DATE: Sunday, September 14, 1997            TAG: 9709140082

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LOUIS HANSEN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   84 lines

ELTON JOHN, NOW AN EVENT, SELLS OUT CONCERT IN A SNAP

A rocket man, indeed.

Tickets for British pop rocker Elton John's Oct. 11 concert at the GTE Virginia Beach Amphitheater went on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday.

At 10:36 a.m., all of the amphitheater's 20,000 seats were sold.

``It's not a concert,'' said Bobby Friedman, part owner of Birdland Records, at Providence Square Shopping Center. ``It's an event.''

Fans began their vigil at 5:30 a.m., waiting for the chance to catch a glimpse of the man whose most recent ballad, the rewritten ``Candle in the Wind 1997,'' moistened the eyes of millions who watched the funeral of Princess Diana.

Ten minutes before sale time at Friedman's store, the line of Elton John fans snaked past Marshall's Hair Design, Rite Aid, First Enterprise Acceptance Company, B.A. Brewmeister, into the parking lot, around a sandy construction pit, along a row of 40 cars, and, way out front, into the wafting range of Wendy's dumpster.

At a mighty 500 strong, so began the charge of the Kempsville soft rock brigade.

Middle-age masses queued up for Elton John tickets in Virginia Beach and at dozens of other Ticketmaster outlets across Hampton Roads.

The tickets were grabbed up in blocks of no more than eight at a price of $53 for reserved seating and $33 for the lawn.

The only performer to sell out the amphitheater faster was Jimmy Buffett, in 20 minutes, earlier this summer.

Neighbors Maria Barrett and Loree Eysaman from Bellwood Estates in Virginia Beach carefully plotted their ticket assault two weeks ago.

The line for Elton John tickets was determined by a lottery, with every fan who came early enough receiving a numbered ticket. The lucky lottery winner would become first in line, and others following sequentially.

Eysaman, 36, recruited her teenage daughter, Elizabeth Barbour to help. First, Mom took Elizabeth to the mall and bought her a pair of shoes.

Then, Eysaman issued polite orders - Elizabeth would wait in line with her for tickets. ``I just thought she was trying to be generous,'' Elizabeth said, not displeased with her complicity in the bribery scheme.

Eysaman also had her mother in Cleveland dialing Ticketmaster for seats.

Barrett cut short a family vacation in Kitty Hawk to try for tickets, and brought along her son, husband and a group of five neighborhood teens to increase their chances in the lottery.

Barrett and Eysaman, waiting in lawn chairs for three hours outside the record store, drew good lottery numbers and bought 16 lawn tickets.

Although most fans admitted they closely watched Diana's funeral, they said they had planned to line up to see the British singer-songwriter, regardless.

``I'm a longtime fan,'' said Dave Havens, 37, of Virginia Beach. ``I had my mind made up.''

Elton John has said he will not perform the rewritten version of ``Candle in the Wind 1997'' in concert.

Birdland co-owner Barry Friedman has ordered 200 copies of the single, which also will include two songs from John's new album, ``The Big Picture.'' He has a waiting list of more than 100 people ready to buy the release on Sept. 23.

``There's been unbelievable demand,'' Friedman said. ``This is as big as `We are the World.' ''

Ten minutes before the ticket sales began, Bobby Friedman announced the lottery ticket number which would entitle the holder to the first spot in line.

``And I thought young people were bad,'' said 18-year-old Elizabeth Barbour, as she watched a mostly middle-age mob crowd around the front door.

About the first 50 lottery numbers were able to purchase tickets. Reserved seats sold out in five minutes.

Dedicated fans with low lottery numbers punched the redial keys on their cellular phones and waited in vain for Ticketmaster operators to pick them. Mostly, they were greeted with a busy signal.

Jennifer Kaiser, 31, of Virginia Beach, waited toward the end of the line when she saw the crowd in front of her disperse at 10:36 a.m.

``Are they done? No, don't say that,'' she said, hearing the whispered voices that all the tickets were gone. ``Maybe, if we clap, they'll do an encore.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos

Elton John

TING-LI WANG/The Virginian-Pilot

Cindy Dejongh, left, listens and Ashley O'Neal, right, looks as

Daniela Uptagrafft makes a call after getting an Elton John lottery

ticket.

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