Elton John Stars in Morrison Hotel Gallery’s First Virtual Exhibition

As the coronavirus pandemic causes many musicians to turn to the internet, a gallery that showcases iconic images of them is doing the same. The Morrison Hotel Gallery’s first virtual exhibition, SIR: A Retrospective of Rock Royalty, focuses on Elton John.

The exhibit features photos by Ed Caraeff, Norman Parkinson and the late Terry O’Neill, who photographed John for several decades up until his death in 2019. 

“There must be 8,000 images of Elton going back to 1971,” says Robin Morgan, CEO of Iconic Images, who manages O’Neill’s estate. “Terry said he liked to be a ghost. He liked to be a shadow around [his subjects]. He didn’t want to get involved.”

John and O’Neill first met in 1970 after O’Neill heard “Your Song” on the radio and tried to track him down. “Elton had his first recording contract and got his first song played on radio,” Morgan says. “Terry heard it and he thought he was listening to brilliant new American star. He went in search of this guy and found Elton a mile away from where he lived. They became firm friends, and Terry became the go-to guy for Elton.”

Sir: A Retrospective of Rock Royalty premiered on April 2nd. You can see it online now, as well as prints for sale that were autographed by John.

John’s upcoming leg of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour was recently postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19 concerns. The trek was scheduled to kick off on March 28th in Toronto. Current tickets will be honored at the new dates, which have yet to be rescheduled.