Rock ‘n’ Soul Celebrity
Elton John - Dave Laing†
Dave Laing† [+]
University of Liverpool
Dave Laing, who died suddenly in January 2019, was a writer, editor and lecturer, and Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Liverpool. His works include The Sound of our Time (1969), Buddy Holly (1970), One Chord Wonders: Power and Meaning in Punk Rock (1985) and (with Phil Hardy) The Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music (1995). He is an editor of the Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World whose first volumes were published in 2003.
Description
Another feature of the Elton John persona shared with Paul McCartney is his status as a show business, media and international celebrity, which reached a peak with his performance at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales. After a brief discussion of the nature of ‘celebrity’, this chapter explores the public narrative of Elton John’s life, constructed through such themes as addiction, sexuality and charity. Chapter 6. The Critical Response The book concludes with an examination and analysis of the various explanations of Elton John’s work and life proposed by a range of biographers, media commentators and music critics.