FAREWELL ISSUE March 2003 Issue No: 61 Fanzine of the Elton John THE MAG Fan Club Issue No. 61 FAN CLUB INFORMATION MARCH 2003 HERCULES Chief Editor IMPORTANT NOTICE TO MEMBERS Tammi Law 49 Horseshoe Crescent From 1st January 2002, membership rates will be Peatmoor charged in Euro. Fees will be: Swindon SN5 5AX Europe: Euro 20 Rest of the World: Euro 35 UNITED KINGDOM [email protected] Please be sure to change any standing orders Hercules is a registered member accordingly if you are paying into one of our accounts. Editorial Assistants: of the National Association of Barbara Turner, Michael S English Fan Clubs Design: Turnstyle Design Annual membership fee for the UK is £14 if paid by Translations: Standing Order/VISA/Mastercard. By Cheque/Postal Sabine Asenkerschbaumer Order it is £15. For the rest of Europe it is £14, and Mireille Mölbert For subscription details, please for the USA it is 17£/US$30. Please note that your write to your local HERCULES renewal date is printed on your address label in department or to HERCULES European format day/month/year. Coordinaton: Membership passes are available from your local CONTENTS HERCULES Coordination HERCULES department: send a small photo of c/o Stephan Heimbecher yourself when requesting your pass. Berg-am-Laim-Str. 87 REVIEWS D-81673 München, GERMANY Elton - LIVE at the Please don't send enquiries or fan mail to the Elton Tel. +49 (0)89 48900369 Opera House ................8 Fax +49 (0)89 48900370 John management, but to HERCULES Coordination. [email protected] Letters will be passed on if necessary. HERCULES Fan Adviser HERCULES - The Mag c/o Mireille Mölbert Goodbye to the fanzine - Albrechtstr. 32 BUT NOT TO THE Printed articles do not necessarily reflect the editors' D-80636 München, FAN CLUB!....................4 GERMANY opinions. All information is based on the best of Tel. +49 (0)89 3244146 In Italy ............................16 knowledge and belief. Reproductions permitted only [email protected] In Memory ....................13 by prior arrangement with HERCULES. HERCULES USA/Canada The AIDS fundraising ..22 Barb Crowley PO Box 692392 The Albums ....................10 Member participation is always welcome. We are ORLANDO The Covers......................14 FL 32869-2392 thankful for your submissions of any kind: reports, [email protected] The Fans & articles, photos, drawings, Fan meetings ..............23 HERCULES U.K. and suggestions. Please PLEASE REMEMBER... c/o David Wright The Future - send them to the Editor, 100 Winkworth Road The internet ..............12 ALWAYS state your Banstead Tammi Law. Please Surrey SM7 2QR The Interviews ................9 understand that we cannot membership no. if you UNITED KINGDOM The Surveys ....................21 send a cheque to [email protected] always publish all Hercules, or pay into one The Team ........................18 contributions. All photos of the Club accounts. HERCULES Benelux The Tours ..........................6 will be returned. c/o Tim Blezer ALWAYS let us know the Pastoor Pendersstraat 8 6262 PA banholt expiry date of the card, and NETHERLANDS The Acknowledgments 25 Web site the cardholders name. Tel. +31 (0)43 4571703 http://www.eltonfan.net Please note that if you have paid [email protected] your Membership Fee by Credit REGULARS Card, your card will HERCULES Italy COPYRIGHT: HERCULES automatically be charged again c/o Luca Zerbini Club Information ............2 for the renewal fee, at the end Via Scheiwiller n.9/A of your membership year. If I-20139 Milano, ITALY Lyric Quiz ......................17 your card has expired in the [email protected] Cover picture: Reggie Zippo meantime, or if you have Letters to the Editor......26 switched companies, please HERCULES Nordic forward your new Credit Card Urpu Kallio Small ads ........................27 Uudenklänpolku details to Hercules Coordination 05200 Rajämaki in time for your next renewal. Tour Dates ......................27 FINLAND email: [email protected] 2 Hercules. The Elton John Fan Club FROM THE EDITOR... or the very last time, welcome to the latest issue of The FMag! As you will all know by now, the time has come for the paper fanzine to finish, although the Hercules fan club continues to go from strength to strength, with our internet presence and club activities. This issue of the fanzine is a very different one to usual. We have taken a look back over the past 15 years since the fanzine was launched, and how Elton’s relationship with the fans has developed in that time. We also talk about the future for Elton and the fan club, take a look back over the all the tours and albums which we have reported on, compare