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Elton John remains as much of a “prima John-a” today as he was back in 1999, and honestly, we can’t blame him for it.
The legendary “Tiny Dancer” singer, now 78, reportedly caused quite a stir backstage at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony on Saturday night, according to sources from Page Six.
The event was running behind schedule, which didn’t sit well with the “Rocket Man” musician. This led to a backstage meltdown where he vented his frustrations at the organizers at the Peacock Theater, insiders revealed.
An observer shared with Page Six that John was so upset he was shouting and questioning, “What the hell is wrong with you people? Nobody knows what they’re doing!”
Similar to many travelers who have been caught in airport chaos due to government shutdowns, John was evidently worried about potential travel disruptions.
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.
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.
“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 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 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.”
“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.