Elton John to appear on new Queens of the Stone Age album

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2013/feb/08/elton-john-queens-stone-age

Version 0 of 1.

Elton John is to feature on Queens of the Stone Age forthcoming sixth album. The rockers worked with the Rocket Man on a new song, with Dave Grohl on drums – and it was definitely not a ballad.

"I remember [Elton] walking in and him being, like, 'Have you got a ballad for me?'" Grohl told chat show host Chelsea Handler. "And we were just like, 'No, we do not have a ballad for you.'"

Grohl and John were appearing together on Handler's show, Chelsea Lately, after recording in Los Angeles. "Nobody really asks me to do stuff, they think I'll say no," John complained. So on the rare occasions he does get asked, the singer seems happy to collaborate: in the space of one day, he recorded tunes with both QOTSA and Engelbert Humperdinck. "[It was] a bit of a mind-fuck," John said.

While Grohl was not Queens of the Stone Age's original drummer, he played on their breakthrough album, 2002's Songs for the Deaf, and then rejoined the group last year. Josh Homme remains the band's leader, with longtime partners Dean Fertita, Mikey Shuman and Troy Van Leeuwen. ohn's cameo allegedly took three hours to nail down. "[Grohl] drummed on every take and every take was amazing," explained the 65-year-old. "He's built like a brick shithouse when he drums."

John is just the latest guest to be named in connection with QOTSA's new LP, their first in six years. Other reported contributors include Trent Reznor, Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears, and past collaborators Mark Lanegan and Nick Oliveri. The band's last album, Era Vulgaris, reached No 7 in the UK.

John's own new record, previously known as The Diving Board, has been pushed back to May 2013. Recorded with just piano, bass and drums, it's now reportedly titled Voyeur.