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YTS.MX
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[Alexis]
It's a real pleasure to,
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00:00:12,095 --> 00:00:13,387
obviously-- I have gotta say,
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00:00:13,388 --> 00:00:14,889
it's a real pleasure
to talk to you.
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It's not a difficult thing
at all.
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[Elton] I regard you
as a great friend, and it's like...
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[Alexis] It doesn't feel
like an interview,
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though I am sitting here
with a pad and pen, you know?
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[Elton] ...one
of my best friends, right?
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- And that's how it should be.
- [Alexis] Brilliant.
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- [Elton] That's fantastic.
- [Alexis] Thank you so much.
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[Elton] You're kidding me.
No. Thank you.
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[Alexis] Okay.
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[Elton] Right.
Where are we now, my love?
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[Alexis] We are, um, '70s today.
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[crowd chanting] Elton! Elton!
Elton! Elton! Elton!
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[♪ pop music playing, Elton John
"Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"]
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[crowd cheering]
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♪ It's getting late
Have you seen my mates? ♪
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♪ Ma, tell me
when the boys get here ♪
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♪ It's seven o'clock
and I wanna rock ♪
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00:01:04,731 --> 00:01:06,942
♪ Wanna get
a belly full of beer ♪
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♪ My old man's drunker
than a barrel full of monkeys ♪
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♪ And my old lady
she don't care ♪
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♪ My sister looks cute
in her braces and boots ♪
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♪ A handful of grease
in her hair ♪
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♪ Oh, don't give us none
of your aggravation ♪
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♪ We had it
with your discipline ♪
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♪ Oh, Saturday night's all right
for fighting ♪
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♪ Get a little action in ♪
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♪ Get about as oiled
as a diesel train ♪
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♪ Gonna set this dance alight ♪
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♪ 'Cause Saturday night's
the night I like ♪
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♪ Saturday night's all right
all right, all right ♪
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♪ Ooh ♪
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[♪ song fades]
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[Alexis] Let's talk about
this period in the mid-70s.
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You're the most famous popstar
in the world.
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There's been an ascent,
an ascent, and ascent
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- and ascent...
- [Elton] Yeah.
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...and it reached its pinnacle
at the Dodger Stadium.
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[Elton] The biggest gig
of my life.
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I knew it couldn't get
any bigger.
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♪ I was justified
when I was five... ♪
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[reporter 1 chuckles]
Once-in-a-lifetime concert event,
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Elton John live...
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[reporter 2]
Tickets are sold out,
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as Elton John is set
to play at Dodger Stadium
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in front of 110,000.
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[reporter 3]
Elton making history once again.
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No solo artist has ever put on
a live stadium show.
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[Elton] I was nervous
about Dodger Stadium.
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I've never played
to that many people before.
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♪ ...that's all right ♪
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♪ I even like steak
on a Saturday night... ♪
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Bob Mackie, who makes
all of Elton's clothes,
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made this one out.
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Just like a Dodgers suit,
only it's all...
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- sequined up.
- [interviewer] Quite fitting.
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[woman] Yeah.
And then he's got this hat.
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[interviewer] I quite like that.
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♪ ...I'm a bitch, I'm a bitch
oh, the bitch is back ♪
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♪ Stone cold sober... ♪
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[Elton] I've always been able
to pull off the big occasions,
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but it's a big occasion,
so you get worked up about it.
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♪ ...better than you ♪
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♪ It's the way that I move
The things that I do, oh ♪
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[Elton] Everyone thought
my life was so perfect.
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[Alexis] You can see,
you're... you're really charming
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and you're funny
and all that kind of thing.
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But you can see
there's something
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there's--
You look quite out of it.
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[Elton] Yeah.
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There was an emptiness
within me.
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I could have great fun,
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but when I went home at night,
it didn't really satisfy me.
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The only thing in my life
at that point was work.
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I couldn't have anything apart
from my success and my drugs.
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My soul had gone dark.
I had gone dark.
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I wasn't a joy to be around.
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I desperately didn't want to be
the Elton that I had become.
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I wanted to be the person
that I was before that.
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[♪ anthemic piano ballad
playing, Elton John "Curtains"]
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♪ Oh-oh-oh-oh ♪
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♪ Oh-oh-oh-oh ♪
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♪ Oh-oh-oh-oh ♪
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♪ Oh-oh-oh-oh ♪
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♪ Oh-oh-oh-oh ♪
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[♪ song fades]
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[♪ gentle piano music playing,
Elton John "Levon"]
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♪ Levon wears his war wound
like a crown ♪
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♪ Calls his child Jesus... ♪
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[♪ song fades]
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The Queen isn't waving,
by the way.
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Should she be?
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No. She should be, yeah.
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[makeup artist]
All right. There you go.
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[chuckles]
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I wonder what's gonna happen
to all this stuff when I finish.
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- [makeup artist] I know, right?
- Well...
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This is the latter time
in my life.
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I don't know how much time
I have left.
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And you think about that more
when you get to my age,
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you think about, um,
life and, uh...
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and death.
And you think, well...
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I just want to be
where I want to be now.
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I don't have to work
after this tour.
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I don't wanna do anything.
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I'll be working doing records
and putting radio shows together
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and doing other things,
but travelling takes it
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so much out of you.
Um... It's very tiring.
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I'm used to it,
and I'm a veteran at it.
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And I'd--
You know, I'm enjoying it
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so far on this tour,
which is good.
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{\an8}But this is where you start
to think about mortality.
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{\an8}[Alexis] And kids make
you think about mortality too.
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{\an8}- I find.
- [Elton] Yeah.
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{\an8}- [Alexis] Right?
- [Elton] Yeah.
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They think about my mortality.
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They worry about my mortality,
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because they know how old I am.
Not so much David but me.
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Yeah, they love their daddy,
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so they want me
to be around forever.
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Um... And I would love
to be around forever.
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I wanna see them have children
and get married
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and-- But I don't think
I'm gonna be around for that.
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Who knows? You never know.
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Um, so that's why
I wanna weigh the best time,
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best... best of my time
while I'm around for them
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Time together is so wonderful
and so precious.
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[Alexis]
Let's just sort of begin
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at the beginning,
with your childhood.
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[crowd applauding]
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[host] Winifred Atwell.
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- Of course it is.
- [crowd cheering]
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[♪ jazz piano music playing]
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[Elton] As a child,
I used to watch
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Winifred Atwell on television.
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She just was my hero,
and she had two pianos.
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She would play grand piano,
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and that she would say,
"I'm going over to my other piano now,"
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which was an upright
honky-tonk piano.
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It's your own piano.
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Your special one, what are
you gonna play first on that?
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Well, I thought the kids
would like Poor People Paris.
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[Elton] I loved her.
She loved what she did.
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And I think,
I took a lot of that with me
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when I became Elton John.
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She was my first big influence,
without question.
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I remember starting to play
the piano when I was very young.
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We had an upright piano
at the house.
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My father and mother,
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I don't know if they were ever
in love with each other.
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There were lots of arguments.
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Both of them,
I was frightened of.
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They were abusive.
They were violent.
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They were physically violent.
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- I used to walk on eggshells...
- [Alexis] Yeah.
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...in case I did anything wrong.
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My mother,
when I was a year old,
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she beat me till I bled
with a wire brush
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to make me potty trained.
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My dad,
when I was playing football
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and the ball went on the garden
instead of on the grass,
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there was hell to pay.
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My mom said,
"It never did you any harm,"
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and I said,
"God, you have no idea."
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To be reprimanded,
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walloped on the street
in front of people,
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it stays with you.
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My whole childhood
was full of fear.
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I was Reg.
I hadn't become Elton.
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I hated being called Reg
so much.
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I always hated the name.
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[indistinct argument]
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I spend a lot
of my time in fantasy land
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while my parents were arguing.
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I cherish the things that I had.
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[Alexis] You have
this record collection.
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[Elton] Yeah.
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It was a pristine
record collection.
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Initially 78s,
then of course 45s.
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I used to hold them,
caress them.
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Look at them, study them.
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Playing the piano,
I got approval.
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That was my way of getting
into the good books.
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If I heard something
on the radio,
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I could go to the piano
and play it verbatim.
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It gave me a sense of pride.
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Social occasions
or such was like,
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I was kind of wheeled out.
People loved it.
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Um, I went to the Royal Academy
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from the age of 11 to 15
every Saturday morning.
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I really enjoyed playing Mozart,
and Bach, and Beethoven,
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all the melodic stuff.
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When it got to things
like Bartók,
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I didn't know whether I was playing
the wrong thing or the right thing.
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I just couldn't tell.
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I didn't have the hands for it.
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I didn't have
the technical ability
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to be a classical pianist.
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I wanted to play
a different kind of music.
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[♪ rock music playing, Elton John
"Rock and Roll Madonna"]
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♪ If anyone should see me
making it down the highway ♪
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♪ Breaking all the laws
of the land... ♪
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[Elton] I was 15
and started playing in the pub.
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I used to get a pound a night.
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I saved up, and I got
a microphone and an amplifier.
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♪ Well, that's my rock and roll
Madonna... ♪
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[Elton] My father
hated rock 'n' roll.
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00:10:53,695 --> 00:10:54,945
- Hated it.
- [Alexis chuckling]
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00:10:54,946 --> 00:10:56,738
[Elton] You cannot be involved
with-- Look at this.
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You know, the way they dress,
the way they act.
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00:10:59,617 --> 00:11:01,785
He instilled in me,
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00:11:01,786 --> 00:11:04,831
the desire to prove that
rock 'n' roll wasn't a shit.
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00:11:04,956 --> 00:11:09,919
♪ But the freeway
is the only way she knows ♪
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00:11:10,044 --> 00:11:12,713
[Alexis] And you went down
well in this environment?
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00:11:12,714 --> 00:11:15,216
- I mean, you--
- [Elton] Yeah. Like a storm.
220
00:11:15,341 --> 00:11:17,259
I mean, if you can play there,
you can play anywhere.
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00:11:17,260 --> 00:11:19,053
[♪ jazz music playing,
Bluesology "Come Back Baby"]
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00:11:19,179 --> 00:11:21,556
♪ Come back, baby ♪
223
00:11:22,348 --> 00:11:24,851
♪ Come back to me, yeah... ♪
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00:11:25,018 --> 00:11:27,103
[Elton] I was beginning
to get a band together.
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00:11:28,771 --> 00:11:30,689
We did a tour
with the Ink Spots.
