With the Boston gig in the books, it's back to New York and time to pay the piper. Which is why John Lennon can be found sequestered in a bathroom stall backstage at Madison Square Garden. It's Thanksgiving Night, November 28, and the reality of performing live after so long an absence from the stage has or hero purging his nerves into the porcelain throne.

Nerves aside, John looks every inch the quintessential rock god. Tip to te in black, including smoked glasses, he sports a gardenia in his buttonhole, and a circular medallion around his neck, emblazoned with studded diamonds spelling out Dr. Winston O'Boogie, his nom de plume!

As countdown becomes inevitable, his insecurities resurface and he relapses into a state of faltering paranoia, his black Telecaster shaking in his hands. I know this because I'm standing next to him in the wings, ready to propel him physically onto the stage should he book out and attempt a runner.. As Elton [John] begins his introduction, John begins to plead: "You have to come out with me." And it's here that I will defer to [Elton John's] excellent autobiography *Me*. "Bernie always hated the limelight, and not even a desperate Beatle could convince him to change his mind." Indeed, plus as I venture to steer my anxious charge towards his date with destiny, I offer little in the way of comfort other than: "And do what?"

I refuse to dwell on the ultimate significance of this event and its placement in John's legacy. Yes, it was the last time he would ever appear onstage before his untimely assassination in 1980, but I prefer to recall the decibel-defying hurricane of adulation that saw the floor of the Garden do more than its usual seismic roll. The building seemed to briefly levitate off its foundations, and in all my years of concert going, I have never heard or witnessed anything like it.

Triumph is an understatement. Elton was at the top of his game and the sheer electrical force of his personality and the propulsion of his crackerjack band energized John's confidence, spotlighting what always made him great: the stance, the voice, the uneniable charisma.

-- from Bernie Taupin's memoir Scattershot

On Friday, October 20, 2023 at 2:49:03 PM UTC-5, Norbert K wrote:
> With the Boston gig in the books, it's back to New York and time to pay the piper. Which is why John Lennon can be found sequestered in a bathroom stall backstage at Madison Square Garden. It's Thanksgiving Night, November 28, and the reality of performing live after so long an absence from the stage has or hero purging his nerves into the porcelain throne.
>
> Nerves aside, John looks every inch the quintessential rock god. Tip to te in black, including smoked glasses, he sports a gardenia in his buttonhole, and a circular medallion around his neck, emblazoned with studded diamonds spelling out Dr. Winston O'Boogie, his nom de plume!
>
> As countdown becomes inevitable, his insecurities resurface and he relapses into a state of faltering paranoia, his black Telecaster shaking in his hands. I know this because I'm standing next to him in the wings, ready to propel him physically onto the stage should he book out and attempt a runner. As Elton [John] begins his introduction, John begins to plead: "You have to come out with me." And it's here that I will defer to [Elton John's] excellent autobiography *Me*. "Bernie always hated the limelight, and not even a desperate Beatle could convince him to change his mind." Indeed, plus as I venture to steer my anxious charge towards his date with destiny, I offer little in the way of comfort other than: "And do what?"
>
> I refuse to dwell on the ultimate significance of this event and its placement in John's legacy. Yes, it was the last time he would ever appear onstage before his untimely assassination in 1980, but I prefer to recall the decibel-defying hurricane of adulation that saw the floor of the Garden do more than its usual seismic roll. The building seemed to briefly levitate off its foundations, and in all my years of concert going, I have never heard or witnessed anything like it.
>
> Triumph is an understatement. Elton was at the top of his game and the sheer electrical force of his personality and the propulsion of his crackerjack band energized John's confidence, spotlighting what always made him great: the stance, the voice, the uneniable charisma.
>
> -- from Bernie Taupin's memoir Scattershot
https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/photos-john-lennon-elton-john-at-madison-square-garden-november-1974.1153199/

On Sunday, October 22, 2023 at 10:49:06 AM UTC-7, Pamela Brown wrote:
> On Friday, October 20, 2023 at 2:49:03 PM UTC-5, Norbert K wrote:
> > With the Boston gig in the books, it's back to New York and time to pay the piper. Which is why John Lennon can be found sequestered in a bathroom stall backstage at Madison Square Garden. It's Thanksgiving Night, November 28, and the reality of performing live after so long an absence from the stage has or hero purging his nerves into the porcelain throne.
> >
> > Nerves aside, John looks every inch the quintessential rock god. Tip to te in black, including smoked glasses, he sports a gardenia in his buttonhole, and a circular medallion around his neck, emblazoned with studded diamonds spelling out Dr. Winston O'Boogie, his nom de plume!
> >
> > As countdown becomes inevitable, his insecurities resurface and he relapses into a state of faltering paranoia, his black Telecaster shaking in his hands. I know this because I'm standing next to him in the wings, ready to propel him physically onto the stage should he book out and attempt a runner. As Elton [John] begins his introduction, John begins to plead: "You have to come out with me." And it's here that I will defer to [Elton John's] excellent autobiography *Me*. "Bernie always hated the limelight, and not even a desperate Beatle could convince him to change his mind." Indeed, plus as I venture to steer my anxious charge towards his date with destiny, I offer little in the way of comfort other than: "And do what?"
> >
> > I refuse to dwell on the ultimate significance of this event and its placement in John's legacy. Yes, it was the last time he would ever appear onstage before his untimely assassination in 1980, but I prefer to recall the decibel-defying hurricane of adulation that saw the floor of the Garden do more than its usual seismic roll. The building seemed to briefly levitate off its foundations, and in all my years of concert going, I have never heard or witnessed anything like it.
> >
> > Triumph is an understatement. Elton was at the top of his game and the sheer electrical force of his personality and the propulsion of his crackerjack band energized John's confidence, spotlighting what always made him great: the stance, the voice, the uneniable charisma.
> >
> > -- from Bernie Taupin's memoir Scattershot
> https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/photos-john-lennon-elton-john-at-madison-square-garden-november-1974.1153199/

Thanks for the link, Pamela! Sometimes there's video of the performance on Youtube.

I love the backstory to Lennon's joining Elton onstage. Elton helped out with piano and vocals on "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night," but demanded that John join him onstage if the song became a #1 hit. It did, and Lennon kept his word.

I've heard audio of Lennon admitting that, when he made the agreement with Elton, "I didn't think there was a chance in hell of it going to number one.."