Elton John: Becoming Rocketman | Full Length Music Documentary! | Inside the Music

This is something I'm looking forward to, it's another chapter of my incredible life. King of the Keys Sir Elton John, with a career spanning five decades, Elton John has blended pop and rock styles to become one of the greatest

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al icons of the 20th century. century on January 24, 2018 Elton announced that he would finally be retiring. I have had an incredible career and you know you have to say enough is enough and what is the most important thing in one's life now and it is the children, they have changed our lives. In the early '90s, John confessed the personal cost of extravagance, drug abuse, depression, bulimia and revealed his dramatic struggle to regain control of his personal life.

They have given me a second chance to live a decent life. I made a complete mess. the first one, uh, and I think the opportunity that I've been given again not many people understand that in life the best thing about a movie like Rocket Man is Elton John, so he's awesome, honest about himself, you can't help to people who don't. They want to help themselves, I have learned that as an addict and I am 28 years clean and sober. When people told me that I was doing the wrong thing when I was using, I got so angry and I just told him to go away or really loudly align with him that for anything else you want to say about Elton John, he is a genius at what he does, He really was just a normal person, in the right place, at the right time, with the right talent, just as much as I am. a very famous person, I think I'm also quite grounded in a way and I don't really talk much about my success, and I certainly don't bring it home, and it was wonderful to think, God, what a wonderful life.

I have had and still continues Elton John has a career like no other and to truly evaluate the magnitude of his unique journey we have to start from the beginning, singer-songwriter, composer and icon Elton John was born Reginal Kenneth Dwight on March 25, 1947. In the England of the middle sex, Elton John was born with the perhaps unfortunate name of Reginal Dwight, he changed it to El John and I think we all understand why in the movie Rocket Man there is a kind of funny scene where someone calls him Reginal. that's my grandfather's name and it's true, he just didn't have the same kind of cachet and coolness, so he very quickly realized that if he was going to be a big famous pop star, he would have to come up with a different nickname and I think that Elton John's entire story is based on the fact that he is a normal person; in fact, he may be the most anonymous face in the crowd to ever be plucked from the crowd to become a major superstar.

I don't think there is anyone in the

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industry who can claim that he has come further than Elton John; by that I mean, John Lenon and Paul McCartney always had fairy dust sprinkled on them and even their teenagers say John Len is memorable. boy and all that and so on, you know, Bob Dylan was never one of the boys in a normal person and so on for any man or woman, black or white, whatever, but Elton John was really okay with everything. Have you ever read it and listened to it and the people I've talked to in my years in the industry were just a very sweet normal guy from a very young age, it was clear that he had a real passion for music and a lot for his family surprise he taught himself to play the piano when he was just 4 years old the childhood he spent with the piano keys was faith

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y recreated for the 2018 John Lewis Christmas commercial in the UK, the boy plays and John in this commercial sits and he really plays Well, you can see the mother and grandmother going and I'm sure that's really what happened with Elton John.

He was just another kid in the suburbs, but one whose dream came true, he pursued it very, very hard, he went for it, our Elton did it. but also fate intervened and picked up and grabbed the guy because he was actually a normal person but he was in the right place, at the right time, with the right talent, how wonderful life is while you're in the world, you know when Elton. He changed his name, he also reinvented the costumes, the headdresses, the makeup, the glasses, all of this became part of his personality at a time when you know that this is Gaga ready.

This is pre um, you know, transgender awareness, this is Prem. Men dressing in costume, this was the beginning of something that Elton was breaking all kinds of barriers about the idea that people had about men in makeup, about sexuality, about being gay, about not conforming to a stereotype, he broke many barriers and received a lot of criticism for it. but he continued in a fearless way, being true to who he wanted to be on stage. Ellen John is one of those guys who thought about it before doing it, so she knew that when she was Reg Dwight, she wasn't Reg Dwight.

I'm going to cut it off uh he would have known about the Larry Parns acts where you know Billy Fury wasn't his real name and uh Georgie Fame was born Clive Powell. I mean, none of these guys had Johnny Gentle, no one was born Johnny Gentle. They're not the same way nobody was born Muddy Waters nobody was born Howen Wolf you need a name that's catchy and Elton John knew that Reg Dwight wasn't really going to cut it, so he was playing in various bands without success. He was an outstanding pianist and everyone knew him and he played on many of those records that say the greatest hits of 1968, the greatest hits of 1969, where they cannot afford to have, for example, The Beatles or jam or sculptures of love. or Fleetwood Mac, what they do is have a group of session guys who imitate as closely as they can Fleetwood Mac's Albatross, a big hit in '69, or the Beatles, something that was a big hit in '69, and They record an album and then they put in a sexy girl. on the cover and there would be a cheap LP and Elton John played piano on many of those sessions.

