ELTON AT 70
Family most important in life
SIR Elton John celebrated his 70th yesterday by thanking Brits for helping him stay grounded over the years – because his knighthood means “f*** all” here.
The Rocket Man singer and notorious diva said titles dazzle Americans but we could not care less and will shoot down stars who get too big for their boots.
He also said what is really important in his life is his family and as he notches his milestone birthday, he is focused on living every day he has left to the full.
Sir Elton said: “The knighthood gives me f*** all. They are so enamoured over here in America but the English don’t care, nothing is sacred in England.
“I like the irreverence over there. I like the fact you will always be shot down if you get too big for your boots. Elvis and Michael Jackson would have never have survived in England. The press get you down but I would rather have that than the adulation and the bubble [in America].”
Enjoyable
On his big 7- 0, Sir Elton – who was knighted in 1998 – said: “Seventy sounds so archaic, doesn’t it? When I was growing up, 70 sounded like the end of the world. But things have changed. You’re only as old as you feel inside.
“There are days when I am not feeling as physically good as I could. Bits drop off... but in my inner self I feel great.”
Last night, Lady GaGa took to the stage at the legend’s 70th bash to celebrate his long partnership with songwriter Bernie Taupin. And while Elton, famed for his outlandish outfits, still knows how to put on a spectacle, he said having boys Zachary, six, and Elijah, four, with husband David Furnish changed his life.
He said: “We live for a small amount of time. We don’t know when our death sentence will be. You have to live every day. Having the children has been the icing on the cake. It has made everything more enjoyable.
“I thought, ‘I will never have children, they will mess everything up’.
“I have so much love for them. The first thing I do every day is Face Time when if I am not with them. They have taught me to be patient and love is never as powerful when you have a child. “If you said to me 10 years ago I would have two sons, I would have laughed in your face.” Talking about what heh will do next, he tells Zane Lowe for a special Beats 1 radio broadcast: “The decision has not be been fully made yet. T There will come a tim time when I will wan want to stop touring but not playini ng. It i s all a about our boys. “I am a w working musician. I work all the time because I love to. David and I are going to t alk about what we do next. I mean 70 is not 60 or 50, it is 70.
“Maybe I want to have more time with my boys. I don’t know yet. There will be a decision made in the next six months probably. I want to live another 20 years.”
Nostalgic
Elton caused a stir at his 50th birthday bash when he wore an extravagant white costume and wig that made him look like a cross between Louis XIV and the abominable snowman.
And, feeling nostalgic, he says he plans to curate his own show and put his bizarre get-ups from over the years on display.
He said: “A lot of the costumes are in storage. The Donald Duck one is in storage. The giant chicken outfit is in storage.
“As I get older, they will come out. There might be a museum show.
“I don’t think anyone wore as many different things as I did. The ones in the
80s, when I had the punk hair... I am stuck at a piano. I am not Mick [Jagger], David [Bowie], or Rod [Stewart]. I don’t move around.
“They have a different physique to me. All you can do is stand at the piano. It is a nine-foot plant which I had to light up.
“I jumped on it even in my high heel shoes. I had to use it as a prop. It gave me the chance to do what I could not do in my youth. I took it too far but that is what an addict does.”
Sources close to the star have said he is desperate to have one more hit.
And he credits hubby David, 54, with turning his business around because some previous people were “useless”.
“David is not exactly Mr Popular with some people who have fallen by the wayside,” said Elton.
“But they had to fall by the wayside because they were useless. They call him Yoko. But he has now taken over the business reins and nobody has ever done a better job.
“We’ve had our ups and downs like every other couple. Our love has grown stronger and stronger.”
Elton is also working on a new autobiography, which will be published in 2019. He says he is doing it for “the boys”. No doubt he will draw on some of his career-defining moments, like when he sang during Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997. Elton says: “I did not cry during the service. I did not cry until I got back home to Windsor. “What got me was seeing her boys walking behind... It was 20 years ago. It was six weeks after Gianni Versace. “It was the weirdest summer of my life. I was not doing it as Elton John. You had to pull your boots up and that is what performers do.” Nowadays, however, Elton reckons music is not what it used to be because it has become “too robotic”. But he adds stoically: “Music has changed and life changes and you have to accept it. I don’t look back.”