- Elton John has a new documentary about his life and career
- It sees him prepare to take to the stage for the last time in the US
- There’s also a string of explosive revelations about his troubled past
Sir Elton John has released a documentary, Elton John: Never Too Late.
The Disney+ feature sees the Rocket Man hitmaker gear up for his last ever North American show at Dodger Stadium in 2022. Along with the preparation, it explores his more than five-decade career.
The movie, which is directed by RJ Cutler and John’s husband, David Furnish, also features cameos from musical icons, past and present. Among these are John’s long-time songwriting collaborator Bernie Taupin, and singer Dua Lipa.
The celebration is also marked by explosive bombshells and tales from the darkest chapters of John’s life.
Here are the most explosive shockers from the documentary Elton John: Never Too Late.
Elton John had a troubled childhood
The Crocodile Rock singer admitted to being “frightened” of his parents, Stanley and Sheila Dwight. One of the ways he found “approval” from them was his blossoming musical talent.
Of his mother, John said, “They were abusive. They were violent. I used to walk on eggshells in case I did anything wrong. My mother, when I was a year old, beat me till I bled with a wire brush to make me potty-trained.
“My mum said, ‘It never did you any harm’. And I said, ‘You have no idea.’ To be reprimanded, walloped on the street, it stays with you.
“My whole childhood was full of fear. I hated being called Reg. I spent a lot of time in fantasy land while my parents were arguing. Playing piano, I got approval.
“I wish it was different.”
Elton John was fearful of his abusive ex
John also shared how he was “afraid” of his unfaithful and abusive boyfriend, John Reid. The man, who was also his manager, left him a broken man after years of torment and pain. This was both the emotional and physical kind.
“John broke my heart. I didn’t know he was having sex outside the relationship. When I found out about it I was crushed. He was very rough,” the singer said.
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He opened up about the night Reid finally left, saying, “I had a party at the house, and we had a fight, and he smacked me in the face – made my nose bleed, cut my face. I loved John very much, but I said I can’t go through this any more and then when that fell apart I kind of fell apart.”
Elton John blames himself for John Lennon giving up performing
The Candle In The Wind singer detailed how he was “intimidated and very excited” to first meet the late Beatle in 1973. The pair became fast friends after their encounter.
“And it was like I’d met someone I’d known all my life. We went out a lot. Had a lot of fun. This man was in the Beatles, and he still wants to be politically involved – he still has a purpose in his life, and I love people like that.
“I love people who think about tomorrow rather than yesterday. We just laughed and laughed and laughed. We did a lot of drugs.”
John reminisced about how Lennon’s final performance was at his 1974 gig at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The Imagine hitmaker was shot dead in Manhattan in 1980.
“I was probably the catalyst for Yoko and John getting back together, If I hadn’t told him he had to do the show, maybe he never would have met Yoko again,” he said.
“They got back together and had Sean. It stopped the drugs, it stopped the craziness, I was very happy for him. It didn’t stop my craziness.”
Elton John nearly took his own life when fame got all too much
John went deep by going on camera to speak about when his life felt too unmanageable. In the 70s just before a show, he got to the point when he felt, albeit briefly, that the only way out was to try and take his own life.
“In 1975, the day before the show (at Dodger Stadium) we were having lunch at my house in Beverly Hills. I took a bunch of sleeping tablets, I took them, came up to the swimming pool, said, ‘I’ve taken a bunch of sleeping tablets, I’m going to kill myself. I’m going to drown,'” the Grammy winner said.
John was conscious by the morning after getting his stomach pumped.
“My mother, my stepfather and my grandmother were worried about me.”
John continued, “I’ve never taken my personal life on stage with me.”
“It took me 43 years to learn how to function as a human being, rather than an actual rock star”.
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Elton John shares the first time he tried drugs
The Goodbye Yellow Brick Road hitmaker revealed how he first tried cocaine after being introduced to it by his boyfriend, Reid, at a recording session at Caribou Ranch in 1974. He got sober in 1990.
“I walked into the room, and it was little white lines and a straw, and I said, ‘What’s that?’ and they said, ‘It’s cocaine’. I said, ‘What does that do?’ And they said, ‘It just makes you feel good,” John said.
At first, it didn’t do as advertised, but it did make him feel like he could take on any social setting with much more ease.
He continued, “I didn’t know what it was, so I said, ‘Oh, I’ll try some of that.’ It made me feel sick, so I thought, ‘Oh, I don’t like this.’ But it didn’t stop me going back for another line.
“Cocaine opened me up and I became social. It gave me confidence. I finally felt like I could talk – I wasn’t intimidated to be in a room full of strangers. I never thought it was a hard drug. I thought ‘I’m not an addict. I’m OK on cocaine and smoking a joint. I’m in control.’”
