Elton John Confesses He Never Listens To His Own Songs — Here’s Why
Elton John has spent decades making music that fans love, but when it comes to his own playlist, you won’t find any of his songs on it!
The legendary singer, 77, made the revelation during an interview on The Scott Mills Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2 on Feb. 7. While chatting with Brandi Carlile — his collaborator on the upcoming album Who Believes in Angels?—Elton admitted he never plays his own hits unless he absolutely has to.
“I wouldn’t go and put my old music on,” he said, adding, “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.”
Going down memory lane is something Elton rarely does, but working on his 2024 documentary Elton John: Never Too Late made him revisit some of his most iconic performances. “Yeah, it just brought back so many memories for me. What I was most surprised about is that the music we made from 1970 – 1975 was so good!” he shared.
Despite all the success, Elton isn’t one to dwell on the past. He admitted that he doesn’t enjoy watching footage of himself, even skipping videos of performances like Candle in the Wind. “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,” he explained.
That’s why seeing his documentary for the first time made him anxious. Admitting that he was a bit tense, the Sacrifice singer said, “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.”
Reflecting on his journey, Elton credited music for saving him after years of struggle. He got sober in 1990 after going through a dark period, and that decision changed everything. “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,” he stated.
Elton has been with his husband, David Furnish, for over 30 years, and they share two sons — Zachary, 14, and Elijah, 12.