Beyoncé has often spoken about the fact that she has a Persona called Sasha, which is who she is when she is on stage in the case of Elton John. I feel very sorry that Elton became his persona on stage, but he never got out of that mask, he never left that Person, in fact, if you call him regge, even in his daily life, someone he has known for years, if he would slip away. and called him reg, he would be absolutely furious, he became Elton professionally, but he also became Elton the diva personally, those barriers and lines between Reggie Dwight and Elton John were gone forever, he was Elton John and the stage diva didn't come back Being Reggie Dwight when he returned home he was Elon 24/7 responding to an ad in a music weekly in 1967 Elton John auditioned for Liberty Records talent scouts liked his performance but not his list of materials Bernie tpin had also responded to Liberty's ad and one of the talent scouts gave Elton a stack of talin letters. 6 months later, the two met and began writing together.

John and Talpin took their songs to music publisher Dick James, who hired them as songwriters for 10 shillings a week. Elton John and Bernie tpin would prove to be a formidable musical team tpin wrote lyrics and delivered a package to Elton every few weeks without changing a word and only rarely consulted telin John fit the melodies to the phrases for almost 2 years they wrote melodies easy listening for dick James to pedal with the singers seeking advice from another music producer, Steve Brown, Elton John and Bernie tpin began writing more rock songs, the first was the single I've Been Loving You produced by the former guitarist of Blue zology, calb Quay, the records did not sell and John and talpin recruited Gus dudon to produce a follow-up album, Elton John's self-titled album, set the formula for later albums, rockers with gospel strings and soulful ballads.

He and John had started in the states. I don't think the "empty sky" album was released in the states. I don't think when Elton John's album came out, anyone would have guessed what he would become. He has an album called uh Elton John, you know, anonymous, named after him. It had a very somber cover and looked like Randy Newman. in the shadows and one might expect some very serious State of the Union type satirical songs. AI Randy Newman looking at the cover and I remember clearly when I was young back then, one of my friends said the coin of the day was "I've heard this fantastic new album, I said who is it," said Eaton John, that's how early it was for the race by Elton John.

His name was Eaton John and I thought the guy's name was also the name of the school, so the guy my friend bought the album and he was very shady compared to the guy who a few years later would come up to the album. stage at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles in a sequin Dodger baseball suit, but he looked very serious, it was a wonderful album, it had the signature song Your Song that he and Bernie Toin wrote and I can't believe it's kinda. funny this feeling inside one of those that can be easily hidden. I don't have much money before.

If I did, I would buy a house where we could both live like. As much as I would like to, you must be tired of playing it because it may well be the only song. the one that everyone thinks of when they think of Elton John, yeah, there's Candle in the Wind or whatever, but I think your song really did it. in the states, he played at a legendary venue and that's a word that gets thrown around in the record industry a lot more than it should be. He played a legendary residency at a place called The Troubador in Los Angeles when the troubador, as he called it in Los Angeles, when I arrived. to Los Angeles in '77, as they said in Los Angeles, when Elton John started that residency in 1970, no one but the hip cognis and the disco on the street knew who he was and after his four nights or whatever, in the trador everyone in the record industry not only knew who he was on both coasts because the word was out, he was packing up, he had an audience in the SC every night, but everyone in the audience knew he was going to be big, I mean, whether it was a punter who got a ticket because they knew the first album from the beginning or someone like Neil Diamond who was at the shows or a David Geffin or whoever everyone knew he was this is going to go national this is going to break and I'm Saying only a handful of shows at the trador it was learned that he then went on a fairly extensive tour of the United States.

I saw it, they were, it was a great band with Olson and, uh, in the early days, but he was, he got into what he did early. In 1970 it was a great explosion for his career, a transcendental boom. John made his historic American debut at the Trador in Los Angeles in August 1970, kicking his piano bench Jerry Lee Lewis-style and doing handstands on the keyboards. John left the critics. Raving Your Song took the album to the top 10 of the US charts and, with extensive radio play, sold even faster, reaching number five in mid-1971. Two further albums were released, a live set recorded from a New York radio broadcast in November 1970. and the soundtrack to the film Friends, written three years earlier, Elton John was the first group since the Beatles to have four albums in the US top 10 simultaneously.

Madman Across the Water came out in October 1971 with the hits Levon and Tiny Dancer, the album Goodbye Yellow Brick. Road was released in 1973. Elden John was already a pretty megastar, let's say 7475. I mean, people knew who he was, but the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road set, you know, being an extended and expanded set, there's something about a longer album that packs an impact if you understand it. look at the careers of the greats in quotes, many people say the Rolling Stones are defined by Exile on Main Street The Beatles are defined by The White Album Bob Dylan's defined by Blonde on Blonde and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road had so many songs that were played on On the radio in the United States we are talking about an almost saturation level.

