In an interview with Sean Ono Lennon John Lennon At 80 special , Elton John revealed memories of when he performed with John Lennon in New York in 1974.
Elton recounts that the reunion of the icons at Madison Square Garden was the result of a bet made while the duo was working on the album Walls and Bridges , a bet lost by Lennon who didn't believe in the track "Whatever Gets You Through The Night" as a single, a very different opinion from his colleague, who believed (and was right) that the track would be a big hit. Therefore, he bet that if the single reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 , they would perform the song together.
The performance would be John's first solo concert since the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival festival in 1969, and according to Elton, his nerves were on edge. "He was terrified. I can tell you he was physically ill before the show, absolutely physically ill."
Regarding the show, the artist recalls, “When he came on stage he was fine because of the reception he received at Madison Square Garden in 1974… I’ve never heard a sound, a roar like that… and we all got goosebumps thinking about it (…) He wasn’t nervous during the show and played brilliantly as always.”
"Many of us cried and had tears streaming down our faces because there was one of the four people who was in the greatest band of all time," he says.
Check out a recording of the presentation below:
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