Elton John's 'up yours' Oz rant

Nov 30, 2006, 12:10 GMT

great shot!! EPA/PATRICK STRAUB

Sir Elton John has said "Up yours" to Australian Prime Minister John Howard - over his views on gay marriage.

The pop superstar made the remark when asked what he would like to say to Howard regarding the country's ban on same-sex marriages, during an interview on Australia's Seven Network today (30.11.06).

Elton - currently on his twelfth tour of Australia - was one of the first British men to tie the knot in a civil partnership with long-term partner David Furnish last year.

The 59-year-old musician told the TV network: "It was just a commitment I wanted to make because I love him, and vice-versa, and it was just a great day."

Howard's conservative government is against gay marriage and civil unions which would give gay couples the same legal rights as married heterosexual couples.

This is the latest in a string of gay rights rants made by Elton.

The 'Rocket Man' singer recently singled out Eastern Europe as a hotbed of homophobia, and blamed religion for the hateful attitude towards gay people.

He said: "I think religion has always tried to turn hatred towards gay people. Religion promotes the hatred and spite against gays. In countries such as Poland, Latvia and Russia there is a huge anti-gay movement and a lot of it is started by the church. From my point of view, I would ban religion completely. It turns people into really hateful lemmings, and it's not really compassionate."

(C) BANG Media International