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00:11:30,690 --> 00:11:31,816
We backed them.
227
00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:36,404
The Drifters, the Temptations,
Patti LaBelle.
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00:11:36,863 --> 00:11:38,990
It was a great learning curve.
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00:11:39,616 --> 00:11:42,869
My life was all consumed
by music. It was my sex.
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00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:45,663
All I cared about was playing.
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00:11:46,789 --> 00:11:49,541
[Alexis] When you changed
your name, did that change you?
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00:11:49,542 --> 00:11:53,171
{\an8}[Elton] Yes, without question.
Kind of shedding my skin.
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00:11:53,671 --> 00:11:55,924
It made me feel
as if I could make it.
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00:11:56,341 --> 00:11:57,842
Reg was never gonna make it.
235
00:11:58,343 --> 00:12:00,761
"Here he is, Reg Dwight."
Like, boring!
236
00:12:00,762 --> 00:12:02,221
- [Alexis laughs]
- [Elton] But Elton John?
237
00:12:02,222 --> 00:12:03,723
- [Alexis] Yeah.
- [Elton] That's different.
238
00:12:06,351 --> 00:12:07,936
I just wanted
to become a songwriter.
239
00:12:08,686 --> 00:12:10,437
And that's when I went
and answered
240
00:12:10,438 --> 00:12:11,689
- the Liberty advert.
- [Alexis] Sure.
241
00:12:12,857 --> 00:12:14,942
{\an8}[Elton] That advert, I thought,
"Wow, songwriters wanted."
242
00:12:14,943 --> 00:12:16,694
{\an8}"Well, maybe I can--
I've written two songs,
243
00:12:16,819 --> 00:12:18,195
{\an8}"but they-- the lyrics
weren't very good.
244
00:12:18,196 --> 00:12:19,572
{\an8}"But maybe I can get
a lyric writer."
245
00:12:19,989 --> 00:12:22,158
- [traffic whizzing]
- [indistinct chatter]
246
00:12:22,283 --> 00:12:24,369
[Elton] I cannot believe
I had the courage to answer it.
247
00:12:24,577 --> 00:12:27,497
But I did. And I did it
without telling anybody.
248
00:12:28,498 --> 00:12:30,290
And I was shaking
when I went into the office.
249
00:12:30,291 --> 00:12:31,376
[telephone ringing]
250
00:12:31,501 --> 00:12:33,461
[Elton] I said, "I've written
my lyrics and I don't like it.
251
00:12:33,586 --> 00:12:35,337
"They're not very good,
but I love writing melodies."
252
00:12:35,338 --> 00:12:37,381
It ended up by him giving me
an envelope
253
00:12:37,382 --> 00:12:38,548
with Bernie's lyrics.
254
00:12:38,549 --> 00:12:39,883
He hadn't even
looked at the lyrics.
255
00:12:39,884 --> 00:12:41,009
[Alexis] Right.
256
00:12:41,010 --> 00:12:42,887
- [Elton] It boggles the mind.
- [Alexis] It really does.
257
00:12:43,471 --> 00:12:45,472
[Elton] My life wouldn't be
the same. If I hadn't had that,
258
00:12:45,473 --> 00:12:47,058
we wouldn't be sitting here
talking about it.
259
00:12:47,183 --> 00:12:48,517
[Alexis] No, no, no,
absolutely not, no.
260
00:12:48,518 --> 00:12:50,144
[Elton] It was the biggest piece
of serendipity
261
00:12:50,270 --> 00:12:51,479
that I could possibly have.
262
00:12:51,938 --> 00:12:55,733
Bernie was the-- He was the link
to what was gonna happen,
263
00:12:56,025 --> 00:12:57,609
whatever was gonna happen.
264
00:12:57,610 --> 00:13:00,905
[♪ soft piano music playing]
265
00:13:26,639 --> 00:13:28,766
- [Elton] Hello, Olly.
- [Olly] Hey, Elton.
266
00:13:29,350 --> 00:13:30,642
{\an8}[Elton] Do you play guitar?
267
00:13:30,643 --> 00:13:33,354
{\an8}[Olly] No, I tried to learn
the guitar when I was younger.
268
00:13:33,479 --> 00:13:35,272
{\an8}- [Elton] It's so difficult.
- [Olly chuckles] I-- Yeah,
269
00:13:35,273 --> 00:13:36,481
I couldn't get my head
around it.
270
00:13:36,482 --> 00:13:37,566
[Elton] I just-- I just can't
271
00:13:37,567 --> 00:13:38,984
- wrap my head around it.
- [Olly chuckles]
272
00:13:38,985 --> 00:13:40,445
[Elton] Plus my hands
are so small.
273
00:13:40,820 --> 00:13:41,945
I just can't...
274
00:13:41,946 --> 00:13:44,531
[Olly] But that help-- I think that
helps you stylistically, though.
275
00:13:44,532 --> 00:13:46,491
'Cause when your hands
bounce around the piano,
276
00:13:46,492 --> 00:13:48,160
- it's mesmerizing.
- [Elton] Right.
277
00:13:48,161 --> 00:13:50,495
Well, it's such
a different instrument,
278
00:13:50,496 --> 00:13:51,789
it's such
a percussive instrument,
279
00:13:51,914 --> 00:13:53,623
the piano rather
than the guitar.
280
00:13:53,624 --> 00:13:55,709
It's-- You write simpler things
on a guitar,
281
00:13:55,710 --> 00:13:57,085
- which I'd love to do.
- [Olly] Yeah.
282
00:13:57,086 --> 00:13:58,920
The piano, because of the way
it's structured,
283
00:13:58,921 --> 00:14:00,881
you write more
complicated chord structures.
284
00:14:00,882 --> 00:14:02,966
- [Olly] Yeah, it's nice.
- Um, which I don't mind,
285
00:14:02,967 --> 00:14:05,302
but it would be nice to be able
to play another instrument
286
00:14:05,303 --> 00:14:06,762
so you can get another crack
287
00:14:06,763 --> 00:14:08,680
- at writing in a different way.
- [Olly] Yeah.
288
00:14:08,681 --> 00:14:11,350
Do you... Do you
write lyrics first and then--
289
00:14:11,476 --> 00:14:12,934
I don't-- No,
I don't write lyrics at all.
290
00:14:12,935 --> 00:14:15,020
- I just write to lyrics.
- [Olly] Just write to lyrics.
291
00:14:15,021 --> 00:14:16,897
[Elton] Yeah. Soon as I see
the written word,
292
00:14:16,898 --> 00:14:18,315
I can visualize the whole thing.
293
00:14:18,316 --> 00:14:20,568
- [Olly] You can see it.
- [Elton] Like a film or a movie.
294
00:14:21,069 --> 00:14:22,820
- Am I on?
- [Olly] Oh, yeah, you are.
295
00:14:23,029 --> 00:14:26,240
[crowd cheering]
296
00:14:28,868 --> 00:14:31,036
[Elton] My intuitiveness
about not being able
297
00:14:31,037 --> 00:14:33,081
to write lyrics was right
on the money.
298
00:14:34,582 --> 00:14:36,626
I wanted to be part of a team.
299
00:14:37,293 --> 00:14:39,837
And I thought I need
to have someone to write with,
300
00:14:40,171 --> 00:14:41,505
'cause I can't do it on my own.
301
00:14:41,506 --> 00:14:43,298
[♪ Elton John "Thank You
for All Your Loving"]
302
00:14:43,299 --> 00:14:47,386
♪ It was I on my own
with no need to belong ♪
303
00:14:47,762 --> 00:14:52,307
♪ And I wanted to die
That's when you came along... ♪
304
00:14:52,308 --> 00:14:53,809
[Elton] There was a magic
that happened
305
00:14:53,810 --> 00:14:56,979
when I saw Bernie's lyrics,
that made me write the songs.
306
00:14:57,438 --> 00:14:59,190
I knew that
I was getting somewhere.
307
00:15:00,358 --> 00:15:02,275
I have to have the kickstart
308
00:15:02,276 --> 00:15:04,487
and the inspiration
of the written word.
309
00:15:04,612 --> 00:15:06,072
I'm hopeless without it.
310
00:15:07,782 --> 00:15:10,743
Bernie was just
as enthusiastic as I was.
311
00:15:11,035 --> 00:15:12,452
When I played him some
of the songs,
312
00:15:12,453 --> 00:15:14,997
he loved them,
and we got on straight away.
313
00:15:18,084 --> 00:15:20,085
I had someone to go
to films with,
314
00:15:20,086 --> 00:15:21,462
to go to the pub with,
315
00:15:21,879 --> 00:15:23,923
to lie on the floor
and listen to the records with.
316
00:15:26,175 --> 00:15:27,927
I'd never really had
a best friend,
317
00:15:28,469 --> 00:15:31,264
and it was really,
really great for me.
318
00:15:31,639 --> 00:15:35,434
♪ It's hard to say what I feel
when I'm by your side ♪
319
00:15:35,601 --> 00:15:37,102
♪ You're there when... ♪
320
00:15:37,103 --> 00:15:39,647
[Elton] We just moved into the--
my bedroom in Pinner,
321
00:15:39,981 --> 00:15:42,900
which was minuscule,
that had double bunk beds,
322
00:15:43,609 --> 00:15:45,153
one on the top,
one on the bottom.
323
00:15:45,903 --> 00:15:47,780
And one night, I told him
that I loved him...
324
00:15:48,906 --> 00:15:51,158
when he was on the top bunk
and I was on the bottom bunk
325
00:15:51,159 --> 00:15:52,743
at my parents' apartment.
326
00:15:53,661 --> 00:15:55,788
And he said, "Well, I think
you should see a doctor."
327
00:15:56,747 --> 00:15:58,374
But I never meant it physically.
328
00:15:59,125 --> 00:16:00,542
I felt really rejected,
329
00:16:00,543 --> 00:16:03,170
but I didn't have
the wherewithal
330
00:16:03,171 --> 00:16:05,422
to tell him that it wasn't
that kind of love,
331
00:16:05,423 --> 00:16:06,590
you know, I just--
332
00:16:06,591 --> 00:16:08,383
And I did love him,
I loved him so much,
333
00:16:08,384 --> 00:16:10,302
but it wasn't, you know,
I couldn't be without him
334
00:16:10,303 --> 00:16:11,804
'cause he was my other half.
335
00:16:12,138 --> 00:16:13,472
But I-- It wasn't sexual.
336
00:16:15,183 --> 00:16:17,143
I was still very naive.