the different surveys you have taken part in, and discuss your efforts in fundraising for Elton’s AIDS charities. We hope that you will continue with your Hercules membership by subscribing to our website www.eltonfan.net If you don’t have access to the internet, then we are also launching a new free newsletter service, where your Hercules team will print out copies of the News pages from our website and mail them to you, on request. See page 13 for details. The end of the paper fanzine in no way reflects a diminishing in Elton’s punishing work schedule. He is currently touring the United States with Billy Joel; this latest leg of the Face to Face tour continues during March, April and May. After that, there is also a handful of Elton’s acclaimed Solo shows to look forward to in Europe in June and July. On a personal note, I’d like to thank all of you for your letters, contributions and support of the fanzine over the years. I’ve made some great friends through Hercules during my years as Editor, and it’s always nice to see so many familiar faces at the concerts and conventions. And finally, I’d like to thank Elton for all the wonderful music. Life just wouldn’t be the same without you! Quarterly Fanzine. Issue 61. March 2003. 3 since 1988 G E MA GOODBYE TO THE FANZINE TH By Stephan Heimbecher Today - fourteen years, six old days. For your convenience, GOODBYEmonths and 17 days later - while there are references to the writing these lines on Christmas respective fanzine issues in which still remember Day 2002 I am still proud. Proud of you will find the full stories. Many that day in June what the fan club team and all back issues are still available at I those loyal supporters (see ‘Thanks’ www.eltonfan.net/backissues.shtml. 1988 when I was on on page 25) have achieved in the Back to the first issue published my way to the offices of past 5,344 days. But this pride is in June 1988: it was put together superseded with sadness, because with a typewriter, and for some of compositor Alfons Mann the issue you hold in your hand the headlines we simply cut out in my then-hometown marks the end of an era. What you words and letters from newspapers are about to read is a farewell to 60 and magazines and put them Neuss (Germany) ready fanzine issues, a summary of some together in a new order – to pick up the first issue 1,700 pages filled with stories sometimes feeling like a of the fan club’s fanzine, about our common denominator, blackmailer. This issue was sent free namely Elton John. of charge to some 30 German and still called Rocket Fan But this is not the swan song for Swiss fans of the former Elton John back then. Full of anxiety the fan club at large which will Fan Club. hopefully continue to exist for Only four months later (the I opened the box with many years to come. It’s just that – fanzine was published on a two just over 50 copies of the for various, mainly financial months cycle in the early days), 20 page, German-only reasons - we have to turn away issue #3 was the first to be from the paper fanzine, a accompanied by an English magazine and found communication media which has translation. Issue #27 then was the myself filled with pride revolutionised the world since first to be produced as two separate Gutenberg perfected letterpress in issues – German and English – for what my fellow fans the 15th century, but seems old- shortly after French and Italian and co-founders of the fashioned today. The world we live translations had been added to the fan club, Sabine Krupp in is experiencing another major list starting with issue #26 in March revolution in communication with 1994. That same year also saw the and Holger Wagner, and the Internet being the buzz word. formation of worldwide network of myself had put together The fan club has always been open fan club departments with branches to this fascinating way of global in the USA, Japan and many in just a few days since networking (see ‘The Future For European countries. the official birthday of Hercules: the Internet’ on page 12) In February 1989, the fan club which now turns out to be the made one of its first major the fan club on killer of the printed fanzine. investments by acquiring a May 8, 1988. But before we draw the curtain computer. Issue #5 was the first to over the fanzine, we would like to be prepared with the aid of this invite you to enjoy the retrospect then-modern piece of technology, on the following pages. While I but it was barely more than a was browsing through the fanzine means of putting together an article archive over the past few days I got step by step, storing it half way carried away in memories.