Part 1 – Back in the USSA - by Scott Johnson.

It goes without saying that a man like Elton John has tens of thousands of fans across the world. Walk through the arena at any one of his lives shows, and Elton fanatics are ten-a-penny. Waving flags or draped in feather boas with enormous glasses affixed to the bridges of their noses, they are also some of the most expressive ad joyful fans anywhere. But then, there are fans and then there are “fans”.

There is a section of Elton John’s fanbase which is notoriously enthusiastic. They are the collectors, the ultra-enthusiasts, the uber-fans. Their love for Elton and his music goes beyond the casually enthusiastic and, to them, is more like a "way of life". They are die-hard, walking encyclopaedias of Elton John knowledge and proud to boot.

With Elton’s latest album postponed until next year, I set out to fill the Rocket Man-shaped hole in my summer by interviewing a small selection of those who have since found themselves referred to as the “super fans”. I put out a call on this very website for anyone who wanted to nominate (or self-nominate!) that person whose love of Elton is an all-encompassing trait. I received so many emails (many more than I first expected), brimming with kind words from fans about other fans, and explaining why they thought this person or that person fit the bill.

It was hard to narrow down the selection, but eventually I was left with the final “fantastic” four who I have chosen to interview for this series, exclusively on eltonfan.net. This is one of the most joyful series of interviews I have ever done. These four “super fans” are a delightful, thought-provoking, considered and intelligent group of people. If Elton was ever to sit down in a room with four of his fans (I know how unfair to the thousands of others that would be, I’m just saying!), then I can think of no more deserving four than these. Their love of Elton is not just because of his nature as a rock and roll megastar, it is also because of the gifts he gives outside of his music. As a campaigner to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic. As a humanitarian.

It’s very moving to see the influence and impact that Elton’s music has had on so many lives. Those records aren’t just number #1 entries on the charts, they are companions and friends to everyone who has followed Elton Hercules John since the debut of “Empty Sky” back in 1969. Gathering the thoughts of these “super fans” together, it’s been remarkable to see how similar and how different they are, proving beyond any doubt that Elton’s music can reach out and touch such a wide landscape of people across the globe. Perhaps even more interesting were their thoughts about where Elton can (and should) go next.

I hope you enjoy reading these four interviews with Elton John’s “super fans”.

Name: Robert Martilotto
From: Long Island, New York
Age: 55
Profession: United States postal worker and high definition TV technician
Year you first became an Elton fan: 1976

Quick Fire Questions

1. Favourite Elton John album?
   Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
   
   
2. Favourite Elton John song?
   Your Song
   
   
3. First Elton John concert that you attended?
   The “Back to the USSA” tour in 1979 with Ray Cooper, at the Palladium in New York City.
   
   
4. Favourite Elton John tour (so far)?
   The Captain Fantastic anniversary tour in 2005.
   
   
5. Favourite Bernie Taupin lyric?
   And just like us / You must have had / A once upon a time
   
   
6. What is the one song you feel Elton should include on “The Final Curtain” tour?
   Empty Sky!

Interview with Robert Martilotto

I have to admit, I have been sceptical of people who have entire rooms dedicated to Elton John. I mean, I collect too. I collect lots. But I could just ever imagine having an entire room in my house dedicated to Elton John.

Then I saw Robert Martilotto’s, and I understood what I’d been missing out on all these years.


Pinball wizard: The famous 1975 Captain Fantastic pinball machine has pride of place in Bob's collection.

One look around his Rocket Man-dedicated office and it is like every fan’s dream come true; a working environment that just oozes Elton. Everywhere you look, the words “Captain Fantastic” seem to jump out. I was on cloud nine just looking.

It was the 1975 “Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy” which first started Robert (Bob) on the path of collector mania.

“[My collection] started in 1976 with the Captain Fantastic album,” he told me. “Then the Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds single. Then the posters. And it just kept growing!”

In amongst the myriad of collector’s items that in Bob’s office is one that would catch the eye of any Elton John fan. It is an authentic, fully-functioning, mint condition Captain Fantastic pinball machine. Though, perhaps unexpectedly, that isn’t the item which Bob treasures the most.

What is? “That would have to be the Captain Fantastic album, the one that started it all. I even still have the sales receipt, dated 6th September 1976 for $3.92.”

For an album which is itself steeped in nostalgia, it is perhaps particularly appropriate that that is the item which remains the cornerstone of Bob’s collection, a reminder of where it all began for him.

I asked Bob about the influence that Elton and his music has had on his life.

“I just cannot imagine my life without it [his music]. When I was a teenager, his music and the joy of following him, as a fan, was my only friend. It helped me make it through my parent’s separation and divorce. His music was an escape for me.”

Bob’s story mirrors that of so many Elton (and music) fans around the globe. There is something decidedly honest about his admission that Elton John was a form of escape, a bedrock in a sea of troubled times. But as most fans know, sitting at home and listening to the music is just one side to Elton John fandom. Following him on tour is a whole other dimension.


The office you'd love to work in: Bob's Elton John collection surrounds his workspace in a beautiful blend of professionalism and creativity.