I didn't know I was gay.
337
00:16:17,393 --> 00:16:19,395
I didn't know I was anything.
I hadn't had sex with anybody.
338
00:16:20,938 --> 00:16:23,107
[Bernie] We had two,
I think two years
339
00:16:23,232 --> 00:16:25,067
of where we didn't
really get anywhere.
340
00:16:25,693 --> 00:16:28,654
We were more or less bludgeoned
into writing very commercial,
341
00:16:29,155 --> 00:16:33,242
uh, ballads for à la Engelbert Humperdinck
and Tom Jones.
342
00:16:33,784 --> 00:16:37,163
And it just wasn't
our sort of field, um...
343
00:16:38,831 --> 00:16:40,707
We were asked to write those
sort of songs,
344
00:16:40,708 --> 00:16:42,876
and at the time
we were very certainly novices
345
00:16:42,877 --> 00:16:45,213
and we were green. And, um...
346
00:16:46,505 --> 00:16:49,216
that's what we thought
we had to do to be successful
347
00:16:49,217 --> 00:16:50,343
until, um...
348
00:16:51,469 --> 00:16:54,221
certain people came along
and said, "Look, if you're going
349
00:16:54,222 --> 00:16:56,348
"to be successful,
you should be writing
350
00:16:56,349 --> 00:16:58,643
"the sort of material
that you enjoy writing."
351
00:16:59,310 --> 00:17:02,062
Just remember that Steve Brown
joined as a pro--
352
00:17:02,063 --> 00:17:04,023
new promotion man, as a plugger.
353
00:17:04,232 --> 00:17:05,357
{\an8}I'd heard him do
some other things
354
00:17:05,358 --> 00:17:06,524
{\an8}that he'd written more recently.
355
00:17:06,525 --> 00:17:08,235
{\an8}Things that he enjoyed doing
but hadn't recorded
356
00:17:08,236 --> 00:17:09,779
{\an8}because he didn't think
they were commercial.
357
00:17:09,904 --> 00:17:12,489
And I suggested that he should
continue writing in that vein,
358
00:17:12,490 --> 00:17:14,992
rather than just trying
to write top 20 hits.
359
00:17:15,618 --> 00:17:17,453
So that's why we sort
of took a turn
360
00:17:17,870 --> 00:17:19,829
and started writing
for ourselves.
361
00:17:19,830 --> 00:17:21,665
[♪ soft music playing,
Elton John "Skyline Pigeon"]
362
00:17:21,666 --> 00:17:26,462
♪ Turn me loose
from your hands ♪
363
00:17:26,879 --> 00:17:31,968
♪ Let me fly to distant lands ♪
364
00:17:32,176 --> 00:17:34,719
[Alexis] When you make
Empty Sky, it comes out
365
00:17:34,720 --> 00:17:36,681
and very little kind of happens.
366
00:17:38,015 --> 00:17:41,102
[Elton] Empty Sky paved the way
for the next set of songs,
367
00:17:41,811 --> 00:17:43,646
which was so much more cohesive
368
00:17:43,813 --> 00:17:45,940
and just a whole
different league.
369
00:17:46,524 --> 00:17:48,400
Steve Brown produced
Empty Sky.
370
00:17:48,401 --> 00:17:51,779
He said, "Right. Next album,
you need a good producer."
371
00:17:52,488 --> 00:17:53,488
"What record do you like?"
372
00:17:53,489 --> 00:17:54,823
And I said,
"Well, the best record
373
00:17:54,824 --> 00:17:56,826
"I've heard is
David Bowie's 'Space Oddity.'"
374
00:17:57,201 --> 00:17:58,411
"Whoever did that."
375
00:18:00,037 --> 00:18:01,414
{\an8}We had a meeting
with Gus Dudgeon
376
00:18:01,539 --> 00:18:02,665
{\an8}and Paul Buckmaster,
377
00:18:03,374 --> 00:18:05,918
{\an8}one of the most innovative
arrangers that ever was.
378
00:18:06,502 --> 00:18:09,213
Gus and Paul
were just fantastic.
379
00:18:10,548 --> 00:18:13,134
It was planned
to record it live.
380
00:18:13,843 --> 00:18:16,761
Four sessions,
three songs a session,
381
00:18:16,762 --> 00:18:18,972
like an army procedure,
that album,
382
00:18:18,973 --> 00:18:20,056
live with the orchestra.
383
00:18:20,057 --> 00:18:21,933
- The only thing I did on it I--
- [Alexis] Fucking hell.
384
00:18:21,934 --> 00:18:23,143
[Elton]
Now I was shitting myself.
385
00:18:23,144 --> 00:18:24,311
[Alexis]
I bet, yeah, yeah, yeah.
386
00:18:24,312 --> 00:18:26,147
[Elton] I had never played
with an orchestra before.
387
00:18:26,939 --> 00:18:30,442
It was like the first experience
in my life that I really
388
00:18:30,443 --> 00:18:33,154
had to step up to the plate
and make sure I did it.
389
00:18:33,821 --> 00:18:36,072
The energy and the fact
that I had to play live
390
00:18:36,073 --> 00:18:37,282
sparked something in me.
391
00:18:37,283 --> 00:18:41,662
[♪ orchestral music playing,
Elton John "Take Me to the Pilot"]
392
00:18:55,843 --> 00:18:58,220
♪ Through a glass eye
your throne ♪
393
00:18:58,763 --> 00:19:00,890
♪ Is the one danger zone ♪
394
00:19:01,098 --> 00:19:04,810
♪ Take me to the pilot
for control ♪
395
00:19:05,978 --> 00:19:09,523
[♪ jazz piano music playing]
396
00:19:11,651 --> 00:19:14,028
{\an8}[Elton] Something magical
happened in those sessions.
397
00:19:14,195 --> 00:19:17,614
Nobody had really recorded
an album of funky
398
00:19:17,615 --> 00:19:19,115
kind of or... orchestral stuff
399
00:19:19,116 --> 00:19:21,201
with that kind of
arrangement before.
400
00:19:21,202 --> 00:19:23,746
[♪ upbeat music playing,
Elton John "The Cage"]
401
00:19:23,871 --> 00:19:27,083
♪ Where you live
to be whipped and be tamed ♪
402
00:19:27,667 --> 00:19:31,253
♪ For I've never loved
in a cage ♪
403
00:19:31,629 --> 00:19:35,049
♪ Or talked to a friend
or just waved ♪
404
00:19:35,174 --> 00:19:37,008
[♪ soft music playing,
Elton John "The King Must Die"]
405
00:19:37,009 --> 00:19:40,513
♪ No man's a jester
playing Shakespeare ♪
406
00:19:42,807 --> 00:19:47,103
♪ Round your throne room floor ♪
407
00:19:48,604 --> 00:19:52,650
♪ While the juggler's act
is danced upon ♪
408
00:19:53,109 --> 00:19:57,571
♪ The crown that you once wore ♪
409
00:19:57,697 --> 00:19:59,699
[♪ upbeat music playing,
Elton John "Bad Side of the Moon"]
410
00:19:59,824 --> 00:20:01,032
♪ I'm a light world away ♪
411
00:20:01,033 --> 00:20:03,411
♪ From the people
who make me stay ♪
412
00:20:04,370 --> 00:20:08,624
♪ Sitting on the bad side
of the moon ♪
413
00:20:08,833 --> 00:20:11,711
[♪ mellow music playing]
414
00:20:15,881 --> 00:20:17,800
[Elton] The magic
of Gus's production
415
00:20:18,092 --> 00:20:20,678
and Paul Buckmaster's
revolutionary arrangement,
416
00:20:21,429 --> 00:20:22,429
the beginning of the '60s,
417
00:20:22,430 --> 00:20:24,222
when the strings are making
that funny noise,
418
00:20:24,223 --> 00:20:26,057
- like a swarm of bees.
- [Alexis] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
419
00:20:26,058 --> 00:20:28,184
[Elton] He turned
to the string players and said,
420
00:20:28,185 --> 00:20:30,062
"I don't know how
to describe this."
421
00:20:30,479 --> 00:20:33,648
But I want you to make
a sound the equivalent of...
422
00:20:33,649 --> 00:20:37,235
- [vocalizing]
- [Alexis laughing]
423
00:20:37,236 --> 00:20:39,572
[Elton] And that's
what they did. Wasn't written.
424
00:20:42,700 --> 00:20:44,702
[♪ gentle harp music playing]
425
00:20:44,827 --> 00:20:46,244
[Elton] We edited that
onto the beginning,
426
00:20:46,245 --> 00:20:47,328
when the harp comes on.
427
00:20:47,329 --> 00:20:49,165
- [Alexis] Sure, sure, sure.
- [Elton vocalizing]
428
00:21:03,596 --> 00:21:04,596
I didn't realize it,
429
00:21:04,597 --> 00:21:06,390
but it was all my years
at the academy,
430
00:21:06,682 --> 00:21:09,685
learning classical, that came
through in the song writing.
431
00:21:10,019 --> 00:21:13,480
It was the fruition
of everything I'd done,
432
00:21:13,481 --> 00:21:15,983
since I'd left school,
had come together on that album.
433
00:21:26,285 --> 00:21:27,787
[Alexis] Did you know
that you'd nailed it?
434
00:21:28,454 --> 00:21:29,455
[Elton] Yeah.
435
00:21:32,041 --> 00:21:33,459
[interviewer]
What was the big break then?
436
00:21:33,584 --> 00:21:35,502
Uh, well, the thing
that really happened for us,
437
00:21:35,503 --> 00:21:37,712
we sort of-- things
happened gradually
438
00:21:37,713 --> 00:21:39,882
until we went to America
for the first time.
439
00:21:40,007 --> 00:21:41,382
And we played
the Troubadour Club
440
00:21:41,383 --> 00:21:45,095
in Los Angeles and--
Which held to 250 people.
441
00:21:45,262 --> 00:21:48,974
[♪ rock music playing,
Elton John "Sixty Years On"]
442
00:22:00,820 --> 00:22:06,492
{\an8}♪ You've hung up your great coat
and you've laid down your gun ♪
443
00:22:08,494 --> 00:22:13,958
{\an8}♪ You know the war you fought
in wasn't too much fun ♪
444
00:22:15,543 --> 00:22:21,340
♪ And the future you're giving me
holds nothing for a gun ♪
445
00:22:23,008 --> 00:22:29,348
♪ I've no wish
to be living sixty years on ♪
446
00:22:50,452 --> 00:22:52,121
[♪ song fades]
447
00:22:54,123 --> 00:22:56,040
[♪ gentle music playing]
448
00:22:56,041 --> 00:22:57,834
[young Elton] It's just happened
on the first night
449
00:22:57,835 --> 00:22:59,544
and next day
we got incredible press reviews
450
00:22:59,545 --> 00:23:01,212
and it just spread
across America
451
00:23:01,213 --> 00:23:03,757
and the album went soaring up
into the charts.
