Elton John retires from pop

Given that he's only managed a top ten hit once in the last five years, and his best chart position he's managed with the last five singles was 138, Elton John's 'retirement' from pop is a bit like a three-legged horse ruling itself out for the National. If you don't count Candle In The Wind Diana Remix, he's not managed to make the US Top Ten since 1994.

Still, it's time, says Elt:

He told GQ: "Look, I'm 63. I don't want to be on VH1 or MTV. I'm not going to compete with JLS or Lady GaGa. I'm at that stage where I don't think I can write pop music anymore. I can't sit down and do a proper rock song. It was okay when I was 25 or 26, but not anymore.

"I like to do my little side projects like Scissor Sisters and have fun, but I don't think Elton John will be putting any pop singles out."

Amusingly, given that Paul McCartney is in today's Sun saying how brilliant modern music is, Elton disagrees:

John recently claimed that modern-day songwriters are "pretty awful" and that current pop music "isn't very inspiring".

I wonder how Elton John and Paul McCartney can have such differing views of the state of modern music? (Clue: sales of The Captain And The Kid v Memory Almost Full).