The only thing I can really tell my European friends that is comparable is about 18 months ago when the bgs did saturday night fever and that was ubiquitous on American radio. Am and FM stations Goodbye Yellow Brick Road sealed the deal. Yeah, he was already a multi-platinum guy and he was practically a superstar, but after Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Candle in the Wind, you know Ben in the Jets and all that. you're talking about a guy who's a household name and I'm not talking about you or me or the people around us here in London, the hipsters, I'm talking about my mum and dad's people after Goodbye Yellow Brick Road .

God bless you all, mom. I knew who Elton John was, which is an extraordinary thing because they're completely outside the rock or pop world, but everyone knew who he was, I mean, he was on magazine covers and, you know, business magazine covers where They just put someone in. if they were making a lot of money, I mean, he was way beyond just being a Rolling Stone cover. Goodbye Yellow Brick roow was really the one and I mean, don't let the sun go down, there were so many iconic songs that you just think, wow, in the mid 7's, John's concerts filled arenas and stadiums all over the world, it was the most popular rock and roll group after recording Captain Fantastic and the brown dirtCowboy, the first album to enter the charts at number one.

John reviewed his band, they brought in new members. With his new band in place, Jon introduced the lineup before playing to a crowd of 75,000 at London's Wembley Stadium in the summer of 1975 when he made the album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy which really summed him up because it was a reference to who and what they were Elton John was the guy who came on stage in sequin suits in the memorable had a series of shows that were memorable shows in themselves and had a pair of glasses that I've always loved that had windshield wipers like a car and all those crazy pink satin suits and stuff, he's Captain Fantastic, the dirty brown cowboy, he's Bernie, like a lot of Brits of a certain era, he grew up in a lot of American culture in the '50s and so on. on.and he always wanted to be a cowboy, hence the album title Captain Fantastic Elton John and the brown dirt Cowboy being Bernie toppin Bernie toppen to this day I hope I can name Bernie's state after a ranch, a working farm in Arizona where she dates a cowboy and there are steers and horses and all that monotonous business, so it worked out incredibly well for both of them because Bernie Toppen realized that he had some great lyrics, that he was a good Lotus, but that he was not a leader and was not a great singer and he didn't really have the desire that Elton John, also known as Reg Dwight, had to go out in front of the public.

I mean, Bernie Toppen is a wonderful guy, but he's not the glorious extrovert that Elton John becomes when he comes on stage, so their marriage was perfect and, from the beginning, they started doing really good work, yeah You listen to Elton's early stuff, Vacuum Sky hasn't gotten to that point yet. then Elton John's album, uh, oh, something's happening, that's where your song comes from. So I think the second one is, of course, the weed connection, which is Bernie Toppen, who's more obsessed with Americana music, the band, country and western music, and Bob. Dylan and Robbie Robertson and all those kinds of people and it just shows a wonderful meaning of minds and a wonderful team, but what it shows to me is again the wonderful, pragmatic, practical filmmaking of Elton John.

I need to do a b c to get it. to D and that meeting Bernie Toppen could have been up to L or M. I mean it was a big step forward after the Monumental concert at Wembley Stadium. Elton John's frenetic recording. The pace began to slow down and he played less frequently a live album here and there. was recorded in 1974 Jon's biggest hit in 1976 was Kiki D's number one duet a single from the sad album blue Moves in 1976 Elton's song Don't Go Breaking My Heart went straight to number one was that famous duet with Kiki D that I can basically listen to at every karaoke night around the world.

We guaranteed that the song is so catchy and so golden pop and everyone went crazy. The song was heard all over the world on radio stations. It was one of his first great ones. greatest hits hit Yo, no one knows when I was depressed I was your clown. They flew me to New York and the big excitement was Thanksgiving of '77, I think, and the big excitement was people saying, remember 3 years ago when John Lenen came on stage. on Elton John and, uh, I've seen some very grainy images and, uh, they make um. Whatever gets you through the night.

The BET was that John Lennon said: I want you to play on this track. I need a pianist on my album walls and bridges I need, I need a pianist, I'd like you to play and Elton John was a big Beatles fan, of course, I mean, a lot of people are, but particularly he's the perfect guy to be impressed with the Beatles, let's remember when Dwight Regginald was re Dwight was right, if Chang had had his name, he would have been famous. The Beatles were gods, so he was excited to know how to work with Lennon and told Lennon in the studio on the walls and on the Bridge album.