452
00:23:04,842 --> 00:23:05,842
I wasn't ready for it.
453
00:23:05,843 --> 00:23:07,468
I mean, I thought
we might be quite successful
454
00:23:07,469 --> 00:23:09,346
in America,
but never as successful as that.
455
00:23:24,111 --> 00:23:26,487
{\an8}This is our 329th episode
coming up.
456
00:23:26,488 --> 00:23:28,239
{\an8}- [Alexis] Come on.
- [David chuckles] Yes.
457
00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:29,366
[David] You're ready to go?
458
00:23:29,742 --> 00:23:30,743
{\an8}Yeah.
459
00:23:32,786 --> 00:23:34,370
[♪ upbeat music playing,
The Beaches "Let's Go"]
460
00:23:34,371 --> 00:23:35,455
Hi, I'm Elton John.
461
00:23:35,456 --> 00:23:36,873
This is my Rocket Hour
on Apple Music.
462
00:23:36,874 --> 00:23:38,917
Here are The Beaches
and The Lights.
463
00:23:38,918 --> 00:23:40,376
♪ I'm just a girl ♪
464
00:23:40,377 --> 00:23:44,255
♪ Who used to loaf
at a Toronto art school ♪
465
00:23:44,256 --> 00:23:47,092
- You just sneaked it in there.
- [laughs]
466
00:23:47,635 --> 00:23:49,427
The Linda Linda's
are an all-girl punk group
467
00:23:49,428 --> 00:23:51,930
from Los Angeles.
They are Lucia, age 15,
468
00:23:51,931 --> 00:23:55,851
Eloise, 14, Bela, age 17,
and Mila, age 11.
469
00:23:56,060 --> 00:23:57,727
- Hi.
- Hi.
470
00:23:57,728 --> 00:24:01,189
Welcome to the Rocket Hour.
You are such great fun,
471
00:24:01,190 --> 00:24:03,025
and we love you so much.
472
00:24:03,192 --> 00:24:05,652
I just-- I'm blown away
by your talent
473
00:24:05,653 --> 00:24:07,905
at such a young age.
It's quite remarkable.
474
00:24:08,405 --> 00:24:09,782
And Mila is the drummer.
475
00:24:10,032 --> 00:24:11,075
How old are you?
476
00:24:11,283 --> 00:24:12,326
I'm 11.
477
00:24:12,826 --> 00:24:16,288
And she is absolutely incredible
as are all the other girls.
478
00:24:16,497 --> 00:24:18,707
But listen, I just think
you're amazing.
479
00:24:18,916 --> 00:24:20,541
- [Lucia] Oh, thank you.
- [Eloise] Thank you.
480
00:24:20,542 --> 00:24:22,543
[Lucia] We never expected
to be here talking to you,
481
00:24:22,544 --> 00:24:24,253
but we're really excited
that we are, though.
482
00:24:24,254 --> 00:24:25,422
[laughs]
483
00:24:25,673 --> 00:24:28,007
We're gonna play your
new single, "Talking to Myself."
484
00:24:28,008 --> 00:24:29,467
We hope you have a great day
at school.
485
00:24:29,468 --> 00:24:30,927
Thank you for joining us.
486
00:24:30,928 --> 00:24:32,261
Thank you so much.
487
00:24:32,262 --> 00:24:33,346
[Elton] Bye.
488
00:24:33,347 --> 00:24:35,431
[♪ pop punk music playing
Linda Lindas "Talking to Myself"]
489
00:24:35,432 --> 00:24:36,600
♪ When I talk to myself ♪
490
00:24:36,725 --> 00:24:40,938
♪ I think about the things
that no one ever talks about ♪
491
00:24:41,438 --> 00:24:43,231
♪ Like how life
just keeps on givin' ♪
492
00:24:43,232 --> 00:24:45,316
♪ Despite all
my bad decisions... ♪
493
00:24:45,317 --> 00:24:46,694
[both chuckle]
494
00:24:48,028 --> 00:24:51,197
[Elton] I mean,
I am 64 years older
495
00:24:51,198 --> 00:24:53,074
than the drummer
from the Linda Lindas.
496
00:24:53,075 --> 00:24:55,703
[both laugh]
497
00:24:56,245 --> 00:24:57,245
[Elton] Allison Ponthier
498
00:24:57,246 --> 00:24:59,038
is an exciting singer
and songwriter
499
00:24:59,039 --> 00:25:01,958
who I first started playing
on the Rocket Hour last year.
500
00:25:01,959 --> 00:25:04,044
She's a pioneering
queer country star
501
00:25:04,169 --> 00:25:06,422
and so let's give her
a call right now.
502
00:25:07,756 --> 00:25:09,049
I don't like the word "queer."
503
00:25:09,425 --> 00:25:11,175
- It's the...
- [Elton] It's what they--
504
00:25:11,176 --> 00:25:13,929
- ...most politically correct.
- [Elton] Yeah? Okay.
505
00:25:14,763 --> 00:25:16,514
[David] Well, I mean,
you and I grew up with it,
506
00:25:16,515 --> 00:25:18,057
it was a derogatory term,
but now people...
507
00:25:18,058 --> 00:25:19,893
- [Elton] Is that off now?
- ...really embrace it. No.
508
00:25:20,269 --> 00:25:21,311
[Elton] Hi, Allison.
509
00:25:21,437 --> 00:25:23,563
You are a very
interesting woman.
510
00:25:23,564 --> 00:25:25,523
Not only do you write
your own songs and sing,
511
00:25:25,524 --> 00:25:28,944
but you make sculptures
with little alien people.
512
00:25:29,236 --> 00:25:30,737
- And you love--
- [chuckles] Yeah, I do.
513
00:25:30,738 --> 00:25:32,238
[Elton]
And you love trashy movies.
514
00:25:32,239 --> 00:25:33,531
Welcome to the club.
515
00:25:33,532 --> 00:25:35,867
- [laughs]
- [laughs] Thank you, thank you.
516
00:25:35,868 --> 00:25:37,452
I cannot believe how, like,
517
00:25:37,453 --> 00:25:39,370
I don't know, like emotionally
touched I am right now.
518
00:25:39,371 --> 00:25:41,122
I knew I'd be very excited
to talk to you today.
519
00:25:41,123 --> 00:25:42,415
But I feel, like, I don't know.
520
00:25:42,416 --> 00:25:45,127
Very, very lucky and very
grateful to be here. Um...
521
00:25:45,627 --> 00:25:49,673
One of my first, like, records
that I really loved, my mom had
522
00:25:49,798 --> 00:25:51,174
two of your greatest hits
records.
523
00:25:51,175 --> 00:25:53,676
So, I feel very, very happy
to be here. Thank you.
524
00:25:53,677 --> 00:25:55,762
I'm happy to be here
because that's an old record.
525
00:25:55,763 --> 00:25:57,723
[both laugh]
526
00:25:58,766 --> 00:26:01,350
Allison, you're...
you're an LGBT artist
527
00:26:01,351 --> 00:26:03,562
um, and so we are both
528
00:26:03,812 --> 00:26:06,898
on the-- in the same game here.
And you've done a lot of stuff
529
00:26:06,899 --> 00:26:10,360
for LGBTQ folk,
homeless youths in Dallas.
530
00:26:10,652 --> 00:26:12,362
Um, and I applaud you for that.
531
00:26:12,738 --> 00:26:14,113
You have a new EP coming out,
532
00:26:14,114 --> 00:26:16,533
and we're gonna play
"Autopilot," which is the first track.
533
00:26:16,825 --> 00:26:18,577
Thank you so much
for joining us.
534
00:26:18,786 --> 00:26:20,537
We are so thrilled
to have you on the show.
535
00:26:20,662 --> 00:26:21,746
Keep doing what you're doing
536
00:26:21,747 --> 00:26:24,458
and bravo for all the work
you do for LGBTQ people.
537
00:26:24,583 --> 00:26:26,292
[♪ rock music playing,
Allison Ponthier "Autopilot"]
538
00:26:26,293 --> 00:26:28,211
Thank you. It's a true honor.
I'm so happy to be here.
539
00:26:28,212 --> 00:26:29,671
And this is, like,
one of the highlights
540
00:26:29,797 --> 00:26:31,297
of my life.
So thank you for what you do.
541
00:26:31,298 --> 00:26:32,591
Love you. Take care.
542
00:26:33,425 --> 00:26:40,349
♪ Autopilot, autopilot... ♪
543
00:26:40,557 --> 00:26:43,310
Okay. That ends Elton's
interview with Allison Ponthier.
544
00:26:44,103 --> 00:26:46,521
- What a great girl.
- She's lovely.
545
00:26:46,522 --> 00:26:48,524
- [Elton] I loved her.
- I know, I loved her energy.
546
00:26:48,899 --> 00:26:52,026
[staff member] I don't wanna say
why do it but why do it?
547
00:26:52,027 --> 00:26:53,153
Why do it?
548
00:26:53,487 --> 00:26:56,405
I love it and if I don't do it,
549
00:26:56,406 --> 00:26:58,282
then who's gonna be playing
this music,
550
00:26:58,283 --> 00:27:01,411
you know, for...
for the acts that, you know,
551
00:27:01,537 --> 00:27:04,039
that never got a chance
on formulaic radio.
552
00:27:04,164 --> 00:27:06,541
Um, the stuff that I'm playing
should be on radio.
553
00:27:06,542 --> 00:27:08,626
Should be on radio.
It should be, you know--
554
00:27:08,627 --> 00:27:11,088
But they just play pap
most of the time.
555
00:27:11,755 --> 00:27:13,798
Right now, I'm gonna play you
the record of the '60s.
556
00:27:13,799 --> 00:27:15,925
And no, it's not The Beatles,
it's not The Rolling Stones,
557
00:27:15,926 --> 00:27:17,177
it's not The Beach Boys.
558
00:27:17,553 --> 00:27:19,720
Gary Brooker was a hero of mine.
