After being forced to pause his farewell tour due to the pandemic, Elton John has recorded a lockdown album of collaborations, recorded partially remotely.

"The Lockdown Sessions", featuring artists from several generations and genres, including Nicki Minaj, Miley Cyrus, Stevie Nicks, Stevie Wonder and Dua Lipa, will be released on October 22 by EMI Universal, the label announced on Wednesday.

The pandemic project was spurred by John having to pause his "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" tour in March 2020, and by his Apple Music talk show "Rocket Hour," through which he got to know many of the artists he would work with.

The tracks were recorded with the artists remote from each other in some cases, together with safety precautions in others.

John said it pushed him into very unfamiliar musical territory, dipping into hip-hop, country and electronic dance music, sometimes in the same song.

"I realised there was something weirdly familiar about working like this," he said in a statement announcing the album.

"At the start of my career, in the late 60s, I worked as a session musician. Working with different artists during lockdown reminded me of that. I'd come full circle: I was a session musician again. And it was still a blast."

The opening track with Dua Lipa, "Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)," was released earlier this month.

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AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan is adamant the grand final will be held in front of a crowd, playing down concerns the West Australian government could lockout spectators at late notice.

Perth's Optus Stadium will hold the AFL grand final for the first time on September 25, following a pre-grand final bye, after an MCG decider was officially ruled out.

On Tuesday, the Victorian government conceded the state's latest coronavirus outbreak and lockdown would result in the grand final being moved away from the MCG for the second successive year.

"It has become clear as we continue to navigate through these challenges that it wouldn't be in the best interests of the community to host a grand final at the MCG in front of no crowd," McLachlan said.

The WA government previously locked out spectators hours before kick-off of the May 1 derby and West Coast's June 27 clash with the Western Bulldogs.

With Perth awarded the grand final largely on the basis a 60,000-capacity crowd will attend, McLachlan remained adamant the showpiece game wouldn't happen at an empty Optus Stadium.

"Yeah it (a potential lockout) plays on my mind. I think that would apply in most states right now," McLachlan told reporters on Tuesday.

"Now we've made the decision around being in Perth, it's clearly relevant in Perth but it would apply in Adelaide or Tasmania - there was a Tasmanian game cancelled on one case in about an hour, Hawthorn-Collingwood.

"That issue applies everywhere given the way state politics and the way people are controlling this pandemic which is quick, dramatic lockdowns.

"So what we won't do is ... we won't play a grand final in front of no people. So we'll work through that if it happens.

"But we know this government has prioritised the health and safety of its community, it's made the tough decisions, it's got tight borders. We feel we're in safe hands but we know there's a risk and if it happens, we'll deal with it."

A time slot has not been confirmed, however, the grand final appears likely to be a twilight fixture in Perth to allow it to be broadcast in prime time on Australia's east coast.

"If you worked to 2.30 or 2.40 (AEST) ... that's 12.30 or 12.40 Perth time - we're not going to play the grand final then," McLachlan said.

"So it'll be later than scheduled, but when exactly, we'll work through."

McLachlan said the pre-grand final bye would enable the teams to quarantine and prepare, while also allowing for events in the lead-up.

He confirmed the Brownlow Medal would be held on the bye weekend, on Sunday September 19 and noted WA were keen to have a grand final parade - or at least an opportunity to present the teams to "tens of thousands" of locals.

McLachlan is due to head to Perth in the next day or two while he estimated 25-30 essential staff would also travel and quarantine.

As part of the decision to move this year's grand final, the long-term contract in place that grants the MCG hosting rights for the annual season decider has been extended to 2059.

The MCG will also host an extra eight games over the next five AFL seasons, while four AFLW matches will be taken to regional Victoria over the coming three seasons.

Victoria will also host the AFL draft until 2023, with this year's edition expected to be held as a virtual event.

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INXS's injured lead guitarist has broken down after telling a court the rock band will likely not tour again.

Tim Farriss, 64, is suing the owners of Sydney boat Omega for more than $1.2 million in damages after his ring finger was severed in an accident in 2015.

