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We told you about the release of Elton: Made In England. We can now tell you that the author, Judy Parkinson, will be signing copies of the book at The Twickenham Bookstore at 3.00 pm on March 29, 2003.

What’s more, if you mention Hercules you will get a £3 discount.

The contact details are:

The Twickenham Bookstore
19 King Street
Twickenham TW1 3SD

Telephone: 020 8744 3030

Email: twickenham@thebookstore.ltd.uk

If you cannot make it to the book signing, simply click on the cover on the right to order your copy via Amazon. That copy won't be signed, of course.

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Billboard's top concert grosses reported for the week ending April 5, 2003 list Elton John and Billy Joel on top again.

Their show at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, NY on March 9, 2003 resulted in gross sales of $1,996,750. The sold out concert was attended by 18,727 people.

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While Elton will be back on the road with Billy Joel in the US after a short break, he is still adding to the list of solo & band shows for his European Tour 2003.

The latest addition is Horsens in Denmark, where he will perform an open air concert in front of some 5,000 people.

First dates for shows with the band in Hamburg, Germany and Paris, France has also been announced.

See 'Tour News' for the complete tour schedule.

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Saturday, March 22, 2003, 8.00 pm. Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Estado de México Theater, Mexico. Fan Report by Patty Perrín.

Very excited, Nadya Muciño, Carlos Orozco, my mom and I (all of us involved in the mexican fansite "ELTON JOHN MEXICO") arrived to the University Theater since 5.00 pm to organize everything related with our event benefiting the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

We met there Tonatiuh González and Gaby (from the "Proyecto Hermano" Foundation) and the members of "Variety Club Foundation" (all of them in support of men, women and children with HIV/AIDS and/or cancer and really wonderful persons).

My friend Nadya (huge Elton fan, by the way) since a couple of days ago, created Red Ribbons (AIDS symbols) to share them with the audience and the show cast. Carlos helped her doing that, at the same time that we "prayed to Reggie" with the idea of having more spectators (and everytime we did that, the theater's elevator doors opened with more people - I swear it! - that was amazing!).

Since the beginning of the event, everybody was able to hear Elton voice because his latest album Greatest Hits 1970-2002 was playing on. In that way, we really felt that he was present by our side wishing us good luck in this new adventure.

The show began at 8.00 pm and it was incredible, with a wonderful production and coreography. The cast sang live (also the music was live) with so much quality that you could swear they were really Madonna's band!
The show presented a lot of Madonna's hits and at the end, the cast received a very fair standing ovation.

Nadya, Carlos and I got the chance to congratulate and say thanks to the cast for their great effort and for contributing with the EJAF (also in Elton's name), telling them he would be very proud knowing that young people were doing so nice work in time of war crisis. They were really happy to know that Elton must know about this charity event.

At the end of the show, we raffled three copies of Greatest Hits 1970-2002 to the audience and the winners were really happy with their luck. We still don't know how much money was obtained, because the Treasury Department of the University has to check it out and after that, they will divide the money in equal parts between the different Foundations involved in the event, but as soon as we get this information, we'll be happy to share it with you. (By the way, we are also motivating persons to donate online and Nadya also created little pigs as collection boxes - with Elton's look: exotic glasses and blond hair - to obtain more money from relatives and friends), but I think that in the first days of April, we will be ready to have the total results.

It was an unforgettable night for all of us and we really appreciate (and want to thank, as always) the support of the Tec de Monterrey University, the "Proyecto Hermano" Foundation, "Variety Club" Foundation, the cast, the musicians, and of course, the audience who made all this possible. Also, thanks to Nancy Case (for her wonderful idea), the Elton John AIDS Foundation (for their incredible work) and specially, we would like to thank Sir Elton John for letting us be a small part of his incomparable humanism.

That's why, dear Elton, everyday we all admire and love you more and more. God bless you forever and ever and we hope you had a really Happy Birthday!

P.S.: Remember that you can still help with this charity for the EJAF donating online.

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The ticket prices, £125 for the best seats, are the highest seen yet for an Elton John concert other than special fundraising shows such as the Royal Opera House and the Old Vic.

Hercules has heard from several UK fans unhappy over the upcoming concerts at Hampton Court Palace on June 17/18, 2003.

The ticket prices, £125 for the best seats, are the highest seen yet for an Elton John concert other than special fundraising shows such as the Royal Opera House and the Old Vic. The top prices for Elton’s UK arena tour in December 2002 were £50.

And this is for what appears to be a shorter concert than usual – it starts at 9.00 pm and seems unlikely to go past 11.00 pm. This means a 150% price increase for a 30% shorter concert!

Furthermore, being a solo show at a venue established at Hampton Court for 9 other shows that month, the overheads for Elton and his entourage could not be lower.

Suspicions are that Elton and/or the management’s financial demands are so high that prices have been forced up dramatically for the capacity audience of around 2,500.

