Elton John Announces New Album And Marmite
On Friday night, Elton John inducted his longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. (Elton himself has been a Hall Of Famer since 1994.) During his induction speech, Elton John mentioned that he and Taupin are still putting in work together: “We’ve just finished an album in Los Angeles, which is going to surprise the shit out of you. And it’s absolutely wonderful, and it’s full of youth, and it’s full of vitality. It’s a wonderful place to be after we’ve been together for 56 years.”
There are good reasons to take Elton John at his word there. He released The Lockdown Sessions, his last album, in 2021. In the past few years, he’s added a couple more top-10 hits to his already legendary resume: “Cold Heart (PNAU Remix),” with Dua Lipa, and “Hold Me Closer,” with Britney Spears. Both are dance-pop riffs on past Elton hits, and both show that he’s willing to weaponize all the goodwill that people feel toward him while incorporating younger sounds and voices. “Cold Heart” was Elton’s first top-10 hit in 24 years, and those two hits mark a stretch of hits that goes back well over a half-century.
Elton John hasn’t said anything else about this new album yet, but if you’re (literally) hungry for some new product from the man, he’s got you. Elton has his own limited-edition jars of Marmite, the savory and somewhat gross spread that British people like to put on their sandwiches. That jar, now available at Sainsbury’s in the UK, celebrates the 50th anniversary of the classic album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, and it raises money for the Elton John AIDS Foundation.