Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, is an English pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. He has worked with lyricist Bernie Taupin as his songwriting partner since 1967; they have collaborated on more than 30 albums to date. In his five-decade career Elton John has sold more than 300 million records, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world. He has more than fifty Top 40 hits, including seven consecutive No. 1 US albums, 58 Billboard Top 40 singles, 27 Top...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionRock Singer
Date of Birth25 March 1947
CityLondon, England
I didn't sleep with anyone until I was 23.
I'm the Connie Francis of rock 'n' roll.
All this science I don't understand, it's just my job five days a week.
The French are useless. They can't organize a piss-up in a brewery.
When I left home, [I] became Elton John success, and then it became Elton John excess. Everything I couldn't do when I was younger, I did 10 times over. I was having the time of my life. I was becoming the person I wanted to be.
I just go into the studio, look at the lyrics for the first time when I put them on the piano, and go. If I haven't got it within 40 minutes, I give up. It's never changed, the thrill has never gone, because I don't know what I'm going to get next.
Everything I thought I'd hate about having children - the crying, the screaming - nothing fazes me. I love it all, and it's relaxed me.
I've got that resilient thing inside me. But I wasn't a happy bunny.
I'm very relaxed. I'm very happy with my personal life.
...I'm so over the tattoos and the T-shirts and rings through the noses. It's not pretty, it's not pleasant, it's not exciting. Please stop it now.
I used to take hostages in my relationships and not let people be independent. It always ended in disaster, because you take away people's identity and they end up full of resentment.
I'm glad I've given up drugs and alcohol. It would be awful to be like Keith Richards. He's pathetic. It's like a monkey with arthritis, trying to go onstage and look young.
When people go to rehab and come out, they go through a difficult period, but I never had that. I was so glad to be rid of all that crap that for me, to learn again and to function as a human being and participate in the human race again was pure joy.
There's a time for everyone, If they only learn, that the twisting kaleidoscope moves us all in turn.