July 27: The Elton John Band recorded with Joss Stone for her Christmas duet with Elton today in Las Vegas.
Nigel and the band plays on the new Elton single "Electricity" from Billy Elliot. Please see our homepage for info on how you can order it.
January 27, 2005: The Elton John Band will be making the following television appearances in the USA early next month: Late Show with David Letterman on February 3rd, and Larry King Live on February 7th. Check your local listings for times and stations, and set those VCRs!
It is with great joy that we announce the birth of Elliot Oliver Johnstone. The little lad was born on Friday, 19th November 2004—a healthy 8.5 lbs. Congratulations to Davey and Kay—We love you!
October 19: Peachtree Road will be released in the USA on November 9th. Nigel and the rest of the band ARE on it!September 9: Elton and his band will be appearing at the NFL Pre-game show tonight on ABC Television in the USA. They are expected to perform at least one song from the forthcoming album Peachtree Road.
April 23: Lupin Hill Benefit tickets go on sale MONDAY, APRIL 26th through Ticketmaster and the Lupin Hill School office. Kay Johnstone has informed us that there will be merchandise available; we are waiting to hear from her on the best way to order. Please see the Lupin Hill page for more details and keep checking back for updates.
March 28: There will be another benefit for Lupin Hill School on Sunday, May 16th at the Canyon Club in Agoura, California. Like last year, the Elton John Band (sorry, no Elton!) will be featured, doing an all-Beatles tribute. Nigel has informed us that he will be playing on 3 songs. More info as we get it.
March 13, 2004: BOBBY to debut in Las Vegas! Nigel's new DW birch drum kit, a/k/a "Bobby," will make its first stage appearance in Las Vegas on March 23rd at The Red Piano show. Built as a recording set only, Nigel says "It is too beautiful to keep in its boxes...the fans need to see and enjoy it. We have recently used it in the studio in Atlanta—it sounds great! We will now use Ghana as our recording set up, for now at least. The new album sounds great...you will all be very pleased...Enjoy!"
October 22, 2003: Nigel has a new kit from DW, made exclusively for use in the studio. The kit is made from birch wood and was promptly christened "Bobby" in honor of bassist Bob Birch! Bobby joins Ghana and Pinky as Nigel's newest baby. Nigel will be going into the studio with Elton in January to record a new studio album.
Elton has announced a week's worth of dates at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas: February 18-22. Tickets go on sale today at 10 PT via the Caesars Palace box office, Ticketmaster and 888-4-ELTONJ (888-435-8665). Seats are priced at $250, $175 and $100. These are the first dates in the 3-year, 75-show run Elton and his band will be doing at Caesar's.
October 10: Nigel will be at the Chrysler Classic Speed Festival this weekend in Coronado, California. Please check out the Fleet Week San Diego website for more information.
August 1: "Elton John at the Royal Opera House" will be airing this month on American television. Check PBS for local listings.
Nigel will be at 30th Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races at Laguna Seca Raceway, California, August 15-17th.
July 9: Nigel will be driving the pace car this weekend at the Portland Historics in Oregon.
The Elton John Band will perform at Elton's annual White Tie and Tiara Ball at Woodside in England on June 26th.
March 16: The Elton John Band will be playing with Elton and John Mayer at Elton's annual Oscars bash on Sunday, March 23rd.
January 16: See the Lupin Hill Benefit page for info on a benefit concert being performed by Nigel and friends next month.
January 3, 2003: The Elton John Band will be appearing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Wednesday, January 15th. Elton is not yet on the guest list on the website. No word yet on which/how many numbers they will perform.
November 12: News on Dimi from Nigel.
November 5: Forgot to mention that while in Atlanta recently, Nigel worked on the title track (or maybe it's called the main theme...?) of the upcoming soundtrack for the Johnny Depp film Neverland.
We've just learned that Dimitra ("Dimi") Dorbacopoulos will be flying the colors of NigelOlsson.com and the NOFC this coming weekend at the Las Vegas Shootout. Please see Site Updates for more information.
November 2: Lots to tell! Nigel will be driving the pace car at the "Las Vegas Shootout" next weekend, November 8-10, at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Nigel and the rest of the band will be appearing at the "Sir Elton John Gala Concert" at the Royal Academy of Music in London on December 1st; James Newton Howard will be conducting the RAM Symphony Orchestra. The black-tie event is sold out. Phil Ramone and Clive Franks will be recording the concert, which may prove to be even more exciting than the "One Night Only" shows in 2000!
Nigel has signed with Vic Firth drumsticks; Johnny Rabb has gone out of business. Look for new signature Nigel Olsson Balistiks soon!
