“Elton, I hear you can’t get any peace or privacy.” When the woman left the suite, Jahr leaned closer and changed the subject. Elton stopped talking mid-sentence and took a sip of Perrier. Pownall was framing Elton and Jahr in his lens when a chambermaid came through to empty ashtrays, lingering a beat too long. Beside him on the couch rested a cushion with Elton in needlepoint, dribbling a soccer ball and sporting the Watford jersey. The mood lifted when talk turned to sports Elton had recently acquired a stake in the Watford Hornets, the English football club of which he had been a lifelong fan and had just been named director. He responded to rumors about tensions with his band and dismissed insults by peers - including David Bowie, who in an interview with Playboy had referred to Elton as “the Liberace, the token queen of rock.” Jahr’s strategy was to first give Elton an opportunity to vent. From that day on, Pownall became the East Coast photographer for L.A.-based Grant - a decade-long relationship that would open many doors for Ron Pownall. He put Pownall in the pit for the performance, then flew him to New York to shoot Queen for three nights at the Beacon Theater. Pownall showed him his 8x10s of Freddie Mercury and the band, and Grant was impressed. The band’s publicist, Dick Grant, spotted a rogue photographer with no press credentials and called security. Determined to get to Queen’s management, he returned the second night and talked his way backstage before the show. Pownall finagled a ticket from an industry contact, shot three rolls from the front row and printed them the next day. Queen was playing two nights at the Boston Music Hall - “Bohemian Rhapsody” had just hit the airwaves and the band’s electrifying performances were selling out. Six months earlier, Pownall was a freelance music photographer crawling local clubs and chasing leads.
Elton kicks off his farewell tour in Boston, J© Ron Pownall