Following John’s gig, Holden and his manager made their way to an after-party. 'Everyone was asking, "What’d you think?" And everyone was going on about how fantastic Elton was – I thought the band was fantastic. I don’t think ... not so much about the piano player [Elton],"' Holden reveals. 'They never spoke to me again. I’d f--ked the whole thing up in less than 24 hours."'
Does he have any regrets?
'When I look back at it now, I go, "Oh my God, what a loss." To have Elton John writing for you, holy s--t."'
As a result, Holden looked for a career move miles away from London, this time in LA where he ended up writing songs for stars such as Belinda Carlisle, Donny Osmond and Fleetwood Mac.
Fast-forward to the Noughties and Holden had returned Down Under, working on Australian Idol for 10 years. But despite the tension between himself and Ian “Dicko” Dickson, Holden says, “I thought he was a bloody wanker to be honest ... [After] a night or two, of course, I loved the dude.
He was just trying to provide for himself and his family as I was trying to provide for myself and family.”
Hear Mark Holden's full interview via the WHO ARE YOU podcast.