Pop legend Sir Elton John has told of his disappointment with the photorealistic remake of the hugely popular Lion King.
Elton, 72, composed the numbers for the hit animated musical in the nineties.
The star dished to GQ : “The new version of The Lion King was a huge disappointment to me, because I believe they messed the music up.
“Music was so much a part of the original and the music in the current film didn’t have the same impact. The magic and joy were lost. The soundtrack hasn’t had nearly the same impact in the charts that it had 25 years ago, when it was the bestselling album of the year.
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“The new soundtrack fell out of the charts so quickly, despite the massive box-office success. I wish I’d been invited to the party more, but the creative vision for the film and its music was different this time around and I wasn’t really welcomed or treated with the same level of respect.
“That makes me extremely sad. I’m so happy that the right spirit for the music lives on withe The Lion King stage musical.”
Elsewhere in the interview, he poured praise on fellow musician Lady Gaga.
Discussing what it takes to be a true music star, Elton said: “To be a star, you have to be a star for a long time and you have to do that by being a live performer.
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“You can’t be a star by just making records. That’s not going to happen. To be a star, you have to last for 50 years. You have to be a Barbra Streisand. You have to be a Paul McCartney. You have to be Sting. You have to be Fleetwood Mac. You have to be The Who.
“Christine and the Queens, in my opinion, is a huge star, but she hasn’t cracked it yet.
“The only real star at the moment is Lady Gaga. She could have a career like Barbra Streisand if she wanted to. She’s got the ambition, she’s got the talent coming out of every pore of her body, so it’s up to her whether she wants it and I think she does want it.”
On Ed Sheeran , Elton reckons “he needs to broaden his one-man band thing,” but also dished that Ed comes to him for industry advice.
The Rocketman singer also gushed over grime rapper Stormzy’s Glastonbury performance: “He’s amazing and he was terrific at Glastonbury. It was a very hard thing for him to do and he came on and he killed it.”
