Jeffrey Lee Nov 04, 2022

Elton John in Video for Sasson Apparel
By Pamela G. Hollie
The New York Times - August 14, 1984

Sasson Industries, an apparel maker, has rushed onto the air with a $5 million television campaign featuring the popular rock singer Elton John. The commercial, shot in Australia and recut in New York, is a rock video.
It will be used to introduce Sasson's new fall theme, ''Sasson says so much.'' The theme is being introduced through a redubbed version of Mr. John's hit single ''Sad Songs (Say So Much).''
The television campaign will also air in Canada and other countries through December to coincide with Mr. John's 44-city tour in the United States and Canada. Sasson is sponsoring the tour.
This is the first time Sasson has used music videos in its advertising. It is, however, the company's third music-related campaign. Two years ago, Sasson used country-and-western singer Roy Orbison in back-to- school television commercials. For spring 1983, Sasson used music by Ellie Greenwich, a 1950's rock-and- roll singer.
''Elton really brings home our demographic reach,'' said Stephen Wayne, president of licensing for Sasson Industries. The company's target market is men and women between the ages of 14 and 40. Sasson, a conglomerate with $700 million in annual sales and 35 licensing agreements, is best known as a jeans maker.
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Elton John: Flash On the Final Tour
By Mike Joyce
The Washington Post - October 18, 1984

Elton John's current tour carries two names: "The Breaking Hearts Tour," after the title of his latest album, and the "Last Tour" - a reference to John's plans to quit touring the United States after this go-around.
If John really plans to hang up his rock 'n' roll shoes (to say nothing of his wardrobe), he's not about to slide gently into semiretirement. At the Capital Centre last night, it was obvious that John wants to conclude this chapter of his career with a bang, not a whimper. As if to stress the point, he tossed his piano stool offstage during "Bennie and the Jets" and often pounded away at the keyboard, sometimes on his knees.
The singer made his entrance looking like the proverbial rhinestone cowboy. As nearly 17,000 fans cheered wildly, the British rocker walked on stage wearing a white Stetson hat and a baggy western-cut gold lamé tuxedo that glowed in the dark.
Backed by his quartet, John spent the next two hours concentrating on his biggest hits. He genuinely seemed to get as much of a kick out of performing rockers like "Kiss the Bride" as he did in the old days. The ballads, particularly "Candle in the Wind" and the apt "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me," were delivered sincerely.