559
00:27:19,721 --> 00:27:21,722
I-- He used to be in a band
called the Paramounts,
560
00:27:21,723 --> 00:27:23,475
and I used to go
and see them, locally.
561
00:27:23,642 --> 00:27:25,059
Um, and he was the first guy
562
00:27:25,060 --> 00:27:27,062
I ever saw play
an electric piano.
563
00:27:27,688 --> 00:27:29,981
And then
the Paramounts broke up,
564
00:27:29,982 --> 00:27:32,734
and they formed
a group called Procol Harum.
565
00:27:32,901 --> 00:27:35,695
And Gary recently passed away,
which is such a tragedy
566
00:27:35,696 --> 00:27:39,199
because he was a great singer,
a great writer,
567
00:27:39,533 --> 00:27:41,243
and a great keyboard player.
568
00:27:41,493 --> 00:27:44,120
Um, but his life and his songs
569
00:27:44,121 --> 00:27:47,498
and his voice lives on
in this incredible record,
570
00:27:47,499 --> 00:27:48,791
"A Whiter Shade of Pale."
571
00:27:48,792 --> 00:27:51,502
[♪ mild music playing, Gary Brooker
and Procol Harum "A Whiter Shade of Pale"]
572
00:27:51,503 --> 00:27:54,089
♪ We skipped
the light fandango ♪
573
00:27:56,258 --> 00:27:59,386
♪ Turned cartwheels
'cross the floor... ♪
574
00:28:02,931 --> 00:28:04,348
[♪ song fades]
575
00:28:04,349 --> 00:28:08,145
[♪ soft music playing,
Elton John "Your Song"]
576
00:28:08,729 --> 00:28:11,607
♪ It's a little bit funny ♪
577
00:28:12,482 --> 00:28:15,527
♪ This feeling inside ♪
578
00:28:16,403 --> 00:28:22,993
♪ I'm not one of those
who can easily hide ♪
579
00:28:23,785 --> 00:28:29,791
♪ I don't have much money
but boy if I did ♪
580
00:28:31,043 --> 00:28:35,005
♪ I'd buy a big house
where we both could live... ♪
581
00:28:35,339 --> 00:28:37,466
[Pete] That's Elton John
and "Your Song."
582
00:28:37,799 --> 00:28:40,384
Pete Fornatale,
WNEW-FM in New York.
583
00:28:40,385 --> 00:28:42,553
It is a pleasure
to welcome Elton John
584
00:28:42,554 --> 00:28:44,764
- and Bernie Taupin.
- [young Elton] Good morning.
585
00:28:44,765 --> 00:28:47,975
We're just starting this weekend
on our massive campaign
586
00:28:47,976 --> 00:28:51,270
to capture the hearts
of the American youth, folks.
587
00:28:51,271 --> 00:28:53,606
[Pete] Which will take you
all over--
588
00:28:53,607 --> 00:28:54,858
[young Elton]
All over, mate, yeah.
589
00:28:55,192 --> 00:28:57,193
[Pete] This album literally,
literally came out of nowhere.
590
00:28:57,194 --> 00:28:58,278
[young Elton] Yeah.
591
00:28:58,403 --> 00:28:59,987
Pete] It had tremendous
impact in this country.
592
00:28:59,988 --> 00:29:01,280
[young Elton]
I can't understand it.
593
00:29:01,281 --> 00:29:02,907
I really can't.
Because it wasn't a hit album.
594
00:29:02,908 --> 00:29:05,160
It got to 45 in England,
which is nothing.
595
00:29:05,702 --> 00:29:07,161
I can't believe
it is where it is.
596
00:29:07,162 --> 00:29:08,996
And I'm knocked out,
you know, and--
597
00:29:08,997 --> 00:29:11,333
[Pete] Now it is probably
the most successful...
598
00:29:11,583 --> 00:29:13,459
- [young Elton] Yeah, mate.
- [Pete] ...album of its kind.
599
00:29:13,460 --> 00:29:15,128
[♪ jazz music playing,
Elton John "Amoreena"]
600
00:29:15,295 --> 00:29:18,173
♪ Like the king bee
misses honey ♪
601
00:29:19,967 --> 00:29:23,220
♪ And when it rains
the rain falls down ♪
602
00:29:24,179 --> 00:29:26,556
♪ Washing out the cattle town ♪
603
00:29:27,307 --> 00:29:34,189
♪ And she's far away somewhere
in her eiderdown ♪
604
00:29:34,523 --> 00:29:37,275
♪ And she dreams
of crystal streams ♪
605
00:29:37,526 --> 00:29:40,696
♪ Of days gone by
when we would lean ♪
606
00:29:41,488 --> 00:29:46,660
♪ Laughing, fit to burst
on each other ♪
607
00:29:49,079 --> 00:29:52,165
♪ And when it rains
the rain falls down... ♪
608
00:29:52,290 --> 00:29:54,208
[Elton] I was exposed
to a brand-new world.
609
00:29:54,209 --> 00:29:56,293
The side of me
that had been closed up
610
00:29:56,294 --> 00:29:57,503
for years came out.
611
00:29:57,504 --> 00:29:59,089
And I was just having fun.
612
00:30:00,340 --> 00:30:01,633
I was really having fun.
613
00:30:06,346 --> 00:30:12,894
♪ Lately, I've been thinking
how much I miss my lady ♪
614
00:30:13,603 --> 00:30:20,402
♪ Amoreena's in the cornfield
brightening the daybreak ♪
615
00:30:21,486 --> 00:30:24,823
♪ Living like a lusty flower ♪
616
00:30:25,991 --> 00:30:28,660
♪ Running through
the grass for hours ♪
617
00:30:28,785 --> 00:30:34,665
♪ Rolling through the hay
Oh, like a puppy ♪
618
00:30:34,666 --> 00:30:37,085
♪ Like a puppy child ♪
619
00:30:40,756 --> 00:30:44,800
- [crowd applauding]
- [♪ song concludes]
620
00:30:44,801 --> 00:30:47,387
[Elton] At that time,
frontmen were so fascinating.
621
00:30:48,388 --> 00:30:50,390
There's a part of me that wanted
to be the frontman,
622
00:30:50,682 --> 00:30:53,601
but, uh, I wasn't David Bowie.
I wasn't Mick.
623
00:30:53,602 --> 00:30:55,562
- [crowd applauding]
- [Elton] I wasn't a sex symbol.
624
00:30:57,189 --> 00:30:59,065
[♪ lively piano music playing]
625
00:30:59,066 --> 00:31:00,275
♪ Yeah! ♪
626
00:31:02,194 --> 00:31:03,320
♪ Come on, now ♪
627
00:31:04,446 --> 00:31:06,531
♪ Wanna take a high dive ♪
628
00:31:06,698 --> 00:31:10,034
- [crowd] ♪ High dive ♪
- ♪ High dive ♪
629
00:31:10,035 --> 00:31:11,703
[crowd] ♪ High dive ♪
630
00:31:11,912 --> 00:31:15,082
- ♪ High dive ♪
- [crowd] ♪ High dive ♪
631
00:31:15,540 --> 00:31:17,125
♪ High dive ♪
632
00:31:17,375 --> 00:31:19,043
[Elton] Little Richard
and Jerry Lee Lewis
633
00:31:19,044 --> 00:31:20,252
visualize the piano.
634
00:31:20,253 --> 00:31:22,088
They made the piano
a visual object,
635
00:31:22,089 --> 00:31:25,008
whereas before, it was just--
I call it the nine-foot plank.
636
00:31:25,342 --> 00:31:28,637
- ♪ High dive ♪
- [crowd] ♪ High dive ♪
637
00:31:28,970 --> 00:31:31,932
- ♪ High dive ♪
- [crowd] ♪ High dive ♪
638
00:31:32,516 --> 00:31:33,725
♪ High dive ♪
639
00:31:35,185 --> 00:31:37,229
♪ Wanna take a high dive ♪
640
00:31:38,522 --> 00:31:40,774
♪ Wanna take a high dive ♪
641
00:31:42,192 --> 00:31:44,236
♪ Wanna take a high dive ♪
642
00:31:46,655 --> 00:31:51,201
♪ One, two, three ♪
643
00:31:58,291 --> 00:32:00,168
[Elton] I took Winifred
Atwell's bonhomie,
644
00:32:00,919 --> 00:32:03,130
I took Little Richard's
aggression
645
00:32:03,255 --> 00:32:04,965
and Jerry Lee Lewis's
outrageousness
646
00:32:05,132 --> 00:32:07,758
in my style of playing,
forging myself
647
00:32:07,759 --> 00:32:10,095
into being a personality
like nobody else.
648
00:32:13,098 --> 00:32:14,307
♪ Yeah! ♪
649
00:32:17,477 --> 00:32:20,063
[Cliff] I can't believe it.
Four albums in one year.
650
00:32:21,022 --> 00:32:22,356
[Elton] God knows
how I fitted it in.
651
00:32:22,357 --> 00:32:25,609
But it was just
a fantastic era of creativity.
652
00:32:25,610 --> 00:32:28,864
[♪ energetic music playing]
653
00:32:35,620 --> 00:32:36,912
[Elton] Nigel and Dee and I
654
00:32:36,913 --> 00:32:38,873
were becoming
one of the best live bands
655
00:32:38,874 --> 00:32:40,083
in the world.
656
00:32:48,300 --> 00:32:50,510
There was
a certain rawness to us.
657
00:32:51,052 --> 00:32:52,553
And there was nobody doing
what we were doing.
658
00:32:52,554 --> 00:32:55,307
There was no piano, bass
and drums. We were unique.
659
00:32:56,391 --> 00:32:59,644
And, we were just,
you know, giving it shit.
660
00:33:11,656 --> 00:33:13,533
The acclaim grew
and the audiences grew.
661
00:33:14,659 --> 00:33:16,703
It's manna from heaven
for an artist.
662
00:33:18,496 --> 00:33:19,496
Once you find your groove,
663
00:33:19,497 --> 00:33:22,082
and beginning
to find a little bit of success
664
00:33:22,083 --> 00:33:23,168
and acceptance,
665
00:33:23,585 --> 00:33:25,545
it just gives you
so much confidence.
666
00:33:34,763 --> 00:33:36,681
[Alexis] How did John Reid
come into the frame?
667
00:33:37,390 --> 00:33:40,268
[Elton] Well, I knew him.
He was a plugger for Motown.
668
00:33:41,603 --> 00:33:43,854
He was very young
and very confident
669
00:33:43,855 --> 00:33:46,441
and very funny
and very attractive.
