Elton John has revealed that coming ‘very, very close to death’ from a deadly bacterial infection last May prompted him to quit touring.
The 70-year-old said battling to stay alive in intensive care drew attention to his ‘mortality’ and acted as a ‘wake-up’ call for him to spend more time with his sons – Elijah, five and Zachary, seven.
The musical icon’s near-death encounter re-affirmed his plans to retire from the road – a decision he announced to stunned fans on Wednesday after 50 years of touring.
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Candid: Elton John has revealed that coming ‘very, very close to death’ from a deadly bacterial infection last May prompted him to quit touring
Elton contracted the ‘rare and potentially deadly’ bacterial infection on his way back to the UK from Chile – just two months after his 70th birthday.
‘I went to South America, had a wonderful tour with James Taylor, came back from Chile, felt bad on the plane, got home on a Tuesday night,’ he told The Sun.
‘I was in intensive care on Thursday and stayed there for two days. I was very, very close to death.’
Elton added that it took him seven weeks to ‘get back to normal’ and made him completely re-evaluate his life.
‘You think about your mortality and think, “God, I want to spend more time with the boys”,’ he said.
Sir Elton – who started his touring career in 1970 and holds a residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas – admitted that he could have ‘easily died’ after the devastating incident if he didn’t go under the knife following the shock illness.
Epiphany: The 70-year-old admitted battling to stay alive in intensive care made him aware of his ‘mortality’ and acted as a ‘wake-up’ call for him to spend more time with his sons – Elijah, five and Zachary, seven (pictured with sons and husband David Furnish)
He shared: ‘I knew I was sick but I didn’t know I had such a dangerous thing inside of me until I had a scan, which was after nine shows, 24 flights and a summer ball.’
Last year, the Rocket Man singer announced 27 new Vegas performances of The Million Dollar Piano, his residency show at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, between October 11, 2017 and March 2, 2018 before the illness struck.
A lengthy statement issued following his sudden illness read: ‘We regret to inform you that due to medical reasons, Elton John is forced to cancel his entire performance schedule for the upcoming April/May run of ‘The Million Dollar Piano’ at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace.
‘Elton is also cancelling his scheduled performance for Bakersfield, California for Saturday May 6.
Nightmare: He said: ‘I went to South America, had a wonderful tour with James Taylor, came back from Chile, felt bad on the plane, got home on a Tuesday night. I was in intensive care on Thursday and stayed there for two days. I was very, very close to death’ (seen in 1973)
ZSweet: Elton added that it took him seven weeks to ‘get back to normal’ and made him completely re-evaluate his life. ‘You think about your mortality and think, “God, I want to spend more time with the boys”,’ he said (pictured with sons in 2015)
‘During a recent, successful tour of South America, Elton contracted a harmful and unusual bacterial infection. During his return flight home from Santiago, Chile he became violently ill.
‘Upon returning to the UK, Elton’s Doctors admitted him to hospital, where he underwent immediate treatment to remove the infection.
‘After spending two nights in intensive care followed by an extended stay in hospital, Elton was released from hospital on Saturday, April 22 and is now comfortably resting at home per doctors advice.
‘Infections of this nature are rare and potentially deadly. Thankfully, Elton’s medical team identified this quickly and treated it successfully. He is expected to make a full and complete recovery. (sic)’
Emotional: It comes after Elton opened up on Thursday’s Lorraine about reconciling with his mother Sheila Farebrother before her death in December aged 92
Despite the news, in November last year, Elton’s husband and manager David said: ‘Without question, Elton must never stop performing. We all have things that kind of keep us alive in life.
‘Some people relish the idea of a retirement where they do nothing [but] for Elton that would be purgatory. Playing to live audiences is going to be something he always needs to do.’
It comes after Elton opened up on Thursday’s Lorraine about reconciling with his mother Sheila Farebrother before her death in December aged 92.
The Rocket Man hitmaker had previously discussed his fraught relationship with the matriarch and revealed in February 2016 that they had patched up their eight-year-feud in time for her 90th birthday.
