A music festival stoked Elton John’s competitive side by scheduling the artists to play at the same time.

Elton’s final show in his native England was headlining the iconic pyramid stage at the influential Glastonbury festival. Meanwhile, Queens Of The Stone Age played a competing headlining set elsewhere on the grounds.

Here’s QOTSA mainman Joshua Homme telling NME the story of their backstage encounter:

“He gave me a gentle kiss on the cheek and said, ‘Enjoy playing to all three people’, which I thought was amazing. I laughed, but then when we walked out I thought, ‘Oh my god’. There was a lot of people, but normally there would probably be a lot more. It was an interesting thing to walk out to at first. That was some accurate s— right there, that was a good prediction.”

Earlier in the interview, Josh mentioned other times Glastonbury put QOTSA in competitive spots with other huge artists:

“Glastonbury is always an interesting experience, and especially the last few times for us because they always ask us to do the hard job. Other than driving the sewage truck, playing against Elton [this year] is one of the tougher jobs, as is playing against Beyoncé [2011]. They were both tough gigs that were really fun, but tough because you don’t know when you walk out if anyone is going to be there. Quickly all that stuff just fades away and you have a good time. It’s Glasto at the end of the day and people are just there to participate. Escapism is really what we’re after.”

Elton and Josh have quite a bit of friendly history. On QOTSA’s excellent 2013 album …Like Clockwork Elton turned in a guest performance on the track “Fairweather Friends”. Elton played piano on the track, and he contributed some background vocals alongside a couple other very well-known rockers: Dave Grohl and Trent Reznor!

Elton John may have retired from touring in 2023, but “The Bitch” did not go quietly!