I will play this song on one condition. Lennon said what is that and the condition is that if it goes to number one you have to come sing it on stage with me at a concert and Lennon said later that he thought it might be a big hit but I didn't really think it would. It reached number one in the United States in November 1977. John announced that he would retire from acting. He secluded himself in any of his three mansions and appeared in public only to cheer on Watford Football Club, an English soccer team that he later bought.

Many speculated that Jon's Retreat from Stardom was sparked by an adverse reaction to his 1976 admission in Rolling Stone that he was bisexual. In 1983, Elton recorded a version of I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues with Stevie Wonder on harmonica. Elton had his biggest hit since 1980 and although his later music couldn't match his success in the '70s, it would continue to chart in the top 10 throughout the '80s between your heart, BL in your hand. I'm following his success with Junle. Breaking My Heart at the end of 7. Elton was very open in an interview. about being attracted to both men and women, this was something that particularly surprised the American public and that people were scared by and it was something that nowadays is not that unusual to say, but in those days it was unprecedented and he received a lot of criticism for that and perhaps also the criticism he received for being open about his sexuality contributed to his drug and alcohol use, which became more intense in the 80s, one of the reasons why rock stars fall in addiction and it's not just rock. stars as we know them, but I think it's about all the pressure of show business that we know now and if you're familiar with the history of show business that back in the era of the so-called golden age of Hollywood, the big studios gave some of their star artists accelerate to move forward Andor loses weight keeps the film on time in the project and that became a greater dependency than anyone had ever dreamed we knew that the big Hollywood studios had uh Scott Fitzgerald and William Fauler, already you know keep drinking, do what you have to do to keep the script working and that just morphed into the record industry.

I think it starts with a pressure to not just create, like people say, I drank this bourbon or this psychedelic to write a song, but to perform to go on stage and conquer my fear, I'll have a few drinks or a quick half a tablet and have the courage to get on stage and the industry let it go when the money was coming in, they let that pony go. The race continues, but finally there is a reckoning because the bill arrives and that's when all hell breaks loose. I think one of the reasons why people in the public eye can't believe that another musician or actor has a similar addiction to so many. that have happened before is because we are not in the public eye, I mean, you or I are the person P looking at this, we walk down the street, we are who we are and unless someone trips and falls or has their zipper down or like a stained tomato on the front where they spilled something during lunch no one really pays much attention to us, but I think once you're in that fish tank and everyone's staring at the fish tank and watching you swim, I think the pressure is so great that some people I need an artificial relaxer or enhancer to keep them active, but more to the point, I think it's good, I think it's more than pleasant.

I think it's wonderful that someone like Elton John talks about these things. One of my dear friends is a counselor. in Narcotics Anonymous and says it would be great if I said it, but when it's one of the Hollywood guys coming to a meeting and saying that thing about being honest, everyone sits in the meeting, you can't help people. that they don't. They want to help themselves, I have learned that as an addict and I am 28 years clean and sober. When people told me that when I used I was doing the wrong things, I got so angry and I just told him to go away or actually stronger language than, um, so I understand George's, you know, when I said a couple of things and he took a

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page interview in Heat magazine saying I should shut up and I just understood why what is his reaction, his addiction is a horrible thing um and two or three of our friends are admired in addiction right now um and There's nothing I've learned There's nothing you can do until you actually say okay I'm going to do something about this I need help It's the same with people who are HIV positive once they know their status and that's what we're doing with this program in Africa and with Debie Burks and us, which we will talk about later, then it will empower young men to be able to say say okay, we will get tested and we will prevent the infection rate of young women increase like this, so you know there is always some problem, but there is always a solution, there is always a bright light on the horizon, the 80s.

They were years of personal turmoil for Elton John in 1984, he surprised many by marrying the engineer From Rat Blow studio, of course, there is Elton's early marriage to Ranada. Now this is something that I personally have never fully understood, but I hope that in his autobiography I go into more detail about it. In more detail about why he felt compelled to marry a woman and whether it was a sexual love relationship or something to cushion the criticism he was receiving for being openly bisexual while the marriage lasted 4 years. John later maintained that he had realized that.

He was gay before getting married in 1986. He lost his voice while touring Australia and shortly afterwards underwent throat surgery. John continued to record prolifically but years of cocaine and alcohol abuse began to take their toll on him in 1988. John performed five sold-out shows. sold out at New York Garden's Madison Square, their final concert was their 26th, breaking The Grateful Dead's career record of 25 sold-out appearances. In a later interview, he considered 1989 to be the worst period of his life, comparing his physical and mental deterioration to Elvis Presley's final years. They have given me a second chance to live.