Nigel and the rest of the EJ Band will also be taking part in The 2003 NAMM Concert Honoring Sir Elton John: A Benefit for Music Education on January 17th 2003 at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California. This is a NAMM members-only event, not open to the public.
Nigel's drum tech Chris Sobchack, who desribes himself as "Nigel's Mummy when he's on the road", is part of the band Four Star Mary which is currently on tour in England. FSM is famous for working on the music for the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" television series and are very big in Europe. If you would like to learn more about them, purchase their latest CD or their swag, please visit The Official Four Star Mary Website.
October 17: Nigel is home for a bit. He played with Elton and the band at the Carousel of Hope benefit ball at the Beverly Hilton on the 15th, and he'll be racing this weekend in Nevada. So much for slowing down...
August 7: Nigel is driving the pace car at the Monterey Historics, August 16-18. You can get more information about this event at HMSA's website; click on "Monterey Historic" in the "What's new" column.
March 8: VH1 will be debuting "Elton John: TV Moments" this coming Tuesday, March 12th at 11 AM Eastern time and again at 10 PM. The show will also run on March 13 at 4 PM, March 16 at 1 PM and 9 PM, March 17th at 7 AM & 7 PM, and March 18th at 12:30 AM and 3 PM (so no excuses if you miss it!). All times are Eastern for the US: please check your local listings. Also, tickets for 2 shows in December at Wembley Arena are going on sale TODAY at 4 PM UK time.
January 24: Tickets go on sale this Saturday, January 26th for the following dates on the Elton/Billy tour:
March 5th Fort Lauderdale, Florida (National Car Rental Center)
March 11th Tampa, Florida (Ice Palace)
March 20th Uniondale, Long Island New York (Nassau Coliseum)
April 6th East Rutherford, New Jersey (Continental Airlines Arena/The Meadowlands)
Rocket tickets for two European concerts (Elton John Band only) in Antwerp and Stockholm will go on sale this Friday, January 25th via the Elton Performs page at EltonJohn.com. There is also an announcement about a concert in Cork, Ireland on July 7th
EltonJohn.com has annouced that Elton and the band will NOT be playing at The Recording Artists Coalition concert on February 26th in California.
The tour is going really well, as I am sure you have heard via the various reports that are cropping up on the Internet. Nigel is having a great time and is currently visiting with family in Massachusetts.January 15: Due to problems with the Message Board, I am posting this here.
Madison Square Garden tickets for March 15th and 18th (Friday and Monday nights, with no chance of shows being added in between due to sporting events) go on sale at 9 AM Eastern time this Saturday, January 19th through Ticketmaster. EltonJohn.com will be selling tickets to Rocket Members only (on the "Elton Performs" page) this Thursday January 17th starting at 11:00 AM Eastern time USA (1600 hrs UK). HINT: There are MANY MORE shows soon to be announced for the New York/New Jersey area (just not at MSG), so don't despair if you get shut out of MSG.
Also of some note are tickets for 2 shows in FLORIDA: March 3 (National Car Rental Center) in Fort Lauderdale, and March 9 at the Ice Palace in Tampa. On sale dates/times are the same as for MSG.
Last but not least, best wishes for a speedy recovery to Stuart of the EJ Band crew.
January 10, 2002: Nigel's busy packing today. He and the band were in rehearsals the past three days, and they leave tomorrow for Washington D.C. for the start of the Elton/Billy tour on the 13th. There are many dates for March and April that have not yet been announced...hold onto your hats!
November 18, 2001: Nigel sends us the following: "I will be appearing on tour with Elton throughout 2002, in the USA, Australia, and in Europe. Unfortunately, I am not at liberty to divulge tour date information prior to official announcement (grrr), so be sure to keep checking with eltonjohn.com for further tour developments. P.S. I'm having a blast by the way. It's so great to be back with the lads! Thanks, Nige"
Please also see Nigel's annual Holiday Greeting.September 5: EltonJohn.com will be making their official announcement of US and Canadian tour dates on the 6th.
October 6 in Toronto, Canada & October 9 in Ottawa, Canada have been confirmed by Ticketmaster.ca. Those shows go on sale this Saturday, September 8th. On September 4th, PR Newsire announced that tickets for October 13 in Detroit (Joe Louis Arena) will be on sale this Saturday as well.August 31: Elton and the band will be keeping busy in England this September. The lads will be sequestered at a famous movie soundstage for a few days early in the month, then it's off to London where they will be appearing on the 7th at the Riverside Theatre for "Top of the Pops 2." BBC 2 Radio "Live" will be taped for a live audience on the 9th at the BBC Radio Theatre in London, and the concert will be broadcast on September 22nd.