Reflection: The Rocket Man hitmaker had previously discussed his fraught relationship with the matriarch and revealed in February 2016 that they had patched up their eight-year-feud in time for her 90th birthday (Pictured together in 2002)
The acclaimed singer-songwriter appeared on the ITV morning stalwart and disclosed that he was left ‘shook’ when he was informed of her passing but was happy to give her a ‘lovely farewell’.
‘We reconciled in 2016 and it was a nice reconciliation,’ he began. ‘I saw her a week before she died, and I thought, ‘God, she’s pretty feisty, she’s going to last for a few months’, and a week later she was dead it it really shook me actually.
‘And we had a beautiful private ceremony for her in the chapel at Woodside where her mother in that building died, my grandmother died, where my grandmother’s ashes are scattered.
He continued: ‘And it was just family and then there was a cremation the next day and I wanted to just have a private ceremony. It was a beautiful religious ceremony and I sang and I did a eulogy and it was just a lovely farewell.
Honest: The acclaimed singer-songwriter appeared on the ITV morning stalwart and disclosed that he was left ‘shook’ when he was informed of her passing but was happy to give her a ‘lovely farewell’
Candid: He began: ‘We reconciled in 2016 and it was a nice reconciliation. I saw her a week before she died, and I thought, ‘God, she’s pretty feisty, she’s going to last for a few months’, and a week later she was dead it it really shook me actually’
‘It was lovely that we did reconcile because otherwise y’know life’s too short.’
Their fall out initially stemmed from a phone call between the pair in June 2008, which Sheila recounted in great detail to The Daily Mail’s David Wigg, last March.
Following a reshuffling of his team, the Candle In The Wind singer demanded Sheila cut all ties with her longtime friends Bob Halley and John Reid, who had both been fired from his entourage.
Bob had been Elton’s loyal chauffeur turned personal assistant for 30 years, while John successfully managed the musician from the beginning of his career and throughout his glory days, as well as briefly becoming romantically involved with the superstar.
Since Sheila had known the two men for decades, and particularly valued their support and companionship in her later years, she flatly refused to cut them out of her life.
As far as she was concerned, they had always taken care of her throughout the years she had spent travelling the world with Elton and thus deserved her loyalty. And unlike so many of Elton’s entourage, she was not afraid to refuse her son’s demands.
Visual spectacle: Guests were treated to an interactive experience on Wednesday during Elton’s announcement of his farewell tour
‘I told him: ‘I’m not about to do that and drop them. Bob is like a son to me. He has always been marvellous to me and he lives nearby and keeps an eye on me.”
Elton, not used to being defied, flew into an expletive-filled rage. ‘Then to my utter amazement, he told me he hated me. And he then banged the phone down. Imagine! To me, his mother!’
The Tiny Dancer singer also discussed on Lorraine his reasons behind his decision to retire from touring, admitting that he wanted to bow out of his life on the road ‘in a really big way’.
He said: ‘I’ve worked as a musician since I was 17, I’ve had the most fantastic, lucky career, I’ve enjoyed every single minute of playing live.
‘There have been moments in my career where…there have been dark times, but they’ve been self-induced, and my life is so wonderful now.
Adding: ‘And you know, 10 years ago, I wouldn’t be sitting here saying this, but now, with the boys, it’s time, and I want it to be happy, jubilant, spectacular…and I want to bow out in a really big way and a great way.’
Career defining: Elton was flanked by his husband David at the event in Gotham Hall, New York
His candid interview comes after he announced his epic Farewell Yellow Brick Road world tour to mark his retirement from the road.
The musical icon will spend three years saying goodbye to fans as he plays more than 300 shows across five continents.
The emotional star, who promised to ‘go out with a bang’, said he’s quitting touring so he can ‘dedicate more time’ to his two sons – Elijah, five and Zachary, seven – with husband David Furnish.
He announced the news at an immersive event at Gotham Hall in New York, where fans were able to revisit some of his career’s defining moments thanks to interactive goggles monogrammed with his initials.
Elton – who has been touring for almost 50 years – announced his retirement on Wednesday evening ahead of a celebratory concert next week at Madison Square Garden in New York.
He will kick off the mammoth 300-date Farewell tour in the US in September 2018 before arriving in the UK and Europe in April 2019.
