Elton John and Rod Stewart haven’t been that close in recent years, but Elton still made it a point to wish his old pal a happy 80th birthday on Friday.

On his Instagram Story, Elton posted a slideshow of pictures of the two of them through the decades. One picture shows Elton in drag, sitting in Rod’s lap; another shows them side by side in bathtubs. “Happy birthday to my great mate! @sirrodstewart,” Elton wrote. “So many great memories over the years! Hope you have a brilliant day celebrating! Much love!”

Elton and Rod used to be so close that they had special nicknames for each other — Rod was “Phyllis” and Elton was “Sharon” — and played elaborate pranks on each other. But in 2018, Rod ticked Elton off by going on TV and saying that Elton’s farewell tour was a “dishonest” ploy to get more money. 

In his autobiography, Elton wrote about Rod’s comment, “I certainly didn’t feel like I needed a lecture on the feral spirit of rock and roll from someone who’d spent most of the last decade crooning his way through the Great American Songbook … I thought he had a f****** [nerve], complaining about me promoting a tour while he was sat on a TV show promoting his own tour.”

Rod told ABC Audio in 2021, “We don’t see each other anymore. We don’t keep in contact. The romance is over. I suppose, you know, we contact each other through the press now. If I say something b***** about him, he’ll use the press to get back at me. But we love each other. That’s what counts.” 

Meanwhile, Rod took to Instagram Friday to thank his “loyal and rowdy fans … for giving me such a wonderful life,” adding, “I’ve not finished yet.”