American fans, watch your TV Guides very carefully for television appearances early in October. More news as we get it!
June 20: Nigel and Liberty DeVitto are featured in the August edition of Modern Drummer magazine.
June 9: Nigel's latest project, Move the Universe, featuring Kai Olsson, Kiki Dee, i, Ken Stacey & Windy Wagner, Gigi Worth and Christina Vierra, is slated for release IN JAPAN ONLY AT THIS TIME on July 4th. You should be able to pre-order it at any of the following websites: Gemm, CDJapan, or CDEurope to name a few.
May 8: Nigel asked me to post the following regarding the death of Davey's son Oliver on May 7th:
"Our sorrow is so immense, it's hard to put down words. Pray for Davey and Kay and their family and HUG YOUR KIDS EVERY CHANCE YOU GET!!
Love you all, Nigel"April 18: Due to the high volume of requests that have been coming in since the first leg of the Face 2 Face tour started in January, we need to make the following statement: The NOFC does not handle concert ticket and backstage pass requests. Please do not email the NOFC asking if exceptions can be made. Thank you for understanding.
April 16: Nigel says the tentative release date for his album (on Sony Domestic) is June 20th in Japan. Still no word on an American release, but it is being worked on.
February 15: A correction: just Davey and Nigel have been in the studio with Elton. Sorry for the confusion.
February 13: Nigel's informed us that while in California, he and the rest of the band were in the studio working on Elton's new album, and that work will continue through the 22nd. He says it's been fabulous, and that "the songs are strong like the old days."
February 5: Nigel has just told us that he will be appearing with Elton John and Billy Joel on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Wednesday, February 7th on NBC-TV here in America. Check your local listings for the time of the broadcast in your area.
January 29: Nigel's new merchandise site, 9EE's Gear, can now be found at nigelolsson.com.
January 21: This just in from Nigel: "Thank you all for your kind thoughts and wishes for the holidays and the New Year. I am blessed to have you there for me. The tour is off to a great start. My album is done and I will give you a release date as soon as Tokyo informs me of it. I will do my best to keep you updated as time goes on. I am enjoying my time back with the lads. We are putting together a merchandise line which is called 9eegear featuring hats, t-shirts, polo shirts, sticks, and decals. Hopefully it will be ready for your perusal within three weeks. Obviously it will be linked to this site. My sincere thanks to Noreen for her unfailing devotion to this great website. Love, Nige."
January 16: You can read a review of the first Honolulu show here. You will have to scroll down to "Elton John brilliant" on the left navigation bar.
January 4, 2001: This just in from Nigel: "The album is now complete apart from the artwork...sounds are fantastic, everybody shines, Ghana leaves for Hawaii on Friday, polished and ready to tour...over and out! Guess who!!!!"
December 10, 2000: Nigel says: "We are now at the end of guitar overdubs, and go into mix mode by the middle of this week. The album is a stunning piece of work, and Davey and Guy have been an inspiration to me. Everyone who has worked on the record has excelled. We hope to finish by the 22nd of December; let's keep our fingers crossed that we can secure a worldwide distribution deal. There are eleven songs, and I sing on at least five of them. We will keep you updated, and I look forward to being out on the road again with the lads. My love to you all!"
December 7: Nigel tells us that the album is going fantastically well, and that they should be entering "mix mode" next week. An American distribution deal is still being worked on.
November 16: The new studio album, slated for Japanese release only at this time, is well underway. The title is Nigel Olsson's Drum Orchestra and Chorus Volume 2. As on the first Drum Orchestra album, Nigel will be using lots of different singers, and he himself will be singing on approximately five numbers. Vocalists include Kiki Dee, Gigi Worth, Ken Stacey & Windy Wagner, and 14-year old Japanese singing sensation i. The album will also include an unreleased song by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. The Elton John Band will be performing on the album, and there will be a special appearance by Nigel's brother Kai. The sessions are being produced by Davey Johnstone and Guy Babylon. This is the first studio recording of Nigel's new drum kit "Ghana," which sounds unbelievable. Five tracks have been laid down as of November 15, and Nigel hopes to be finished by December 20. The Japanese label is negotiating a distribution deal with the U.S. and other territories.
November 8: Nigel has told us that Japanese singer i will be joining him on his album, the recording of which is now in full swing. She will be arriving in California to record her vocals next week. Susan Myers is planning to shoot some photos at the recording studio, which we will post to the website as soon as possible.
October 29: On October 30th, Nigel will begin recording his new album for the Japanese label 81 Records. Davey Johnstone and Guy Babylon are producing. Nigel will do a duet with Kiki Dee, and Elton has given him a new song. As of now, the album will only be released in Japan.