My decent life, um, I made a complete mess of my first one, uh, and I think the opportunity that I've been given again, not many people take advantage of in life, besides that, I had everything in my life so I had to being thankful. He had everything everyone wanted, except personal happiness, to do that. I had to get to the bottom of the deepest part of my soul and then find myself again and I came out unscathed, which is a miracle considering the positions and situations I got myself into. uh, and how far my drug abuse took me and uh, having a second chance is very special to me because when you're a drug addict you're so irresponsible that you don't show up at all, you cancel things like that.

I'm just not a rational human being, you know, the more sober I get and the more comfortable within my own skin, I think addiction is about running away from all the things that I suffered as a child and, you know, I just ran away from it. and I buried myself in a spoon of Coke or food or whatever and now I'm comfortable I don't care I'm proud of who I am I don't think it's a big deal for someone in The entertainment business it's really a big deal for someone who He lives in a small town, but it's no big deal.

I don't think that if you're an artistic person, most artistic people are gay. Come on, am I in? I love right now I'm very in love yes, I'm EXC of the team, I'm excited about the Grammys. I've never been to the Grammys. I've never had a Grammy. Yeah, I'm one of the best bands, The Stevie Wonder, so yeah, it's really nice. everything seems to be happening right now to me so who am I in love with? Ah, that's my personal life. What makes me happy now is that I've said it before. I believe I am a trustworthy human being. that I arrive on time that I am aware that my family can talk to me when in reality I am composed apart from work things in my life that are fabulous my own personal life has resolved itself and that makes me happy more than anything.

Elton spent a lot of time on tour running around the world and at one point he decided to slow down, so at his house in Windsor he decided to organize a dinner and he called a friend and said: can you? I brought new people over for dinner tonight at my house and his friend brought David Fernish and Elton said from the start that he was impressed with him. David was quite shy, we know he is very handsome, he was a serious guy and Elton. and David had enough conversation that he allowed Elton to ask him out to dinner shortly after and the rest, as they say, is history.

Elton and David have certainly had their ups and downs and I fully hope in Elton's autobiography that he will be open and honest about some of them, but the fact is that the couple has managed to stay together for over two decades and now raised two beautiful children together. . The year 1997 was significant for JN, both personally and professionally. He lost two close friends. Designer Giani Versace and Princess Diana Following Diana's death, Bernie Talpin reworked the lyrics to Candle in the Wind, a song originally written about Marilyn Monroe in 1973 in 1997, when the princessDiana died tragically. Elton John famously played at his funeral Candle in the Wind, which was originally written about Marilyn Monroe and was a very beautiful moving tribute to this incredible woman.

It was said that during the song, both William and Harry, their children were quite emotional and tearful, but had enough respect and common sense not to put the camera on them. The camera stayed focused on Elon John during the song, but it was one of the most touching moments of the day. Elton John and Princess Diana had a friendship and it was a beautiful and fitting tribute to her, a woman who was very royal but also had close ties to celebrity and Hollywood and your footsteps will always fall here long on the greenest hills of England your candles go out long before your Legend does my father of all people pointed out that Bing Crosby's White Christmas was the biggest hit of all time because it was the right choice. song at the right time, he said the reason it was a hit was that the soldiers in the Pacific, where it was hot and sweaty, couldn't get enough because many of them were from Minnesota, Iowa, upstate New York , where there was going to be a White Christmas without them while they are in the Pacific risking their lives against the Japanese forces, the right song, the right time, another example of the right song, the right time, which is the second classic example after that is Candle in the Wind, to which Elton John has always been attracted.

Whatever the reason, it's not my place to tell public figures who have shown some of the same weaknesses and vulnerabilities that Elton John has shown in the past. I don't know why it's not my place to say whether he's just a good Samaritan or whether he wants to be in the world. uh he's on the team and he proves to himself that he's a member of the club, but when he loses someone, when someone loses in the audience, Specter Elton John is often asked to say some words because he knew them or what be and the classic example of the right song, the right time is to recast the sail is the wind away from Marilyn Monroe metaphor and imagery from Lady Diana's early original song is a simple but brilliant move people can understand it Lady Diana and her comments about maybe I will be the princess of people's hearts then that really touched many people around the world think of all the housewives or unrequited loves that exist in the world and who saw a little bit of themselves in the pickle that Lady Diana put in Elton John would probably have identified with that, anyone who had a hurt, bruised or broken heart at some point in their life and re-performing that song for Lady Diana was the perfect song for him. perfect moment when people could understand what he was singing about. and understand the POS and understand the pain and understand the metaphor goodbye R may you ever grow in our hearts you were the best place to sell where lives were taken a goodbye Ang Ro from the last country without your soul that misses the wings of your compassion More than What you'll never know, Elton's famous tribute to Princess Diana at her funeral was the beginning of a fairly close connection with the current royal family.

