NAMES & FACES

Elton John, a Man of Many Words

This "Rocket Man" sounds like a grumpy old man. Elton John called the Live 8 concerts "a bit of an anticlimax" and said Pete Doherty of the Libertines is "a mess, it's really sad," the Daily Telegraph reported yesterday.

John says he's "not really a lover of musicals," even though he wrote the score for the British show "Billy Elliot" and songs for other musicals, including "The Lion King." The 58-year-old star also said Madonna sent back two Christmas cards after he mocked her "live" lip-syncing performance at last year's Q Awards. But he's patched things up with George Michael , who John once said was "wasting his talent."

"I haven't got Tourette's syndrome, but I can't censor myself," he said. "Why should I?"

The singer also finds it amusing that his song "Electricity," from "Billy Elliot," went to No. 4 on the charts in part because it was released in conjunction with a mobile text message competition featuring concert giveaways. John said he doesn't even own a cell phone and considers himself a Luddite.

"People are going to think I'm a grumpy old sod, aren't they?" he asked. Of course we are!

Bon Jovi Rocks the Houses

New Jersey rocker Jon Bon Jovi told The Post's Jacqueline Salmon yesterday that he won't make a video for the second single off his yet-to-be-released album, "Have a Nice Day."

Instead Bon Jovi plans to donate the $450,000 production cost to build four Habitat for Humanity homes in Philadelphia. The rock star was in Washington to speak to attendees at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service.

Habitat for Humanity relies on volunteer labor, and Bon Jovi said he might lend a hand, "if they don't mind crooked nails."

-- Compiled by Korin Miller from staff and wire reports