Elton John has been banned from performing live in Egypt. Already the Egyptian tourist board has been inundated with bookings following the news. "I've never seen anything like it. People phone up and ask us 'Is he really banned?' When tell them that it is true they book a family holiday for two weeks" said Mohammad Madmullah, spokesman of the Egyptian tourist board.
Elton John has been a controversial figure, claiming that Jesus was gay, that lesbians in the Middle East were persecuted and that Saturday night was all right for fighting.
The Egyptian authorities have long been critics of his. Nasser famously called the chorus of Crocodile Rock "painful" whilst Sadaat publicly criticised I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues, saying that the harmonica solo was "totally unacceptable".
Elton John would have been the first Queen to star in Egypt since Cleopatra, but his outspoken views and homosexual lifestyle mean that the Rocket Man has been grounded this time.
