Sir Elton John has admitted he doesn't play his music - unless he has to
The singer, 77, has produced some of the world's most-loved and played hits, but he has now spoken about his aversion to listening back to his tunes
11 February 2025
He told Scott Mills during an appearance on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds: "I wouldn't go and put my old music on."
But he added: "I've had to approve a live album that's just coming out for Record Store Day that I did at The Rainbow in 1977 with Ray Cooper and it just astounded me how great it was."
Elton appeared on Scott's show alongside Brandi Carlile, who is working with him on his upcoming collaborative album, 'Who Believes in Angels?'
Five-time Grammy winner Elton was recently forced to look back at his career while working on the 2024 documentary 'Elton John: Never Too Late'.
He said about the experience: "Yeah, it just brought back so many memories for me. What I was most surprised about is that the music we made from 1970 to 1975 was so good!
"I don't listen to my stuff but we made a lot of great records. We made 13 albums in that time plus singles, plus B-sides, and we toured, and we worked and the momentum was incredible."
Elton, who has sold more than 300 million records worldwide, also admitted he does not enjoy watching old footage of himself, adding: "I never watch anything about me because I just don't like to look at myself very often. I'm not one to bask in my success."
Reflecting on the first time he watched the new documentary, he said: "I was a bit tense. (But) the second time I saw it, I really loved it and I thought it really nailed what I thought my career had been and how it's turned out to be and that was the whole point of it, you know, it's never too late."
Elton credited music for saving his life after struggling with addiction before getting sober in 1990, saying: "It nearly killed me, but it saved me because I didn't just hide away, I just kept producing records, however good or bad they were, I just kept doing it.
"And when I did get sober, it was just, my whole life turned around, I found David, we had the boys, and as you can see in the documentary I'm the happiest man in the world and the luckiest."
Elton has two sons, Zachary Jackson, 14, and Elijah Joseph, 12, with his husband David Furnish, 62, whom he has been with for over 30 years.
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