Elton John Praises Secondary School Cover of His Song ‘I’m Still Standing’
School may be out, but music teachers are still bringing good cheer during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ben Millington, an instructor at England’s Telford Priory School, led his students in a lockdown cover of Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing,” which he edited together as a music video and uploaded to YouTube back in March. On Wednesday, Sir Elton himself caught sight of the video and shared it to his social channels, praising Millington and the students.
The students in Mr. Millington’s music class at @telfordpriory did a brilliant version of my song, #ImStillStanding. Ben, you did a fantastic job and I look forward to having you all as guests at my show. – E xx 🚀
Watch the full video 👉 https://t.co/GtE1uLRlWl pic.twitter.com/LJhZKFniNX
— Elton John (@eltonofficial) June 17, 2020
“The students in Mr. Millington’s music class at @telfordpriory did a brilliant version of my song, #ImStillStanding,” John wrote. “Ben, you did a fantastic job and I look forward to having you all as guests at my show.”
Elton John had been touring North America on his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour this year when the coronavirus pandemic struck, forcing him to postpone the remainder of his tour dates to 2021. Exact dates have yet to be announced for the rescheduled tour, but tickets for all postponed shows will remain valid in 2021. As of now, John’s European tour dates are still on for 2020, beginning September 5th in Cologne.
In the meantime, John has launched a $1 million COVID-19 emergency fund to help those with HIV maintain their care through the pandemic. He also contributed his voice to the track “Sine From Above” on Lady Gaga’s new album Chromatica.