It meant a lot to Diana's children. I think that famous performance of Candle in the Wind and such that Elton has kept in touch with William and Harry um Elton attended William and Kate's wedding attended Harry and Megan's wedding and even performed at Harry and Kate's reception Megan Elton has become an uncle, I think, to those kids and one of Princess Diana's close friends, I think. that her relationship with him became even more important to her, her children, Elton now has very close ties to William and Harry due to his famous tribute to their mother in 1988.

He was deeply affected by Ryan White's plight in Indiana. teenager with AIDS along with Michael Jackson John befriended and supported the boy and his family until White's death in 1990. I know a guy like Elton John who knows the terrain in terms of popularity and the power he has as a spokesperson from this. or that his fame and showbiz knew that he wasn't going to get any sympathy from Ronald Reagan right away, so when the AIDS epidemic came out, the homophobia, Ryan White, the whole thing did something wonderful, Elton John and he o his advisors or someone thought, wait, Reagan and Mrs.

Reagan were both in movies, they're both parents too, there's got to be a way you can get in there to talk peacefully and say what you need to say and the focus was on Mrs. Reagan as a mother, she had also been an actress of course, that's how she met Ronald Reagan, so Elton John went to see Nancy Reagan first and talked about making peace with Mrs. Reagan about AIDS, Ryan White, homophobia and the whole tenor of the country at that time. As difficult as it is now, it's a lot better than in the 1980s, there's a lot more understanding that it's not true and it was a wise move on Elton John's part because he moved the whole conversation not so much forward but towards openly, I I mean talking about AIDS or HIV in the past, hardly anyone knew what they were talking about, it was almost as if I was saying that it was analogous to talk about the plague in the Middle Ages, to talk about the Black Death, that kind of thing and uh, when Elt and John brought it to the public consciousness, not the public consciousness, that's the wrong way to put it, but he put the whole issue in the sand and said here, we have to discuss this openly. she brought him out of the darkness, she did the country a favor and I have to say that Mrs.

Reagan played a role there too because without her influence I don't think they would have gotten Reagan to make the first sympathetic comment, but as we know, they show it . Generally speaking, business here has embraced or at least understood homosexuality more than other vocations in the United States around the world, which is why Elton John made a big deal when he went to Nancy Reagan first. We have a problem here. Can I talk to you like since you're a mother, you understand, uh, that Chas has embraced so many different types of people, why can't society as a whole?

That may be, in some ways, his greatest achievement, who knows, in 1992 he established the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Intending to allocate 90% of funds raised to direct care and 10% to AIDS prevention education, he also announced his intention to donate all future royalties from sales of his singles in the United States and the United Kingdom to AIDS research. We were finding that men between the ages of 24 and 35 uh W got tested um and obviously we were infecting a lot of women um and S a big jump and the HIV rate of women skyrocketed um and after we were in Durban , No? and we were sitting in our suite with Andaba and Mandela, Nelson Mandela's grandson, and he said, "You know, I come from a generation of men who don't really get tested" and he also said that the disease is not relevant to my generation, which which for Elam was a It's a Eureka moment because it's been so common in our lives, but he told the young African that he carries all this baggage where he comes from and all the stigma associated with what HIV meant in the '80s and '90s. and we needed to reposition it in a way that you knew that knowing your status and understanding it was something to take on with pride and with a sense of responsibility.

It's very frustrating because here, sitting in Amsterdam, it's been a lot of these things um and every two years we come here and we've made a lot of progress and people are getting more treatment and letting people know that they have a healthier life, but it's not changing. enough in the fact that there are not enough people receiving the drugs the drugs are too expensive um in the case of the preparation and also the governments um being homophobic uh sending people underground and the people in the sea Iz, the people in life is being left behind and of course it is always said that our organization leaves no one behind.

Then you encounter this stigma. I'm sitting there today doing Q&A and thinking this is ridiculous, we have the drugs to stop this disease now and all it takes is for Putin, Trump, Merkel, Macron, Trudeau to say, "Well, let's go to the president of China." ". to say well, let's do a big humanitarian thing, let's just end this disease, you can do it like that. President Trump has the ability to say I want to keep the preparation bug um and I want to be the president, the end of AIDS and if he said that. He would back you up the hill and I don't care what you called him, you can call him Trump, as far as he can do what he does, but he has the ability to say my predecessors were Republicans.

His predecessor was President George Bush, he instigated this preparation. F and it was a bipartisan thing, so Obama took it for 8 years and continued, it still continues, but he has the ability to say he will continue and I can have the ability to become president of Na Elton is one of the richest. artists today and it's not just because of his incredible work ethic and constant touring, but also because he's a great songwriter, so he's constantly getting residuals from a musical like The Lion King, which he wrote, or Billy Elliott, which he wrote himself, or any number. of songs he has written, so he gets paid whether he goes on stage or not.