670
00:33:47,234 --> 00:33:48,734
And very good at his job.
671
00:33:48,735 --> 00:33:50,277
[♪ gentle music playing]
672
00:33:50,278 --> 00:33:52,821
[Elton] I got to know him
and a couple of his friends,
673
00:33:52,822 --> 00:33:56,660
and, um, I liked his personality
and I certainly liked the fact
674
00:33:56,910 --> 00:33:58,161
that he liked music.
675
00:33:59,204 --> 00:34:01,706
We'd hang out together,
but we didn't do anything.
676
00:34:02,249 --> 00:34:03,792
We didn't go even
on a date or anything
677
00:34:04,167 --> 00:34:07,044
until I was due
to go to San Francisco
678
00:34:07,045 --> 00:34:08,505
and play
the Troubadour Club there.
679
00:34:09,130 --> 00:34:10,881
And funnily enough,
John Reid was there
680
00:34:10,882 --> 00:34:12,259
at a Motown convention.
681
00:34:13,176 --> 00:34:14,302
And I thought, "Oh."
682
00:34:15,095 --> 00:34:16,596
And that's when it happened.
683
00:34:18,974 --> 00:34:20,183
I was very naive,
684
00:34:21,101 --> 00:34:23,979
I'd never experimented,
and I had never had sex.
685
00:34:25,188 --> 00:34:27,440
It was my first... first love.
686
00:34:29,317 --> 00:34:31,902
[Alexis] Being gay in 1970,
687
00:34:31,903 --> 00:34:33,612
it's still kind of
an underground thing.
688
00:34:33,613 --> 00:34:35,740
[Elton] Oh, yeah.
People were still--
689
00:34:36,116 --> 00:34:37,742
If they were gay,
they were in the closet.
690
00:34:39,369 --> 00:34:41,162
We moved in together
very quickly.
691
00:34:41,746 --> 00:34:42,997
[Alexis] So,
the relationship happened
692
00:34:42,998 --> 00:34:45,040
before the managerial position
was taken?
693
00:34:45,041 --> 00:34:47,794
[Elton] Yeah. John was very
clued in musically.
694
00:34:49,045 --> 00:34:52,090
He was like me.
He had just a love of records.
695
00:34:52,340 --> 00:34:53,925
And I thought, "He'll be good."
696
00:34:54,801 --> 00:34:58,178
Um, he's got experience.
And it was fantastic,
697
00:34:58,179 --> 00:35:00,764
'cause I had someone
who was managing me,
698
00:35:00,765 --> 00:35:03,684
interested in me.
He loved my music. He loved me.
699
00:35:03,685 --> 00:35:05,853
And it seemed like
a match made in heaven.
700
00:35:05,854 --> 00:35:07,105
Which it was.
701
00:35:20,452 --> 00:35:22,245
[♪ music fades]
702
00:35:23,997 --> 00:35:25,290
[birds chirping]
703
00:35:29,169 --> 00:35:31,129
[cell phone ringing]
704
00:35:32,756 --> 00:35:34,840
- [Elton] Aw, it's my boy.
- [cell phone chimes]
705
00:35:34,841 --> 00:35:37,177
- [Zachary] Hi.
- Hi, darling, how did it go?
706
00:35:37,469 --> 00:35:39,095
- [Zachary] Great.
- Did you do well?
707
00:35:39,763 --> 00:35:40,763
[Zachary] Yeah.
708
00:35:40,764 --> 00:35:43,265
- You remember all your lines?
- [Zachary] Yeah.
709
00:35:43,266 --> 00:35:44,559
You're a clever sausage.
710
00:35:44,851 --> 00:35:45,851
So proud of you.
711
00:35:45,852 --> 00:35:47,603
- [Zachary] Thanks.
- [Elton] Were you Jack what?
712
00:35:47,604 --> 00:35:48,687
I was Silver.
713
00:35:48,688 --> 00:35:50,690
You were--
Long John Silver. That's it.
714
00:35:51,900 --> 00:35:53,985
I bet you're having
a peanut butter
715
00:35:54,110 --> 00:35:56,154
- and jelly sandwich, right?
- Honey.
716
00:35:56,488 --> 00:35:58,198
Peanut butter and honey. Okay.
717
00:35:58,865 --> 00:36:00,909
Now you're sweet as honey.
[blows kiss]
718
00:36:01,117 --> 00:36:02,202
[blows kiss]
719
00:36:02,410 --> 00:36:03,620
I love you so, eh?
720
00:36:04,329 --> 00:36:06,873
- I love you so much.
- Aw, I love you, too.
721
00:36:07,415 --> 00:36:08,708
Did Elijah go, too?
722
00:36:08,875 --> 00:36:10,000
- [Zachary] Yeah.
- [Elijah] Yeah.
723
00:36:10,001 --> 00:36:11,586
[Elton] Hello, gorgeous boy.
724
00:36:11,920 --> 00:36:13,671
- [Elijah] Hello.
- [Elton] Hi, gorgeous.
725
00:36:13,672 --> 00:36:14,756
How are you?
726
00:36:15,256 --> 00:36:16,715
How was your day at school?
Was it good?
727
00:36:16,716 --> 00:36:18,343
[squeals] Stop it, stop it!
728
00:36:18,468 --> 00:36:20,970
- You've just eaten out of that!
- [Elton] Don't, don't.
729
00:36:21,763 --> 00:36:24,015
- How was your day? Was it good?
- [Elijah] Yup.
730
00:36:24,557 --> 00:36:25,684
[Elton] Zachary,
leave him alone.
731
00:36:26,559 --> 00:36:28,019
How was Zachary in his play?
732
00:36:28,728 --> 00:36:30,854
He was cool.
He was really good. [yawns]
733
00:36:30,855 --> 00:36:31,940
[Elton] Oh, great.
734
00:36:32,148 --> 00:36:34,609
Mr. Reckless.
I love that T-shirt.
735
00:36:35,443 --> 00:36:36,861
- Thanks.
- [Elton] Aw.
736
00:36:37,904 --> 00:36:38,947
I miss you.
737
00:36:39,406 --> 00:36:40,782
Yeah, we miss you too.
738
00:36:41,282 --> 00:36:42,951
[Elton] Bless you.
I love you so much.
739
00:36:43,493 --> 00:36:45,285
- All right, love you.
- [Elton] Love you both so much.
740
00:36:45,286 --> 00:36:47,329
- Bye. Love you, Daddy.
- [Elton] Have a great night's sleep.
741
00:36:47,330 --> 00:36:48,415
And well done, okay?
742
00:36:48,623 --> 00:36:50,375
- Thank you. Bye.
- [Elton] Bye.
743
00:36:51,042 --> 00:36:52,127
{\an8}Bless him.
744
00:36:52,460 --> 00:36:54,254
{\an8}[Andrew] All right, you got
something to play for us?
745
00:36:54,379 --> 00:36:55,838
{\an8}[♪ pop music playing,
Elton John "The One"]
746
00:36:55,839 --> 00:36:58,299
[Andrew] Where's the verse?
Here? Okay. Zoom it in.
747
00:36:59,926 --> 00:37:01,010
What's in here?
748
00:37:10,687 --> 00:37:14,357
♪ I saw you dancin'
out the ocean ♪
749
00:37:18,486 --> 00:37:23,032
♪ Runnin' fast along the sand ♪
750
00:37:25,869 --> 00:37:29,456
♪ A spirit born
of earth and water ♪
751
00:37:29,581 --> 00:37:30,622
[Andrew] "A spirit born."
752
00:37:30,623 --> 00:37:32,834
[both speaks indistinctly]
753
00:37:33,793 --> 00:37:37,422
♪ Fire flying from your hands ♪
754
00:37:38,757 --> 00:37:40,133
[Andrew] The "spirit born."
755
00:37:41,676 --> 00:37:42,885
♪ Hold me closer... ♪
756
00:37:42,886 --> 00:37:43,970
Sounds amazing.
757
00:37:44,220 --> 00:37:45,764
[Andrew] That's your original
master vocal.
758
00:37:45,930 --> 00:37:47,181
- Yeah.
- [Andrew] That's your vocal.
759
00:37:47,182 --> 00:37:48,515
I just put them--
I just re-did them--
760
00:37:48,516 --> 00:37:49,642
Yeah. I think they sound great.
761
00:37:49,768 --> 00:37:51,226
- [Andrew] Yeah.
- They sound really unusual.
762
00:37:51,227 --> 00:37:52,519
[Andrew] I just want
to do one thing.
763
00:37:52,520 --> 00:37:54,521
So, the part from
"Don't go breaking my heart..."
764
00:37:54,522 --> 00:37:55,899
- [vocalizes]
- [Elton] Yeah.
765
00:37:56,024 --> 00:37:57,776
[Andrew] It comes on the one
of the second.
766
00:37:57,901 --> 00:38:00,444
A cue should go... [vocalizes]
767
00:38:00,445 --> 00:38:02,029
- Not. [vocalizes]
- [Andrew] Yeah.
768
00:38:02,030 --> 00:38:03,406
You go. [vocalizes]
769
00:38:03,782 --> 00:38:08,076
♪ Lay me down
in sheets of linen ♪
770
00:38:08,077 --> 00:38:09,162
Yeah.
771
00:38:11,247 --> 00:38:15,460
♪ You had a busy day today ♪
772
00:38:15,585 --> 00:38:17,796
That's so they can do
the high and do the low.
773
00:38:19,088 --> 00:38:20,882
♪ Hold me closer ♪
774
00:38:22,133 --> 00:38:23,342
Maybe there's piano here.
775
00:38:23,343 --> 00:38:24,844
♪ Hold me closer ♪
776
00:38:25,804 --> 00:38:30,517
[plays piano]
777
00:39:13,726 --> 00:39:14,936
[Elton] All right,
drop me in there.
778
00:39:15,353 --> 00:39:16,437
[cheers]
779
00:39:16,646 --> 00:39:18,189
[plays piano]
780
00:39:31,911 --> 00:39:33,036
- [Andrew] Perfect.
- [Elton] Yeah?
781
00:39:33,037 --> 00:39:36,374
That was... [bleep] [laughs]
782
00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:39,252
[laughs]
783
00:39:40,670 --> 00:39:42,087
[reporter] Elton John
recently returned
784
00:39:42,088 --> 00:39:44,840
from his second major tour
of the United States,
785
00:39:44,841 --> 00:39:47,259
where at one time
he had four different LPs
786
00:39:47,260 --> 00:39:49,094
in the top 50,
all in the same week, actually.
