenile jokes to outright verbal attacks.
The feuding duo, renowned for their bitchy tit-for-tat, have made some astonishing jibes in what appears to be an endless spat after bursting onto the music scene in the 1960s. Rod has characterized Elton as a once “fierce enemy” within the industry, suggesting their initial banter was harmlessly “playful”, but the situation deteriorated significantly over time. During his Blondes ‘ave More Fun Tour in the 1970s, Rod was met with a cunning stunt by Elton who had adverts flaunting his own face installed across the road, teasing: “But Brunettes make more money”.
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Elton John and Rod Stewart burst onto the scene in the 1960s. (Image: Getty)
In a separate jibe, Elton took it up a notch by employing a sniper to obliterate blimps that Rod used for promoting his tunes. Rod said: “We had the worst row, like a married couple. It went on forever.”
In his 2019 tell-all memoir Me, Sir Elton dedicates a whole chapter to his row with Rod, revealing some scathing remarks about the fellow artist.
Elton narrates that their animosity escalated after Rod criticised him on television, branding Elton’s 300-date Farewell Yellow Brick Road retirement tour as “dishonest” and implying it was just a tactic to sell more tickets.
Rod went even further to claim he would never announce his retirement from music in such a flamboyant manner because it wasn’t “rock and roll”.
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Elton dedicated a whole chapter to Rod in his 2019 memoir. (Image: Getty)
Writing in his book, Elton lambasted: “I certainly didn’t feel like I needed a lecture on the feral spirit of rock and roll from someone who’d spent most of the last decade crooning his way through the Great American Songbook and Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.”
The Rocketman singer didn’t hold back, expressing his frustration by saying: “He was accusing me of being dishonest about one of the biggest decisions of my life.”
When Elton’s book hit the shelves, Rod decided to offer a half-hearted apology. He conceded: “She (Elton) doesn’t like me at the moment. I was bang out of order. Correct, but bang out of order.”
Attempting to explain his blunt TV moment, Rod cited the show producers for serving him an excessive amount of alcohol prior to his appearance. He said: “Four big shots of neat vodka and with me being a butch man, I knocked them all back.
“I said that 300 dates in three years sounded a bit money-grabbing to me. Look, I know where’s he’s coming from. He’s just got two kids very, very late in life but I’m planning my tours around my kids. I think he’ll miss it. I can’t wait for the next show.”
Elton and Rod’s rivalry dates back to the 1960s. (Image: Getty)
Rod extended an olive branch by inviting Elton’s young sons to play football on his personal pitch, a gesture the Benny and the Jets singer flatly declined.
In November 2020, Elton hinted at a possible reconciliation when he expressed hope to end the feud with his old friend in time for Christmas.
He vowed to send Rod a card and give him a “big hug”, but later confessed: “In the end I just sent an email to his assistant. It said: ‘I wanted to be p****d at first but we’ve known each other for so long it’s water under the bridge. Who cares? Good luck with your new album’.”
However, any hopes for a face-to-face conversation were quickly dashed when Rod retorted that he would now only speak to Elton in interviews.
“I put something out there and it will be in the evening papers and he’ll say something in our morning papers. That is how we fight our battles,” he explained.
Elton said it was ‘water under the bridge’. (Image: Getty)
Elton revealed he attempted to personally reach out to Rod to smooth things over, but received a message from Rod’s manager that he was on “constant vocal rest” between his shows and unable to talk.
said: “That seemed fair enough, until I noticed his complete vocal rest didn’t preclude him going on more chat shows and radio programmes calling me ‘money grabbing’ and slagging off [my film] Rocketman…He was happy enough chatting away on Loose Women, he just didn’t want to speak to me.”
Elton also revealed the silent treatment from Rod, stating: “I haven’t heard from him since… It just seems really strange and sad, not least because it’s deprived me of the opportunity to point out how much better my tour’s selling.”
Despite the tension, Rod showed a hint of reconciliation during a US chat show appearance before New Year 2021, where he affectionately said: “Love you baby,” and jokingly added: “Just good luck and I am so bl**** annoyed that you have a number one album.”
The Maggie May singer shared with viewers: “I miss him. He just had a hip op so I do wish him well. We still love each other.”