Elton John and the late Gianni Versace agreed with reference to minimalism. “Much less is much less, and extra is extra,” Versace would say. “And extra is sweet,” added John. “There may be rather more terribly Good.”
It isn’t a nasty philosophy for the pop star, who can store usually, store nicely, and store with the identical unbridled enthusiasm with which he provides his performances. “There may be nothing extra stress-free than a day of purchasing,” explains the musician. “It is the one dependancy I’ve left. I am compulsive – previously I might by no means have only one drink; now i’ve none. I might by no means have only one automobile or only one pair of glasses, so I’ve many. I store, and my decorators perceive; I give them the items, then they put the puzzle collectively.” —Elizabeth Lambert
It is a day earlier than the final photo voltaic eclipse of the millennium, and France, like most of Europe, is just a little loopy. Everybody watches the climate channel, listens to cooks predict an apocalypse, and frantically tries to discover a pharmacy that hasn’t offered out its inventory of goggles.
Within the hills above the Riviera, the winding streets resulting in the grand villas are clogged with catering vans and limousines when last-minute friends arrive from Good airport for events. In one of the vital fabulous of these villas, dominating a hilltop, Tina Turner – radiant in white muslin – is organising her telescope on the terrace. She occurs to know a factor or two about eclipses, celestial and private. And he or she is aware of from expertise that the solar will come out once more.
Turner herself has simply pushed south from her primary residence in Switzerland and is anticipating mates from London, Paris and New York. It is a considerably inconvenient time for a leisurely tour of the home, however not simply due to the photo voltaic eclipse. She’s making ready to launch her first new album in three years—Tina Twenty 4 Seven— and he or she performs the soundtrack with a important ear as she prepares for the pains of a world tour. As soon as the king of heaven finishes his star flip, the queen of rock begins hers: posing for photographers and rehearsing her new music video. However Turner is a grande dame in each means, and her native Southern heat coincides with an acquired European politeness. Regardless of the presence of an entourage and the approaching invasion of a movie crew, she is relaxed and sleek.—Judith Thurman