Up until yesterday (September 7), Toronto-based woman Bonnie Haas hadn't attended an Elton John concert in 51 years; the last time she caught the Rocketman in person was in 1971 at the Western Springs Stadium on his first New Zealand tour — which is also how long she's been holding onto one of John's shoes.
Speaking with CTV News, Haas explained how she came into possession of a singular signature winged Rocketman boot half a century ago: "We got free tickets from the promoter," Haas shared. "And I was in the second row."
"He took his boots off," she continued. "He had the Rocketman boots, and he threw them into the audience and I got one! I put them on. I was so hyper. I had one black boot and one Elton John boot. I went with my boyfriend at the time, and I stuck my leg out the window and I was saying, 'I got the boot! I got the boot.'"
Haas continued, adding that she went clubbing with her boyfriend later on that same day, donning the right shoe the whole night — which is exactly what she did with the footwear when she attended John's Rogers Centre concert last night.
Now a precious memorabilia item, the shoe sits encased in her home. Though she says Toronto's Bata Shoe Museum has expressed interest in adding the boot to its collection, she has no intention of letting it go.
John will perform once more in Toronto this evening as part of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Final Tour, ahead of another pair of shows at Vancouver's BC Place next month.
Take a peek at the piece in the clip below.
Speaking with CTV News, Haas explained how she came into possession of a singular signature winged Rocketman boot half a century ago: "We got free tickets from the promoter," Haas shared. "And I was in the second row."
"He took his boots off," she continued. "He had the Rocketman boots, and he threw them into the audience and I got one! I put them on. I was so hyper. I had one black boot and one Elton John boot. I went with my boyfriend at the time, and I stuck my leg out the window and I was saying, 'I got the boot! I got the boot.'"
Haas continued, adding that she went clubbing with her boyfriend later on that same day, donning the right shoe the whole night — which is exactly what she did with the footwear when she attended John's Rogers Centre concert last night.
Now a precious memorabilia item, the shoe sits encased in her home. Though she says Toronto's Bata Shoe Museum has expressed interest in adding the boot to its collection, she has no intention of letting it go.
John will perform once more in Toronto this evening as part of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Final Tour, ahead of another pair of shows at Vancouver's BC Place next month.
Take a peek at the piece in the clip below.