Going back a week, the shows at MSG were phenomenal. Nigel said after the show on Saturday that he thought most of the tracks for the upcoming release of Elton's album One Night Only will be taken from that performance (October 21st).October 16: Nigel says the sound at the rehearsals for MSG is "...fantastic". It's now two more days till the warmup show at Wilkes-Barre PA, and 4 more until the first of 2 show at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan.
October 6: Nigel tells us "rehearsals are going fantastically well, Ghana is shining bright and we look forward to seeing the fans at MSG being a part of the excitement."
October 2: Sorry, it's not BBC4, it's Channel 4 in England who are producing the programme about GYBR. Also, we have just been informed by Nigel that he was asked by Billy Trudell to be part of a commercial which was shot last week for The United Way, along with other celebrities such as Edgar Winter, Jack Wagner, Rita Coolidge, Steve Lukather, Ed Asner, et al. More details as we get them.
September 28: Nigel will be interviewed in California today by BBC4 for an upcoming programme about the making of Elton's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Gus Dudgeon and Davey Johnstone will also be involved.
September 4: The Monterey Historics races, at which Nigel drove the pace car, will be broadcast on Speedvision on September 15, at 9 PM ET/10 PM PT.
Nigel informed us at the Elton Expo this past weekend that he believes the Master Class at Sam Ash may be fully booked; please call the store at (614) 436-3919 if you were thinking of registering. (See Drum Clinic for more info.)August 17: Nigel will be appearing at Sam Ash in Columbus, Ohio. See Drum Clinics for complete details.
August 15: Elton John's official site officially announced that Nigel will be part of Elton's backing band for the Madison Square Garden concerts October 20-21.
August 4: Nigel has just informed us that he has "agreed to perform on a live album to be recorded at Madison Square Garden in New York City this October to be titled ELTON JOHN'S GREATEST HITS [Live]. More details to follow as they become available."
July 4: Nigel has just informed us that he, along with Davey Johnstone and Gus Dudgeon, will be a guest at the East End Lights Elton Expo at the Hilton Newark Airport in Elizabeth, New Jersey on Labor Day Weekend (Sept 1-3). Attendance is limited to 300. Registration is $185, and the Elton Expo rate at the Hilton (EEL has secured a block of 60 rooms) per night is $89. Please e-mail Tom Stanton for registration information, or call Bruno Traks at (810) 725-3200. The Hilton can be reached at (908) 351-3900 or 1-800-HILTONS if you'd like to inquire about room availability. Noreen and Brooke plan to attend; let's see if we can get a NOFC contingent going!
June 28, 12:03 AM EDT: Many apologies, but I just heard from Nigel that the Sunset Room gig has been cancelled.
June 24: The address for the Sunset Room is 1430 N. Cahuenga Boulevard and the phone number is 323-463-0004. The club is located in northern Hollywood, not North Hollywood, sorry for any confusion!
June 21: Nigel, Davey Johnstone, Guy Babylon, Bob Birch, John Mahon and Ken Stacey will be playing at the Sunset Room (formerly the China Club) in North Hollywood on Wednesday, June 28 at 9 PM.
June 5: Nigel will be driving the pace car at the Inland Classic Road Race at Temecula, CA June 24-25.
June 2: Nigel's informed us that he will be...
at the HMSA Club Races, Thunderhill Raceway, Willows, CA on June 10-11
lecturing at the Berklee College of Music in Boston at the David Friend Recital Hall (921 Boylston Street) on Thursday, June 15th, 2-5 PM. I believe that admission is free, but the hall holds 160 people maximum, so you might want to get there early...
at the Zupan's Historics in Portland, Oregon on July 7-9
at the 27th Annual Historic Races in Laguna Seca, California on August 18-20. This event will be broadcast on Speedvision, please check with them for their schedule.
It also looks as if Nigel's deal with a Japanese record company is on again. He, Davey, and Guy Babylon will be working on some tracks, and Soundcraft just gave Nigel a 32-channel board so he can do work at home. More info on this as we get it.
There's also something else in the works for the Autumn, stay tuned!March 16, 2000: Noreen's just gotten an e-mail from Nigel. Here's an excerpt:
"You and the rest of the mob will be pleased to know that at the Broadway Cares show I will be playing drums on three songs. I look forward to it very much. Elton has agreed to let me use his EltonJohn.com logo, along with the Elton John Aids Foundation logo, for all my racing endeavors. On his site each month he does a small home video type thing where he talks to the fans about what he has been up to during the month. He shot a segment in our dressing room the other day and told the fans as follows: 'Those of you that are ardent fans will be pleased to know that Nigel Olsson will back playing the drums and singing at the Broadway Cares show.'"
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