While his brother and bandmate John Farriss made comments in 2012 suggesting the band had "very likely" performed its last show, the guitarist told the NSW Supreme Court he'd not stopped playing and believed the band could have continued.

He denied the band "retired" in 2012, saying it ceased to perform live.

Asked if the band will ever tour again, Farriss said: "Not now."

"I don't think the band would ever tour without me," he said before breaking down.

The court has been told the guitarist's reattached ring finger is "useless" and composing is no longer possible.

Minutes earlier and after reluctance that his comments could hurt feelings and cause offence, Farriss said he'd considered replacing frontman Ciaran Gribbin with a more well-known singer after 2012.

Gribbin was the third singer the band had used since the 1997 death of founding member Michael Hutchence and was a better singer than predecessor JD Fortune, Farriss said.

But he was even less well-known and the guitarist dreamed of emulating the success of "good friends" Queen, which has collaborated with American singer Adam Lambert since 2011.

"I had a vision of us getting a singer of great notoriety, it occurred to me to find someone much like Queen with Adam Lambert," he said.

INXS has "other avenues we could have tried" but "as it turns out, I didn't get that opportunity", Farriss said.

In documents, he claims INXS would have toured three times between the accident and now, and another three times in the near future.

That would have netted him about $1.1 million after allowing for tax and vicissitudes, his expert says.

Farriss is also claiming $90,580 in past and future medical expenses and an undefined sum for pain, suffering, depression and other non-economic losses.

But the six-tour assertion was not backed by any admissible evidence, the defendants say.

They point to the band members' ages, waning success since Hutchence's death and a second accounting expert's estimate that Farriss's income from two post-2015 tours could have been as low as $93,000 after tax and vicissitudes.

Omega's owners, John and Jill Axford, and a Sydney boat rental company also deny liability for the accident.

The musician and experienced boater's evidence about the incident was "frankly, bizarre and unbelievable" and in fact, Farriss was at fault, the court has been told.

Farriss says the equipment on the 34-foot vessel malfunctioned and, as he attempted to fix it, his left hand was somehow caught by the chain and trapped between it and another part.

He only placed his hands near the chain "because I had to" to fix kinks.

"It was a scary device and I kept as far from it except where I found it was absolutely necessary," he said on Tuesday.

He denies he accidentally stepping on foot-operated buttons that move the anchor chain up and down.

The only other person on Omega at the time of the accident in Akuna Bay - Beth Farriss - told the court her husband was complaining the anchor chain was twisted and then started leaning over the bow.

She heard a "thunk" before he turned and remarked: "It's taken my finger!"

"That moment looking down is burnt into my brain," she said on Tuesday.

The hearing continues.

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Scott Morrison wants home quarantine to become the norm, even as his government stumps up cash for three dedicated isolation hubs.

The prime minister has labelled South Australia's trial of home quarantine a model for the rest of the country once 80 per cent of over-16s are fully vaccinated.

He wants quarantine facilities to be reserved for international arrivals, such as students and workers, rather than returning Australians.

"The answer for quarantine going forward is actually home quarantine," Mr Morrison told 4BC radio on Tuesday.

"I want to see home quarantine become the norm."

Mr Morrison flagged countries with high vaccination rates such as the UK and Japan could be the first to join travel bubbles when Australia reached sufficient coverage.

He said dedicated quarantine facilities would be used for international travellers rather than returning Australians.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews foreshadowed a scenario where fully vaccinated returning Australians could avoid hotel quarantine from early 2022.

"They might have to answer a phone call a couple of times a day with facial recognition technology to establish that they are at home and they might only have to stay home for a few days until they got a negative test," he said.

"They may have to stay longer. It will depend. None of that is finalised but there is work to that end."

Australia is set to go from one to four dedicated quarantine facilities, but not until part-way through 2022.

The federal government will pay to build dedicated quarantine facilities in Western Australia, Queensland and Victoria to supplement hotels.

Last week, fast-tracked approvals of the WA and Queensland centres were pushed through parliament.

The Queensland government is going it alone on a second facility near Toowoomba.

© AAP 2021