Record-lovers in downtown Vancouver were treated to a glimpse of music royalty on Thursday when the Rocket Man himself stopped by a couple of shops to look for, what else, music.
Sir Elton John was caught sifting through vinyl records at Beat Street Records and Vinyl Records on West Hastings Street in a number of photos posted on social media Thursday afternoon.
And while the legendary singer-songwriter is best known for his pop-rock hits and piano ballads, John’s personal listening tastes appear to be more widespread.
The manager of Beat Street Records uploaded a photo of the celebrated musician peering at a record while on a flip-phone in the cluttered shop and wrote in the caption that John’s first question to the staff was if they had any records by the U.S. rapper Tech N9ne.
John ended up purchasing a stack of vinyl records from artists such as Jane Siberry, Little Feat, Linda Ronstadt, Morris Day and an album by Canadian songstress Divine Brown. He also stocked up on “all the Scritti Poliiti we had,” the manager said.
Beat Street Records also posted a photo of an autographed copy of John’s famed 1973 album “Yellow Brick Road” the star signed at the store. When a commenter asked if the autographed album would be up for sale, the record store simply replied: “Not for sale. Memories are priceless.”
The superstar’s next stop was just down the street at Vinyl Records where he was photographed smiling beside the store’s owner in a photo posted to the shop’s Instagram account.
John’s unexpected shopping spree in downtown Vancouver comes two days before he’s set to take the stage in Victoria to kick off his latest tour with two weekend shows before travelling to the U.S.
With files from CTV Vancouver
