As Elton John primes go, 1973 was his best year. He was in the midst of a massive hit-making streak and released his most successful album, Goodbye Yellow Brick Roadwhich introduced the world to the title track and future classic, “Candle in the Wind”.
But the haunting melodies of John’s greatest hits from this era, such as the ode to Marilyn Monroe — which John and his songwriting partner, songwriter Bernie Taupin, turned into an ode to Princess Diana after her death in 1997 — reflected John’s inner turmoil at the time. He was in a stormy five-year relationship with his manager John Reid.
“It was around the same time that John Reid broke my heart. My relationship with him was not what it should have been,” explains John (77) in his new documentary Elton John: It’s never too latewhich premiered on December 13 on Disney+.
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The relationship, which lasted from 1970 to 1975, had a profound effect on John’s songwriting at the time (he wrote the music for most of the songs he released during that period, while Taupin wrote the lyrics) — and on his psyche, also.
“When I wrote those songs, I was very unhappy,” he says in the documentary. “It kind of showed in the songwriting. I found it very, very moving, and it was very, very cathartic.”
John Reid (left) and Elton John in 1976.
Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty
Reid, 75, was something of a VIP in the ’70s classic rock scene, having also managed Queen in the late ’70s. It is notable for being featured in both of the 2018 Queen biopics Bohemian Rhapsody (Aiden Gillen) and in the 2019 biopic about John Rocketman (by Richard Madden). In the documentary, John describes Reid during their relationship as unfaithful and “very rude”.
“I was very naive,” he says. “I didn’t know he was having sex outside of the relationship. When I found out, I was devastated.”
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John Lennon (left) and Elton John.
Sam Emerson/Disney+
“I had a party at my house, we had a fight and he slapped me in the face,” continues John. “He made my nose bleed, he cut my face. I loved John very much, but I said, ‘I can’t go through this anymore.’ And when that fell apart, I fell apart too.”
The relationship took its toll on the superstar, especially after it ended. “John left a void in me,” he says. “I thought being alone felt like a failure. Why isn’t someone there for me? I’m not good enough. I was chasing relationships. I was chasing love — I was always looking for love all the time.”
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While recording the album from 1974 Cariboucontinuation Goodbye Yellow Brick RoadJohn was introduced to cocaine, which led to a multi-year descent into addiction. “I was desperate for happiness, but I went down the wrong path,” he says, comparing himself to fallen legends Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe during that period.
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Elton John in the movie ‘Elton John: It’s Never Too Late’.
Sam Emerson/Disney+
After they parted ways romantically, Reid would continue to be John’s manager until they parted ways professionally in 1998 after 28 years. In 2014, John married director David Furnish (62) after 21 years together. They have sons together, Zachary, who turns 15 on Christmas, and Elijah, 11.
Furnish co-directed a new documentary with RJ Cutler. “He’s genuinely so happy,” Furnish told PEOPLE at the film’s premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival Elton John: It’s never too late in September. “So now that we’re at this point, after so much hard work and so much anticipation, we have a lot of heightened emotions.”
Elton John: It’s never too late now streaming on Disney+.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education