POZitive Attitudes

FYI

Elton John has said that he took risks with unprotected sex during the 1980s and considers himself lucky to have avoided contracting HIV during the AIDS epidemic.^[219] In 1986, he joined with Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder to record the single “That’s What Friends Are For“, with all profits being donated to the American Foundation for AIDS Research. The song won John and the others the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. In April 1990, John performed his 1968 ballad “Skyline Pigeon” at the funeral of Ryan White, a teenage haemophiliac he had befriended.^[220]

John and United States Secretary of State John Kerry discuss AIDS relief and the work of the Elton John AIDS Foundation at the United States Department of State in Washington, D.C., 24 October 2014

Elton John became more closely associated with AIDS charities following the deaths of his friends Ryan White in 1990 and Freddie Mercury in 1991, raising large amounts of money and using his public profile to raise awareness of the disease.

He founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992 as a charity to fund programmes for HIV/AIDS prevention, for the elimination of prejudice and discrimination against HIV/AIDS-affected individuals, and for providing services to people living with or at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. This cause continues to be one of his personal passions. In 1993, he began hosting his annual Academy Award Party, which has become one of the highest-profile Oscar parties in the Hollywood film industry, and has raised over US$200 million.^[11]

To raise money for his AIDS charity, he annually hosts a White Tie & Tiara Ball in the grounds of his home in Old Windsor in Berkshire to which many celebrities are invited.^[221] On 28 June 2007, the 9th annual White Tie & Tiara Ball took place. The menu consisted of a truffle soufflé followed by surf and turf and a giant Knickerbocker glory ice cream. An auction followed the dinner held by Stephen Fry. A Rolls Royce ‘Phantom’ drophead coupe and a piece of Tracey Emin‘s artwork both raised £800,000 for the charity fund, with the total amount raised reaching £3.5 million.^[222]

Later, John sang “Delilah” with Tom Jones and “Big Spender” with Shirley Bassey.^[223] The 2011 guests included Sarah, Duchess of York, Elizabeth Hurley and George Michael (who performed “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” in a duet with John), and the auction raised £5 million, adding to the £45 million the Balls have raised for the Elton John Aids Foundation.^[221]