787
00:39:49,095 --> 00:39:51,014
And that must put him
on a par with The Beatles,
788
00:39:51,472 --> 00:39:53,682
prompting American as well
as British critics to suggest
789
00:39:53,683 --> 00:39:55,934
that Elton John
and his lyric-writing partner,
790
00:39:55,935 --> 00:39:58,020
Bernie Taupin,
could well be the most inventive
791
00:39:58,021 --> 00:40:01,357
and original team of songwriters
since Lennon and McCartney.
792
00:40:02,150 --> 00:40:04,067
{\an8}[Bernie] The way we write
is much stranger
793
00:40:04,068 --> 00:40:06,279
{\an8}than the majority
of people write.
794
00:40:07,196 --> 00:40:10,365
{\an8}We don't write together.
I write what I write first
795
00:40:10,366 --> 00:40:12,701
and I send it to him
and he goes away
796
00:40:12,702 --> 00:40:14,870
and there's a chance
that I won't even hear it
797
00:40:14,871 --> 00:40:15,955
till it's recorded.
798
00:40:16,289 --> 00:40:18,248
That's all lyrics here and I--
799
00:40:18,249 --> 00:40:20,084
You know, I just sit through
and there's one here
800
00:40:20,209 --> 00:40:21,461
that I've sort of done
the other day
801
00:40:21,669 --> 00:40:22,879
called "Tiny Dancer,"
802
00:40:23,004 --> 00:40:25,048
which is about
Bernie's girlfriend.
803
00:40:25,673 --> 00:40:26,674
Uh...
804
00:40:27,425 --> 00:40:29,260
I guess he just was--
805
00:40:29,636 --> 00:40:31,386
Just sort of felt like--
I looked at all the lyrics,
806
00:40:31,387 --> 00:40:32,763
and that was the one
I fancied writing,
807
00:40:32,764 --> 00:40:34,974
mainly because I knew Bernie
would like me to do this one.
808
00:40:35,099 --> 00:40:36,850
You look at it, the words
809
00:40:36,851 --> 00:40:39,854
"Blue Jean Baby, L.A. Lady,
seamstress of the band.
810
00:40:40,146 --> 00:40:42,315
"Pretty-eyed, pirate smile,
you'll marry a music man."
811
00:40:42,440 --> 00:40:44,232
"Ballerina" as soon as he gets
to the word ballerina,
812
00:40:44,233 --> 00:40:45,442
you know,
it's not gonna be fast.
813
00:40:45,443 --> 00:40:49,696
It's got to be sort of gentle
and sort of quite slow.
814
00:40:49,697 --> 00:40:53,033
So, I mean, like, the way
it's written here is a verse
815
00:40:53,034 --> 00:40:54,117
and it's a chorus
816
00:40:54,118 --> 00:40:56,328
or a middle eight and a chorus,
then another verse.
817
00:40:56,329 --> 00:40:59,665
I just sort of ran it through
the two verses together,
818
00:40:59,666 --> 00:41:01,041
then a middle eight,
then a chorus,
819
00:41:01,042 --> 00:41:02,918
and then back to the sort
of verse sort of thing.
820
00:41:02,919 --> 00:41:04,628
It's a very--
It happens very quickly.
821
00:41:04,629 --> 00:41:07,757
It sounds long,
but it's sort of starts off...
822
00:41:08,424 --> 00:41:13,972
♪ Blue jean baby, L.A. lady ♪
823
00:41:14,722 --> 00:41:18,559
♪ Seamstress for the band ♪
824
00:41:21,229 --> 00:41:23,648
♪ Pirate smile ♪
825
00:41:24,357 --> 00:41:31,197
♪ Pretty eyed
You'll marry a music man ♪
826
00:41:33,616 --> 00:41:35,159
♪ Ballerina... ♪
827
00:41:35,284 --> 00:41:37,620
[Elton] As a three-piece,
we'd gone as far as we could.
828
00:41:37,996 --> 00:41:39,246
I wanted to add a guitarist
829
00:41:39,247 --> 00:41:41,624
and I introduced Davey
into the band.
830
00:41:43,084 --> 00:41:45,670
I liked the fact
that he was a folk banjo player.
831
00:41:46,337 --> 00:41:48,797
He never ever had played
electric guitar
832
00:41:48,798 --> 00:41:50,466
till he played on Honky Château.
833
00:41:51,342 --> 00:41:52,885
Just had a feeling
he'd be great.
834
00:41:53,219 --> 00:41:54,220
And he could sing.
835
00:41:55,138 --> 00:41:57,139
{\an8}We went off to the château,
which was the first time
836
00:41:57,140 --> 00:41:58,975
{\an8}that we'd ever gone away
and recorded,
837
00:41:59,183 --> 00:42:01,059
{\an8}and the whole scenario changed.
838
00:42:01,060 --> 00:42:03,229
[♪ soft music playing,
Elton John "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters"]
839
00:42:03,354 --> 00:42:04,480
♪ Now I know ♪
840
00:42:05,940 --> 00:42:12,739
♪ Spanish Harlem are not just
pretty words to say... ♪
841
00:42:12,947 --> 00:42:14,323
[Elton] The equipment
was in the studio,
842
00:42:14,449 --> 00:42:15,657
but we also set up
an electric piano,
843
00:42:15,658 --> 00:42:18,703
drum kit, bass guitar,
guitar amplifier,
844
00:42:19,120 --> 00:42:21,497
and mics in the breakfast room,
845
00:42:21,789 --> 00:42:24,249
'cause I used to get up early
and while I'm having breakfast
846
00:42:24,250 --> 00:42:26,209
just stroll over to the piano
and look at the lyrics
847
00:42:26,210 --> 00:42:27,754
and start writing the songs.
848
00:42:28,087 --> 00:42:29,296
The band would drift down,
849
00:42:29,297 --> 00:42:31,132
have their breakfast
and join in.
850
00:42:31,299 --> 00:42:37,013
♪ Until you've seen this trash-can
dream come true... ♪
851
00:42:37,388 --> 00:42:39,432
[Elton] The original band
with Nigel and Dee,
852
00:42:39,640 --> 00:42:41,726
they instinctively knew
where I was gonna go.
853
00:42:41,851 --> 00:42:44,062
When Davey came,
it didn't make any difference.
854
00:42:44,228 --> 00:42:46,438
They were in tune
to exactly what I was doing
855
00:42:46,439 --> 00:42:48,191
and they were very, very quick.
856
00:42:48,983 --> 00:42:51,736
♪ There's people out there
like you... ♪
857
00:42:52,820 --> 00:42:54,864
[Elton] You hear things like
"Rocket Man" coming into being
858
00:42:55,198 --> 00:42:58,534
and "Honky Cat,"
"Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters."
859
00:42:59,243 --> 00:43:02,538
They formed a shape
before we went into the studio.
860
00:43:02,789 --> 00:43:06,833
♪ While Mona Lisas
and mad hatters ♪
861
00:43:06,834 --> 00:43:10,296
♪ Sons of bankers
sons of lawyers ♪
862
00:43:11,130 --> 00:43:15,467
♪ Turn around and say
good morning to the night ♪
863
00:43:15,468 --> 00:43:18,553
[Elton] I was spreading my wings
and it just was the right fit.
864
00:43:18,554 --> 00:43:21,891
♪ For unless they see the sky ♪
865
00:43:22,475 --> 00:43:26,104
♪ But they can't
and that is why ♪
866
00:43:28,272 --> 00:43:33,902
♪ They know not if it's dark outside
or light... ♪
867
00:43:33,903 --> 00:43:35,321
[Elton] It was an era
868
00:43:35,488 --> 00:43:37,573
that produced
a lot of magic for me.
869
00:43:39,283 --> 00:43:41,536
But it also
was a pretty horrible time.
870
00:43:43,287 --> 00:43:44,539
I was afraid of John.
871
00:43:45,540 --> 00:43:46,833
He had violence in him.
872
00:43:48,543 --> 00:43:51,253
A few drinks too many.
If you crossed him,
873
00:43:51,254 --> 00:43:52,880
he'd punch you
or he'd break a glass
874
00:43:53,005 --> 00:43:54,215
and put it in your face.
875
00:43:56,092 --> 00:43:59,011
I can see a lot
of my father's behavior.
876
00:44:02,807 --> 00:44:06,644
I was a young,
first-time-in-love person.
877
00:44:08,354 --> 00:44:10,106
I still wanted to be together.
878
00:44:10,690 --> 00:44:12,233
[♪ soft music playing,
Elton John "Rocket Man"]
879
00:44:12,358 --> 00:44:15,111
♪ She packed my bags
last night, pre-flight... ♪
880
00:44:16,362 --> 00:44:18,239
[young Elton] We just made
a new album in France,
881
00:44:18,906 --> 00:44:20,240
so we're gonna play you
eight new songs
882
00:44:20,241 --> 00:44:21,951
that you've never,
ever heard before.
883
00:44:22,410 --> 00:44:23,577
This is called "Rocket Man,"
884
00:44:23,578 --> 00:44:25,370
and it'll be released
as a single, I hope,
885
00:44:25,371 --> 00:44:26,497
on March 3rd.
886
00:44:28,166 --> 00:44:32,628
♪ I miss the Earth so much
I miss my wife ♪
887
00:44:35,548 --> 00:44:38,676
♪ It's lonely out in space ♪
888
00:44:41,304 --> 00:44:45,808
♪ On such a timeless flight ♪
889
00:44:54,567 --> 00:44:57,652
♪ And I think it's gonna be
a long, long time ♪
890
00:44:57,653 --> 00:45:00,990
♪ 'Til touchdown brings me
'round again to find ♪
891
00:45:01,199 --> 00:45:03,993
♪ I'm not the man
they think I am at home ♪
892
00:45:04,118 --> 00:45:05,870
♪ Oh, no, no, no ♪
893
00:45:06,537 --> 00:45:08,664
♪ I'm a rocket man ♪
894
00:45:10,208 --> 00:45:11,708
♪ Rocket man ♪
895
00:45:11,709 --> 00:45:14,670
♪ Burning out his fuse
up here alone... ♪
896
00:45:16,881 --> 00:45:19,884
[Alexis] After "Rocket Man"
is a big single,
897
00:45:20,468 --> 00:45:21,551
you get Beatlemania,
898
00:45:21,552 --> 00:45:23,596
- you get screaming fans.
