4 Inches

by Elton John (Foreword)

Dressed in little—or nothing—more than Jimmy Choo spikes and a single piece of Cartier jewelry, a constellation of beautiful and successful women bare all in support of the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Sophie Dahl, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Heidi Klum, Ann Heche, Rachel Hunter, Jane Leeves, Paris and Nicky Hilton, Emmanuelle Signer, Minnie and Kate Driver, Kimora Lee Simmons, and Victoria Beckham, to name a few, discard their designer outfits and strike a pose. All the pictures are taken by women, including photographers Mary McCartney, Sam Taylor-Wood, and Ellen von Unwerth.

Genres: Photography

144 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2005

About the author

Sir Elton Hercules John CBE (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight) is an English pop/rock singer, composer and pianist.

In his five-decade career, John has been one of the dominant forces in rock and popular music, especially during the 1970s. He has sold more than 300 million albums and over one hundred million singles, making him one of the most successful artists of all time. He has won five Grammy awards and one Academy Award. His success has had a profound impact on popular music and has contributed to the continued popularity of the piano in rock and roll. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him #49 on their list of the 100 greatest artists of all time.

Some of the characteristics of John's music are his ability to quickly craft melodies for the lyrics of songwriting partner Bernie Taupin, his former rich tenor (now baritone) voice, his classical and gospel-influenced piano, the aggressive orchestral arrangements of Paul Buckmaster among others and the flamboyant fashions and on-stage showmanship, especially evident during the 1970s.

John was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He has been heavily involved in the fight against AIDS since the late 1980s and was knighted in 1998. He entered into a civil partnership with David Furnish on 21 December 2005. John and Furnish married in Windsor, Berkshire, on 21 December 2014, the ninth anniversary of their civil partnership. Hecontinues to be a champion for the LGBT social movements.

Reviews

[CD · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nude women for charity. Hmmm..., not a new concept really, but these are photos of and by women with a classy high end fashion hook. Shoes and jewelry. Not just any shoes and jewelry. No, no, no; we're talking Jimmy Choo and Cartier! The good stuff! All for AIDS in Africa.

Four inches refers to the heels of these outrageous pieces of footwear and could there have been better legs for the dust jacket than those of Kate Moss?

The models range from royalty, British peerage to Porn Queen, Oscar Nominee to Grammy winner, Model Mom's, pop tarts/stars, just famous, and a two or three surprises including the woman who founded Jimmy Choo who thought she herself should put up or shut up.

A very specific type of glamour/cheesecake/highend fashion photography makes this a visual feast if not 'meaningful' photography. The cause is worthy, the photos are more than stunning, and these are some of the most tasteful nudes you will find.

A large format book, (I confess I obtained a display/promo copy but have contributed a fair amount to various related charities so I don't feel bad about not paying full fare for this volume) b/w and color with full illustrated credits. Oh, and there is a photo of Elton John who is instrumental in this particular ongoing area of charity and has been very successful with this work.

I am not meaning to dwell on the humanitarian side because other than that, "Hey, it is 40+ great nudes of famous beautiful women". This is one for fun and shows just what photographers can do. A couple of these models though are known for not taking a bad photo. Ever. You couldn't not take a great photo of them. Who they are, I'll leave for others to, uh, reveal.

Enjoy this one if you get the opportunity.

I've been meaning to add this review for some time. Now we return you to more sedate programming.