These Are Elton John's Demands For His Hotel Stays
Some famous musicians are more than capable of keeping it real. According to The Smoking Gun, Eminem specifically requested (among other snacks, such as Kraft American Cheese) six packs of Lunchables to be provided for him at a festival in 2010.
Lunchables, of course, aren't the most luxurious extravagance, but airs and graces have never been a big concern of Eminem's. What of a member of pop royalty, such as the enigmatic Sir Elton John? The British balladeer has a history of extravagance. In a court case in the year 2000, per Independent, it emerged that John had reportedly spent about £40 million (over $53 million) in a period from January 1996 to September 1997. When travelling, then, it's no surprise that he's very particular.
According to a 2013 HuffPost article, while performing in Brazil, John provided venues with a particularly enlightening concert rider. In a translation of the newspaper Pampulha, HuffPost revealed that John insisted on being provided with a separate room for his copious collection of pairs of spectacles. According to Smooth Radio, he has admitted to owning upwards of 250,000 of them, and while he may not take every prized pair everywhere, this is just the start of his specific requirements.
Elton John's glasses collection seems to have a luxurious stay
Pampulha, per HuffPost, states that John also needs his spectacles' room to be kept to very specific temperatures: 66 degrees during the summer and 60 degrees otherwise. These are, after all, an essential part of John's image, and need to be treated with great care.
At other shows, he has made different demands. In 2010, he provided further insight into his requirements on "Piers Morgan's Life Stories." On the show, per Elton Daily, Morgan stated that he'd had an opportunity to read through John's tour rider — John's specific demands in his tour contract. The intrigued host said that it included a demand for "three six-foot-long banquet tables with white linen tablecloths." John replied that he didn't know what was actually included in his rider, but conceded that it was quite right when it came to flowers — he could not have floral arrangements in his dressing room. "Chrysanthemums are pretty horrible," the star said, "carnations don't look good in a vase, lilies don't smell very nice."
The Daily Mail claims that a spokesperson for the hitmaker denied claims that John books a separate spectacle room, but either way, perhaps he isn't as troublesome as he might seem. According to HuffPost, the producer of John's show in 2013 told Pampulha, "These are reasonable requests. He's an artist who is very disciplined in relation to his voice ... and he asks for some things related to the temperature of his room."