THEY didn’t nickname Sir Elton John The Rocket Man for nothing.
The British superstar was the star performer at multi-millionaire Lord Ashcroft’s 80th birthday bash in London last weekend.
And after tinkling the ivories while belting out some of his biggest hits on the Saturday night, he jumped on a plane to Los Angeles so he could host his Aids Foundation Academy Awards viewing party the following day.
A source said: “Elton turns 79 on Wednesday but he’s still working like a youngster, it’s incredible. He was the star performer at Lord Ashcroft’s 80th at Grosvenor House.
“As well as Elton, Nicole Scherzinger and Katherine Jenkins both performed at the do.
“Even Holly Willoughby was booked to help provide some entertainment with Rory Bremner, as they put on a game of Play Your Cards Right.
“Elton’s performance was the biggest part of the night, though.
“He came on and played a big set, including singing I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues, Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting) and Benny And The Jets.
“But after his slot ended Elton didn’t hang about. After pleasantries, he was out the door and on his way to Los Angeles for his party.
“It’s incredible that someone of his age can smash a performance, fly across the Atlantic and still be bright-eyed and bushy tailed for his Oscars viewing party.”
I’m pretty sure that his eye-watering fee for the Lord Ashcroft bash, which I am told was more than £1million, would have eased any jet-lag for Elton.
His Aids Foundation Academy Awards viewing party is in its 34th year and saw celebs including Dua Lipa and his godson Brooklyn Beckham all invited, with Lola Young — a friend of the Rocket Man — performing on the night.
Speaking about the bash and the work ethic of Elton — who is suffering with his eyesight after an infection last year — his husband David Furnish said: “He’s great. He’s battling on.
“He’s keeping busy and moving forward.”
Elton, you’re a trooper.
ROBBIE: I’VE BAD BACK FOR GOOD
ROBBIE WILLIAMS has revealed the brutal reality of touring in your fifties, and it’s not exactly rock ’n’ roll.
The singer has been struck down by a string of painful “middle-aged man” injuries – including sitting on one of his own testicles.
Speaking on iHeartRadio Australia, the former Take That star said: “There’s always something going on for the middle-aged man.
“It’s been described to me as we used to be elasticated silly putty and now we are frozen silly putty and it snaps.
“I did my groin in just by sitting down. I sat on a testicle for the first time this year.
“And, a couple of years ago, I popped my back out by sneezing. Actually, the worst one was popping my back out by turning around.
“I’ve got arthritis in the base of my spine and two discs that are popping out – one in the neck, one in the lumbar.”
Oh the joys of getting older, eh, Robbie?
UNIVERSAL Studios has declared war on drone-flyers who are trying to leak details of the long-awaited UK park.
Signs have gone up around the 700-acre site in Bedfordshire warning vloggers they face the full force of the law if they fly cameras over it.
I’m told the park has teamed up with the police to help monitor the site and keep its secrets safe.
While I applaud their efforts, I fear it will be in vain as the park isn’t set to open until 2031.
Unconfirmed rumours about what is being built are areas dedicated to Lord Of The Rings and Jurassic Park.
The park, which is billed as the UK’s answer to Disneyland Paris, is expected to have a 500-room hotel
ISSAC: I’LL BEY A STAR
AMERICAN singer-songwriter Issac Ryan Brown can already count Beyonce as a fan, but is hoping to win over us Brits, too.
Issac, who rose to fame in the Disney show Raven’s Home, swung by Bizarre HQ last week to play us his new single Lipstick, which came out on Friday, and to talk about his encounter with Queen B.
He told Bizarre’s Howell: “I was at The Lion King premiere and the entire carpet was shutting down. Me and my castmate stayed ducked down behind security.
“Beyonce walked up and we just popped out. And she was like, ‘My daughter really enjoys your show, let’s get a picture’.
She gave me a kiss and we took a picture. I didn’t need anything else from life after that.”
Just 20 years old, he has spent most of his life working, having landed a Got Milk advert aged four before going on America’s Got Talent and starring in a string of TV shows.
Now he is hard at work on his debut album.
Issac said: “We want this whole first album to be very intentional. We’re releasing songs that feel congruent.
“They’re all different and all super-unique, but they have a consistent sound.”
And if you want to check him out for yourself, Issac will be performing Lipstick live for the first time with TikTok sensation DJ AG outside Boxpark Camden, in North West London, at 6pm today.
BARRY’S HIDING FROM TROLLS
BARRY KEOGHAN says he has been trolled so much over his appearance that he no longer wants to leave the house.
Barry said: “There’s a lot of hate online. It’s a lot of abuse about how I look.
“I removed myself from online, but I’m still a curious human being who wants to go on – so, if I attend an event or if I go somewhere, you want to see how it was received. And it’s not nice.”
The actor – who dated Sabrina Carpenter and is playing Ringo Starr in the upcoming four-film biopic series of The Beatles – told SiriusXM’s The Morning Mash Up: “It’s becoming a problem. I don’t have to hide away, because I am hiding away.
“I don’t have to go to places, because I actually don’t go to places because of these things.
“But when that starts leaking into your art, it becomes a problem because then you don’t even want to be on screen any more.”
TRACKSUITS YOU, GWEN
GWEN STEFANI is a woman after my own heart after posing in a bright orange Adidas tracksuit to promote No Doubt’s upcoming run of shows at The Sphere in Las Vegas.
The group will reunite for the first time in over a year when their residency kicks off on May 6.
Sharing this snap of herself during rehearsals for the shows with her 17.7million followers, Gwen said: “Feeling hella good.”
And you look it too, Gwen.
NICK GRIMSHAW took painkillers that were so strong, he was convinced a female friend was Keith Richards.
The Radio 6 DJ said he had burned his hand while making a pie and had to perform a DJ set with his hand inside a bag of ice.
On the way home at 2am, he decided to get it checked at a hospital – but the pain relief was so powerful it left him believing he was with The Rolling Stones legend.
Speaking on his Sidetracked podcast, Nick said: “I went to hospital and they were like, ‘Wow, it’s bad’.
“They gave me such serious painkillers that I thought my friend Aimee was Keith Richards and she was about to play the O2. That’s how off my head I was on them.”
DOLLS MAKING TOP DOLLAR
THE PUSSYCAT DOLLS are preparing to rake in the cash with their reunion tour, PCD Forever.
And there’s no better place to start promoting their tickets than the posh financial district in New York.
Kimberly Wyatt, Ashley Roberts and Nicole Scherzinger were pictured out in the Big Apple as they talked up their run of shows, which kick off in Birmingham on September 29.
Of returning without their bandmates Carmit Bachar, Jessica Sutta and Melody Thornton, Kimberly said: “Ultimately, we’ve got to protect our peace and when something like The Pussycat Dolls has so much history, we have ruptured in the past, and right now we are repairing.”
Nicole added: “We have so much love and respect for all of the women that have been part of the PCD legacy. And once a Doll, always a Doll.”
I’m not sure the others would agree – but I can’t wait to see the girls back up on stage.