Eye-opening: Fans were able to revisit some of his career’s defining moments thanks to interactive goggles monogrammed with his initials
Announcing the decision, Sir Elton said his ‘priorities have changed’, adding that his two sons have changed his and David’s lives.
‘In 2015 we sat down with a school schedule and I thought I don’t want to miss too much of this… My life has changed, my priorities have changed and my priority now is my family,’ he said.
He added it was a chance ‘to say thank you to all my fans around he world and then to say goodbye. It doesn’t mean I’m not going to be creative any more.
‘I have had a good run. I don’t want to go out with a whimper, I want to go out with a bang,’ he added during the press conference in New York – which he opened with a performance of Tiny Dancer and I’m Still Standing.
Donning the space-age style goggles, guests looked mesmerised as they enjoyed the visual spectacle. The announcement was live streamed globally exclusively on YouTube in VR180, and simultaneously transmitted to venues in Los Angeles and London.
Exciting: Donning the space-age style goggles, guests looked mesmerised as they enjoyed the visual spectacle
Interactive: The announcement was live streamed globally exclusively on YouTube in VR180, and simultaneously transmitted to venues in Los Angeles and London
Asked if he could later reconsider his decision, Sir Elton vowed not to do a ‘Cher’, adding: ‘This is the end’.
He also rejected claims it was down to health problems he had experienced in recent years. ‘Last year I picked up an infection and I was very ill and it knocked me sideways. But I still did 96 shows. Believe me – if you ever do 300 shows, you’re not in ill health,’ he said.
The tour starts in the US on September 8, 2018, reaching Europe in April 2019, Asia in November 2019, Australasia in December 2019 and into 2020, South America in March 2020, before returning to Europe and the UK late 2020 and finishing in North America in 2021.
‘Performing live fuels me and I’m ecstatic and humbled to continue to play to audiences across the globe,’ said Elton.
Focusing on family: ‘In 2015 me and David sat down with a school schedule and I thought I don’t want to miss too much of this. My life has changed, my priorities have changed and my priority now is my family,’ Elton said (pictured with David last March)
Epic: The tour starts in the US on September 8, 2018, reaching Europe in April 2019, Asia in November 2019, Australasia in December 2019 and into 2020, South America in March 2020, before returning to Europe and the UK late 2020 and finishing in North America in 2021
‘I plan to bring the passion and creativity that has entertained my fans for decades to my final tour. After the tour finishes, I’m very much looking forward to closing off that chapter of my life by saying farewell to life on the road. I need to dedicate more time to raising my children. It’s time to come off the road so I can fully embrace the next important chapter of my life.’
Speaking about what he will do after he retires from touring, he said: ‘I’m always going to be creative, I’m always going to be interested in creative stuff, and you know, I think after this tour is finished, I’ll take a few years off and see what’s going to happen.
‘But creatively, I will be doing writing a lot, and who knows what’s going to happen. If you let things happen for you, that’s the magic of life. I will be creative, hopefully, up until the day I die.’
Icon: ‘I have had a good run. I don’t want to go out with a whimper, I want to go out with a bang,’ he added during the press conference in New York
Tickets for the initial round of North American shows will go on sale on February 2, with other regions staggering their ticket sales dates across the next three years.
Fans can register their interest at EltonJohn.com, to receive updates when additional shows are announced and on sale around the world.
It comes after reports that the star was bowing out of stage performances following a bout of poor health, according to The Mirror.
In March last year, Elton himself revealed he planned to make a decision about his touring future in ‘the next six months’. The music icon admitted that he was keen to spend more time with the sons he shares with husband David.
At the time, he explained: ‘There will be a decision made in the next six months, probably. I will want to stop touring – not playing, but touring. 70 isn’t 60, it’s not 50. I want to spend time with my boys.’
To date, Elton has delivered more than 4,000 performances in more than 80 countries since launching his first tour in 1970.
In good health: Discussing his health, he said: ‘Last year I picked up an infection and I was very ill and it knocked me sideways. But I still did 96 shows. Believe me – if you ever do 300 shows, you’re not in ill health’