The most expensive top price ticket at the festival other than Elton is £85 for Jose Carreras who, one would presume, will perform with an orchestra. Jools Holland performs with a remarkably large band yet the most his fans will pay is £38.50.

Some normally die-hard fans are giving it a miss as they simply can’t justify the expense. It remains to be seen what other UK shows will follow this year and whether the dramatic hike of prices will stay.

Unfortunately, the UK is not the only bad example: The trend of increasing ticket prices also holds true for the USA, Germany and other European countries. Even worse, the really good seats in the first few rows are usually sold as 'Golden Circle' or 'VIP tickets' at many German shows, making it even more difficult for Elton fans to enjoy a show from a perfect position.

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Stephen Gately says Elton John and his boyfriend David Furnish have been looking after him since his split with his own partner.

Stephen Gately may be the UK's most famous gay pop star, but that hasn't stopped his female fans from thinking that one day he could still be theirs.

The former Boyzone hunk admitted that he still receives mail from devoted fans who lust after him, even though he's not in the market to the fairer sex!

When asked what he last received in the post from a fan, he replied: "A teddy bear, and a weird letter from a woman who sent me pictures of herself crying as well as a lock of hair. It's strange because despite me being openly gay, she was still saying she's my future wife."

Meanwhile, Stephen says Elton John and his boyfriend David Furnish have been looking after him since his split with his own partner. "I met them when they rang me up and invited me to Nice for week about eight months ago. And I've met various people through them such as the Pet Shop Boys and Janet Street Porter. Keith from Boyzone is still my best pal. We call each other every couple of days."

Stephen is currently starring in the title role of Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the New London Theatre until July 19th.

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David Furnish has bought his partner Sir Elton John a cocker spaniel puppy for his 56th birthday on March 25, 2003. "Elton has christened him Arthur. I bought him on Saturday," David said.

What do you buy the man who has everything? Something small, fluffy and house-trained, according to David Furnish.

The 40-year-old film-maker has bought his partner Sir Elton John a cocker spaniel puppy for his 56th birthday on March 25, 2003. "Elton has christened him Arthur. I bought him on Saturday," David said.

"Arthur is our 21st dog. He will be our on-the-road dog and travel with us all over the world. He is a true Rock 'n' Roll puppy and is going with Elton to Vegas this week when he performs a private concert."

The three-month-old pooch has already wheedled his way into their hearts. "Arthur is so well behaved. He slept in his basket at our bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel all night," says David.

"He didn't make a mess and peed on the paper laid out for him. Then we cuddled him in bed. Our other 20 dogs live all over the world but Arthur will accompany us everywhere."

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Elton and his partner David Furnish admitted they had received criticism for their plan to perform at his post-Oscars bash to raise funds for the Elton John Aids Foundation.

While the cream of Hollywood were dithering until the last minute about whether to attend the Oscars despite the war, it was a breath of fresh air to hear Sir Elton John declare: "The show must go on." Elton and his partner David Furnish admitted they had received criticism for their plan to perform at his post-Oscars bash to raise funds for the Elton John Aids Foundation.

Elton said: "We've had to step into line with everyone, so there's no red carpet or interviews with celebrities when they arrive. I would have liked to have kept the red carpet, but some people didn't want to be put on the spot and asked about the war."

Elton's glitzy fundraiser, which is in its 11th year, was due to take place at Los Angeles's swanky Marquee club. "It should be a great turnout," said Elton before the event. "We're hoping we get more celebrities at our party than any other year. If they're going to go anywhere, we're hoping they'll want to go to the one that raises money for charity. We usually raise between $500,000 and $1million."

David admitted: "It's horrible what's going on in the Middle East, but the fight against HIV and Aids must continue."

Elton continued: "This year's ceremony might turn out to be so serious and up itself you want to throw up - but it's not going to make any difference to our troops if Nicole Kidman turns up wearing sequins or not!"

At the party, Elton John, John Mayer and Anastasia harmonized on The Bitch Is Back. The event raised $600,000. Everyone was sniffing, not because the rendition was so moving but because he'd given 1,000 guests his compressed potpourri rocks, which also raise money for the fund.

Among those in attendance: "Will & Grace" actors Eric McCormack (who scored a men's Chopard watch prize by having the most award predictions correct on his ballot) and Harry Connick Jr.; "E.T." actor Henry Thomas; "Queer As Folk" actress Sharon Gless; Nicolas Cage, Matthew McCaughhey, Carmen Electra and rocker squeeze Dave Navarro; Sugar Ray vocalist Mark McGrath; pop star Anastasia; Tim Allen; "Hairspray" director John Waters and Meg Tilly.

Diners enjoyed spinach and cheese ravioli, grilled veal chops, a butter lettuce salad, a cheese course and warm apple dumplings. The room was tastefully designed with a warm red and yellow color scheme with fresh daffodils adorning each table. Elton was thrilled that Eminem won for "Best Song" while "Best Actor" nominee Adrien Brody scored for "The Pianist." Elton said: "It shows the Academy really did watch this year's films."

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