Elton has also had a very lucrative residency in Las Vegas. He has written songs for a lot of television, commercials and all kinds of programs. The John Lewis advert, I think it was. He paid around five million for it, so Elton John is incredibly rich, he also spends a lot and I think his lifestyle matches his worth a lot. Having said that Elton has done an incredible amount to raise money for charities, he may be one of the richest living artists, but he is also one of the most generous. His Elton John AIDS Foundation has done incredible work.

He has raised a huge amount of funds. He has done a really phenomenal amount to help research, help and find a cure. Elton was greatly influenced. start his AIDS Foundation because of his friendship with a young man named Ryan White Ryan had been infected with AIDS um from a blood transfusion and it was Elton's friendship with Ryan and the kind of introduction he had with him that impacted him greatly for the rest of his life. led to Elton creating the AIDS Foundation and millions and millions and millions of money that he personally donated and raised to help fight AIDS and in a place like Russia Elton will make a statement from the stage where he will speak about the spirit in that he's received and the spirit in which he's received and you know, having gone to Russia since 1979 and being welcomed with open arms, he says look, I'm an openly gay man, you've accepted me, you've accepted me, you know my music.

You need to put that same Spirit into your everyday life and when you go outside the walls of the stadium and when you interact with people you know, let all that Spirit run through your daily activities, it's something that a musician has. that barriers can be broken down, this is how being an athlete or musician seems to be able to unite people, it is a common denominator but it is better to go to give visibility to the issue and give it Humanity than to boycott and stay at home that does not help anyone on the ground and when We meet with local people in Russia from different LGBT groups and they tell us please don't isolate us, that's exactly what they want, they want to push us into the Shadows they want. to drive us away, they want us to be forgotten, if you come, they will hug you, you know, in a very prominent way and you will maintain the problem and the fact that we are still here and that we need to be treated. with dignity, you know that they are very much alive and they know that they need to know that they have support, another issue where we need to address stigma and address humanity is not the way we embrace people who are dealing with the addiction of the same way that we.

I need to do that for people living with HIV AIDS. I was at an event in New York a few years ago and it was a private party for big fundraisers and donors to charities and Elton was doing a private performance and I was literally, maybe. I walked away from him and there were maybe only a hundred people in the room, so it was a very quiet, intimate gathering and he had a piano on stage, um, and it felt like we were at a party at someone's house and Elton He was the guy who sat down. he was sitting at the piano and he was playing for the guests and you know when you see him in person he's not intimidating or imposing, he reminded me of Madonna actually because she's quite small and tiny when you meet Madonna and he's not like a big star that It's scary. celebrity, he seems like a normal guy, but when he sits down to play and starts singing and you hear those very famous notes and songs that you know and his amazing voice becomes electric, he becomes larger than life and I think with celebrities.

I have met some truly iconic artists. Something magical happens to them when they start acting or when they start singing or whatever they do and they become bigger than themselves and it becomes impossible to look away from them and I found their performance compelling and fascinating exceptional Fantastic and the reason was because , for anything else you want to say about Elton John,He is a genius at what he does. Elton John married his long-time partner, David Fernish, in a civil ceremony on December 21, 2005, the same day that The Civil Partnership Act of 20 2004 came into force 9 years after their civil ceremony. on December 21, 2014.

The couple married after laws allowing gay marriage came into effect the same year in Britain. Elen John not long ago left about 200 shows in Las Vegas. at Caesar's Palace he's like 70 years old and plays every night. This is a grueling schedule. We know that people like Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Seline Deion, have had residencies in Las Vegas and they are very lucrative. You make millions and millions and no. You have to travel, you don't have to go on tour, there are no tour buses, you can buy or rent a big mansion in Las Vegas and all you have to do is show up on the same stage night after night after night, a lot of people can't.

I understand why Elton keeps going, why doesn't he retire? Relax, you know, he enjoys life. Having said that Elton John has talked a lot recently about the fact that he is retiring, he finally stops, he just wants to be with his children, his two young sons, Zachary and Elijah, and they are his world. . Elton has said very openly that when he turns 72 he just wants to be a father and that being with his kids is more important than any tour and any dates, and he's finally ready to just relax, he's giving himself permission to retire. My big announcement was that I'm going to do one more final world tour and that will be the end of my tour.

I've had an incredible career. I have received all the awards, all the possible awards. and you know you have to say enough is enough and what is the most important thing in one's life now and it's the children, they have changed our lives um and I don't want to selfishly hit them and walk away from them um that would break my heart, it breaks my heart to walk away of them anyway and they get upset when I leave and uh no, this is um, this is something I'm looking forward to, it's another chapter of my amazing life, so elen John.has said it's ending, he doesn't want to do more tours, more and more power to him, without a doubt, if anyone has earned a few moments with their feet up by the fire and a refreshing drink in hand, it's Elton John, but me.