Bob (maybe bravely) admits to me that he has been to “about 60 shows since 1979”. What are his earliest memories and recollections of those? “The first was the Back in the USSA Tour with Ray Cooper. The seats we had were great and we got so close to the stage.” Looking back now, it’s easy to see how such a masterful performance as was commonplace on the 1979 tour could have influenced and engaged a young fan.

“I was at the Central Park show in 1980,” Bob explains. “I was quite far away from the stage there, but the whole atmosphere was amazing. Then, in the early 2000s, at a Madison Square Garden show, I got up to the stage and the way Elton was playing Levon… just amazing. I got him to sign my ticket that night.”

There’s no doubt that the atmosphere alone at an Elton John concert is worth the ticket price. But in creating standout memories, it seems that Madison Square Garden shows fend off any competition. Bob was also there for Elton’s 60th birthday concert at the Garden too, an event which he was proud to be part of.

But it was a year later when he was able to meet Elton John himself that provokes the most entertaining story of our discussion, one which anyone who has come face to face with their idol can relate to. “It was 2008,” he explains. “I was at the Apollo Theatre in New York City for the taping of Elvis Costello’s Spectacle show which Elton was on. After the show, on the street behind the theatre, someone was walking Elton’s dog Arthur, so I waited there with some other fans until Elton and David [Furnish] came out. I was just in shock!

“I got to shake his hand, but I just had to lean against a railing in total disbelief.”

Did he use the opportunity to tell Elton just how much of a fan he was?

“My wife told him I was a big fan! And that I had a room dedicated to him. Elton said, “Oh God!” I wished him and David good luck in Canada, which is where they were going next for the live shows. The last thing I said? Something stupid about liking his shoes a lot, and that he should auction the off!”

We’ve all been there. A little lost for words. But looking around at the, frankly, fantastic (pardon the pun) collection that Bob has amassed over the years, I have no doubt whatsoever that he would have bid for those shoes.


Face to face: Bob is interviewed by a UK television documentary team in 2013, where he showcases his collection.

Speaking of that collection, is there anything Bob doesn’t own that he would ultimately like to? Perhaps a “sought after” item that isn’t his yet? Most people would say the pinball machine, but he has that one already covered. “The pair of glasses from the Caribou album,” he says. “The ones with clear frosted frames with flowers along the top rim, and pink lenses.”

If Bob’s clarity when interviewed about his Elton fanaticism seems like it comes easy, it’s partially down to the fact that he has had this conversation before, just not with me. In 2011, Bob was interviewed by a UK television documentary team who came to his house to view his collection (which, if I haven’t already mentioned, includes some astonishing items such as Elton's own suits and a pair of his glasses).

“It was the end of 2011,” he explains. “They posted something on Hercules looking for big fans, just like you did. I sent them pictures, and they wrote me back. Then we had a phone interview and, in the beginning of 2013, they came to America to interview me and other people about Elton. I was so nervous! The producer, a woman, and the camera guy came to my home and spent about 5 hours here. It was a new show called The Changing Faces of… made by Back2Back productions in the UK. I have a DVD copy of the show.”

Sounds less-than-familiar? There’s a twist in the tail! “As far as I know, the show never aired anywhere!” says Bob. Still, it’s the taking part that counts, right?

Going back to Elton’s music, I wonder which albums and songs have had the most profound effect and influence on my first “super fan”? That pinball machine leads me to believe that I know what’s coming.

“I would say all the songs on the Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy alum,” Bob responds. “It was my first album and, after I bought it, I would listen to it over and over again.” A familiar story for fans that grew up at the height of Elton’s stardom when, in 1975, you couldn’t move for seeing his face somewhere.

“But then,” Bob adds, “Your Song was the first song I ever saw him perform live when I went to the Back in the USSA tour. Then, because my little girl used to dance to it, Tiny Dancer. She’s now a figure skater! There are so many songs, but I would say those move me the most.”

With so much experience of Elton John under his belt, and so many spins on the turntable for those already-released albums, what would Bob like to hear on Elton’s next record? The Union and The Diving Board lent a somewhat different sound to the Rocket Man, thanks in no small part to T-Bone Burnett’s production. “Well, I would like to hear more piano from Elton, more up-beat rock songs, something more like a Gus Dudgeon production. Maybe if Davey Johnstone produced it, I’d say he knows Elton’s musical style and abilities the best, since Gus has sadly passed on…”

A Davey Johnstone-produced Elton John album? That certainly has possibilities.

There’s one last question I have to ask Bob, which I’ll be putting to all my “super fan” interviewees. Can Elton John ever have a number one record again?

“The music business has changed so much, especially with social media, YouTube and online streaming. I really doubt it. I know Elton can make a number one record but, sales-wise, will it sell like a number one record? I don’t think so, unfortunately.”

But let’s stay optimistic. Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy was the first album ever to enter the Billboard chart at number one. What a wonderful bookend it would be, especially for the fan who still has his $3 receipt as a reminder of his roots, to be able to buy the 2016 entry in Elton’s catalogue as it occupied the same spot.

Back to Headlines