Pay-Back Time

The Scene: Monday’s opening night at the Greek Theater for the first of four “Elton John in Concert With Ray Cooper” benefits for the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Disney threw a pre-concert party to present an award for the 6 million-selling “The Lion King” soundtrack featuring five songs composed by John. This makes John runner-up in gold records to Elvis, who presumably is no longer recording.

Who Was There: John has a “no comps” policy on benefit tickets. This affords an interesting insight into how few celebs come to something they have to pay for. There was a small pride of Disney execs, including Michael Eisner, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Rich Frank, Peter Schneider and Tom Schumacher; also on hand were Bernie Taupin, “Lion King” song lyricist Tim Rice, Chris Hillman, Nigel Sinclair, John Stamos, Robert Blake and Jimmy Connors.

The Setting: The pre-party was in a park across from the Greek. It was decorated in African motif with thatch-roofed huts, zebra pattern tablecloths and “Lion King” figures. The effect was oddly similar to an outdoor Kelbo’s where “Hakuna Matata” is played relentlessly.

Why the Party: Sales award presentations perform much the same function for music execs that Lamaze birthing does for expectant fathers: It gives an otherwise inessential party something to do. Plus it allows them to be photographed at a crucial moment with the person doing the real work.

Quoted: As Hollywood’s most famous soon-to-be-unemployed executive, Katzenberg was asked what he was looking for in a future job: “A paycheck.”

Audience Reaction: Even the jaded press, who regard John as a cross between Liberace and Barry Manilow, were impressed by the concert. As for his accompanist, percussionist Cooper, Richard Baskin said: “He’s incredible. He plays the tambourine with the kind of intensity other people have when they conduct a symphony.”

Money Matters: Ticket prices ranged from $35 to $127. It was estimated the four concerts would net $750,000 for the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which distributes 90% of its proceeds through the National AIDS Fund. “It’s easy to raise the money,” John said. “It’s much more difficult to know what to do with it.”

Quoted: John said he does the AIDS work because “when I was doing a lot of drugs, I became so vulnerable and exposed to this disease, but I didn’t get it. When I got my life back, I wanted to give something back because I’d been so lucky.”

Dress Mode: On stage, John wore a white jacket, black slacks and a red T-shirt. At the party, he dressed more exotically in a blue silk Chinese pajama/Nehru suit with a lime green shirt. This is what he wears on the way to work?