ELTON JOHN - ELTON'S VAMPIRE MUSICAL HAS NO BITE

SIR ELTON JOHN's new musical LESTAT has been panned by US critics as "laborious, vague and bloated."

The show, based on writer ANNE RICE's hit VAMPIRE CHRONICLES, staggered through a trial run in San Francisco earlier this month (JAN06) before transferring to Broadway in March.

But the vampiric display was a horror in more ways than one - the Press Democrat declared it "not lively enough to be called undead", while another critic triumphantly announced, "Lestat sucks."

Producer GREGG MADAY says, "Everyone prefers to hear how wonderful they are, but we know there are things that need fixing."