Would you consider Elton John "dull"? Well, the BBC did...back before he was famous.

A new documentary called "Auditioning for Auntie" claims the BBC's "talent selection group" had some interesting takes on some now-famous stars, who were trying to score a spot on the network back in the day.

In 1968, the BBC slammed Elton...saying that he sung in an "extremely dull fashion" . . . had "precious little musical ability"...with a "thin, piercing voice," and whose songs were, quote, "pretentious."

Three years earlier, they passed on David Bowie, because he was a, quote, "Amateur sounding vocalist who sings wrong notes and out of tune."

That same year, they weren't impressed with The Who. The producers said, quote, "Overall, not very original and below standard."

The BBC also ignored the Rolling Stones in 1963, because their music was, quote, "unsuitable for our purposes."  (The documentary airs on BBC Radio 4 on Monday.)

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