I find it hard to believe that he won't tour anymore; He may not do long, extensive tours like he's done in the past, but I think he'll hit the boards, and I'm not just talking about one time with him, Solo, or Ray Cooper. on the percussion, I think we'll see it out there, you'll miss it, it stays in your DNA, you know it's going to look amazing, we've already thought about the track list because you have to start doing it. you know the things for each issue this has been going on for 18 months and before today's announcement I want you to have a celebration because you've been amazing to me and I think I've always delivered to you and I just wanted to be you know this is your last chance to see me, we are going to have a great party and you will leave thinking that you have seen something very special.

I don't tour every three years. I'm always on tour. I've never done a tour, a proper tour like this. This idea came about in 2015 when the kids were starting school and up to that point we have taken them all over the world because they were so portable, but when they had a school schedule ahead of them and everything was planned for half term and holidays, David said, well, you know what's going to happen, you know it, and you're going to go on forever, and I said no, no, no. I don't want to go on forever so playing live is the biggest thrill of My Life because you never know what to expect, you never know how you're going to play, you never know if it's going to be really magical for you or it's going to be okay, which the audience won't notice, but An artist knows this, when you know that sometimes you don't feel good, you go on stage and everything fits and it's sensational, you don't do it, it's like an actor who goes and you don't.

I don't know how you're going to perform and that's why you love playing live because it's the uncertainty of the outcome and the connection with the human being and that's something I'll probably miss is that connection with the audience um, but I have. I've had enough, I've done over 4,000 shows, I can survive on those, um, those memories, so the biopic starring Taran Ed is phenomenal and it's kind of like the bohemian rap city that of course we know, he won four Oscars and earned millions of dollars unlike Ramy Malik. on Bohemian raps City, Taran Ederton can actually sing live and beautifully, so one of the advantages that Rocket Man has is that we get this kind of raw vocal singing performance live.

The other thing is that I think Bohemia Rap City is trying to appeal. For the masses, it has been criticized as downplaying some of Freddy Mercury's sexuality and drug use, while Rocket Man does not gloss over Elton John's sex life or drug use in his own life. It is an honest attitude, not always flattering. The portrayal of the guy we're talking about now, David Fernish, Elton's husband, is one of the producers of Rocket Man and it was important for him to present the real story, the real story, even if it wasn't always flattering because ultimately Ultimately, she loves Elton for whom.

It really is, if Elton John can admit these flaws, then maybe he can save someone from falling into those flaws. First, Elton John's autobiography is titled Me and Elton John has promised to present a controversial, unflinching and very accurate look at himself. The editor is already saying that he has no doubt that he will be the Memoir of the Decade, while many celebrities often write the Memoirs of him in a way that they find very flattering and leave out large portions of their lives that were like car accidents . Elton John is unflinching in documenting his failures and his addictions.

Elton John's autobiography promises to be incredibly interesting, if nothing else, because we know that Elton has a mercurial personality because, as much as I have been a very famous person, I think I'm also quite grounded in a way and I don't really talk about myself much. success um and I certainly don't bring it home um and it was wonderful to think, God, what an incredible life I've had and uh it's still continuing Elton's legacy is his genius as a songwriter the songs that Elton John has written anyone in the whole world knows at least two or three of them we all know the melodies we all know some of the words the crazy lyrics to some of them um and he's a genius he's a musical genius and today there are so few left that we would say they are truly iconic.

Elton John is one of the few still standing. I think Elton John, when it's all said and done, his legacy won't. Whether all the records are sold, there are a number of people and it may only be 10 or 12, but they have sold many Records records in the rarefied air of the stratosphere that Elton John is in, but when Elton John took the risk of HIV and AIDS and and said: we have to discuss these things, we have to be open about it. That's a little more special when Elton John comes up to someone who is famous or not famous, as he has done in the past, and says: Falling by the wayside with some kind of addiction or depression or eating disorder that I've had and If I can get over it you can get over it, it's a great legacy to have, that would probably mean more than I sold 470, you know, million records. when you knock on the Pearly Gates, that's probably what will get you in.

I don't think St Peter is going to be very impressed with the multi-platinum albums, but he does say that I helped diminish some of the ugliness against homosexuality, some of the darkness that's there. I helped in a small way for the public, certainly in the United States, to understand what AIDS is. I helped at times, but I noticed times when my neighbor would get up when that man or woman had fallen to their knees, that's what's happening. to impress Saint Peter at the end of the day, that's what impresses me, this inner feeling. I'm not one of those who can easily hello.

I don't have much money boy, if I did I would buy a big house and yeah we could both live.