- [Elton] Yeah.
899
00:45:24,555 --> 00:45:26,891
I never thought of myself
as a pop artist,
900
00:45:27,767 --> 00:45:30,477
and that was the first pop hit.
After "Your Song,"
901
00:45:30,478 --> 00:45:32,312
that was really
the first hit I had.
902
00:45:32,313 --> 00:45:34,607
♪ I'm a rocket man ♪
903
00:45:36,108 --> 00:45:37,734
♪ Rocket man ♪
904
00:45:37,735 --> 00:45:40,738
♪ Burning out his fuse
up here alone... ♪
905
00:45:46,452 --> 00:45:48,203
[Elton] I stumbled
on commerciality really
906
00:45:48,204 --> 00:45:49,914
when I added David to the band.
907
00:45:50,581 --> 00:45:52,041
I'd never set out to write
commercial songs,
908
00:45:52,250 --> 00:45:53,500
but it just made it easier,
909
00:45:53,501 --> 00:45:55,544
because I was writing
for a guitarist, as well.
910
00:45:56,796 --> 00:45:58,965
And suddenly, I become
this big singles artist
911
00:45:59,298 --> 00:46:01,299
who had hit after hit
after hit after hit.
912
00:46:01,300 --> 00:46:03,551
[♪ pop music playing, Elton John
"I'm Gonna Be a Teenage Idol"]
913
00:46:03,552 --> 00:46:06,221
♪ And root toot shoot
myself to fame ♪
914
00:46:06,222 --> 00:46:09,684
♪ Every kid alive
gonna know my name ♪
915
00:46:09,850 --> 00:46:14,145
♪ An overnight phenomenon
like there's never been ♪
916
00:46:14,146 --> 00:46:16,398
[all cheering]
917
00:46:16,399 --> 00:46:20,987
♪ A motivated supersonic
king of the scene ♪
918
00:46:22,989 --> 00:46:28,451
♪ I'll be a teenage idol
Just give me a break... ♪
919
00:46:28,452 --> 00:46:29,744
[young Elton] The clothes thing,
920
00:46:29,745 --> 00:46:31,913
it's a reaction
against everything
921
00:46:31,914 --> 00:46:34,375
that I wasn't allowed to do
when I was a child.
922
00:46:34,667 --> 00:46:36,418
"You cannot wear this.
You cannot do this.
923
00:46:36,419 --> 00:46:38,129
"You cannot--
You can't wear those glasses."
924
00:46:38,587 --> 00:46:39,922
There are no rules in life.
925
00:46:41,549 --> 00:46:42,549
I'm everything that
926
00:46:42,550 --> 00:46:44,510
a rock-'n'-roll star
isn't supposed to be.
927
00:46:45,594 --> 00:46:47,971
I'm not the best-looking person
in the world, et cetera.
928
00:46:47,972 --> 00:46:50,473
And so, I think a lot of people
identify with me as sort of,
929
00:46:50,474 --> 00:46:52,600
"Well, if he can do it,
then I might be able to."
930
00:46:52,601 --> 00:46:53,686
[chuckling]
931
00:46:55,604 --> 00:46:57,480
I always believed that
if you have got enough ambition,
932
00:46:57,481 --> 00:46:59,941
no matter what you look like,
no matter what you sound like,
933
00:46:59,942 --> 00:47:01,068
you can make it anyway.
934
00:47:02,320 --> 00:47:03,403
{\an8}And I am ambitious.
935
00:47:03,404 --> 00:47:05,030
{\an8}[announcer] Ladies and gentlemen,
Elton John.
936
00:47:05,031 --> 00:47:07,073
{\an8}[crowd cheering]
937
00:47:07,074 --> 00:47:10,536
[♪ lively music playing,
Elton John "Crocodile Rock"]
938
00:47:15,958 --> 00:47:17,793
[crowd cheering]
939
00:47:18,169 --> 00:47:20,796
♪ I remember
when rock was young ♪
940
00:47:21,047 --> 00:47:23,299
♪ Me and Susie had so much fun ♪
941
00:47:24,050 --> 00:47:26,677
♪ Holding hands
and skimming stones ♪
942
00:47:26,969 --> 00:47:29,889
♪ Had an old gold Chevy
and a place of my own ♪
943
00:47:30,056 --> 00:47:32,350
♪ But the biggest kick
I ever got ♪
944
00:47:33,017 --> 00:47:35,728
♪ Was doing a thing
called the Crocodile Rock ♪
945
00:47:35,853 --> 00:47:38,522
♪ While the other kids
were rocking 'round the clock ♪
946
00:47:39,065 --> 00:47:42,443
♪ We were hopping and bopping
to the Crocodile Rock... ♪
947
00:47:43,027 --> 00:47:44,445
[Elton] I love performing,
948
00:47:44,945 --> 00:47:47,406
I've just felt different
to when I was off stage.
949
00:47:49,283 --> 00:47:51,785
It's electric, fulfilling,
950
00:47:51,786 --> 00:47:54,038
an out-of-body experience
really.
951
00:47:54,288 --> 00:47:57,083
♪ Oh, lawdy mama
Those Friday nights ♪
952
00:47:57,249 --> 00:48:00,044
♪ When Susie wore
her dresses tight... ♪
953
00:48:00,211 --> 00:48:01,629
[Elton] You just feel free
as a bird,
954
00:48:02,630 --> 00:48:04,006
and you can do
anything you want.
955
00:48:05,174 --> 00:48:06,508
It's just kind of addictive.
956
00:48:06,509 --> 00:48:10,763
♪ La, la-la-la-la-la ♪
957
00:48:11,639 --> 00:48:15,643
♪ La-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la ♪
958
00:48:17,937 --> 00:48:21,232
♪ But the years went by
and the rock just died ♪
959
00:48:21,440 --> 00:48:23,858
♪ Susie went and left us
for some foreign guy... ♪
960
00:48:23,859 --> 00:48:26,612
[Alexis] At this time,
you are a star,
961
00:48:27,613 --> 00:48:29,156
unequivocally successful.
962
00:48:29,782 --> 00:48:31,909
Was your dad pleased for you?
963
00:48:33,786 --> 00:48:35,079
[Elton] My dad never saw me.
964
00:48:35,871 --> 00:48:37,122
[Alexis]
He never saw you live at all?
965
00:48:37,123 --> 00:48:38,207
[Elton] No.
966
00:48:39,125 --> 00:48:40,126
[Alexis] It's really sad.
967
00:48:41,127 --> 00:48:42,795
[Elton] Yeah. I wish it had been
much different.
968
00:48:44,046 --> 00:48:45,464
God, I wish
it had been different.
969
00:48:45,673 --> 00:48:47,633
♪ When your feet
just can't keep still ♪
970
00:48:48,759 --> 00:48:53,180
♪ I never knew me a better time
and I guess I never will ♪
971
00:48:54,306 --> 00:48:56,976
♪ Oh, lawdy mama
Those Friday nights ♪
972
00:48:57,143 --> 00:48:59,854
♪ When Susie
wore her dresses tight... ♪
973
00:49:02,106 --> 00:49:06,193
[♪ dramatic music playing]
974
00:49:14,034 --> 00:49:15,870
[♪ music fades]
975
00:49:20,458 --> 00:49:22,585
Huh? Well, I don't think so.
976
00:49:30,092 --> 00:49:31,302
- Yeah.
- [crew member 1] Yeah?
977
00:49:32,720 --> 00:49:34,722
- Um, sneakers.
- [crew member 1] Okay.
978
00:49:35,598 --> 00:49:38,058
[Elton] I have never
in my whole career,
979
00:49:38,184 --> 00:49:39,184
in my whole career,
980
00:49:39,185 --> 00:49:40,685
done shows
that have been so good.
981
00:49:40,686 --> 00:49:44,064
I mean, astonishingly good.
Um, I'm not bullshitting.
982
00:49:44,273 --> 00:49:46,692
You guys are amazing.
Everything you play every night,
983
00:49:46,817 --> 00:49:48,943
it's the standard
of professionalism
984
00:49:48,944 --> 00:49:53,115
and dedication
and playing is off the charts.
985
00:49:53,240 --> 00:49:56,118
You guys are just
absolutely phenomenal.
986
00:49:56,243 --> 00:49:57,660
I wanted to go out on a high,
987
00:49:57,661 --> 00:49:59,412
and it's not a high,
it's even better than a high.
988
00:49:59,413 --> 00:50:00,498
[crew member 2] Yay!
989
00:50:00,623 --> 00:50:02,499
[Elton] You should be proud
of yourself. I'm so proud.
990
00:50:02,500 --> 00:50:04,251
I'm privileged to play
with you guys.
991
00:50:04,502 --> 00:50:06,128
- [band member 1] Thank you, Elton. We are.
- Yeah.
992
00:50:07,755 --> 00:50:12,009
[♪ upbeat music playing,
Elton John "Candle in the Wind"]
993
00:50:28,901 --> 00:50:30,986
♪ Goodbye, Norma Jeane ♪
994
00:50:31,570 --> 00:50:34,698
♪ Though
I never knew you at all ♪
995
00:50:34,823 --> 00:50:37,910
♪ You had the grace
to hold yourself ♪
996
00:50:38,244 --> 00:50:40,955
♪ While those
around you crawled ♪
997
00:50:44,124 --> 00:50:46,585
♪ Goodbye, Norma Jeane ♪
998
00:50:46,835 --> 00:50:49,755
♪ From the young man
in the twenty-second row ♪
999
00:50:50,047 --> 00:50:53,259
♪ Who sees you as
something more than sexual ♪
1000
00:50:53,384 --> 00:50:57,304
♪ More than just
our Marilyn Monroe ♪
1001
00:50:59,139 --> 00:51:02,810
♪ And it seems to me
you lived your life ♪
1002
00:51:03,018 --> 00:51:05,896
♪ Like a candle in the wind ♪
1003
00:51:06,730 --> 00:51:10,025
♪ Never knowing
who to cling to... ♪
1004
00:51:10,359 --> 00:51:12,694
[Alexis] Were you aware
when you wrote things,
1005
00:51:12,695 --> 00:51:15,364
like "Candle in the Wind,"
that this is one for the ages?
1006
00:51:16,407 --> 00:51:17,866
[Elton]
That really is happenstance.
1007
00:51:18,826 --> 00:51:20,910
[Alexis] It is quite a somber album,
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,
1008
00:51:20,911 --> 00:51:22,787
for all it's held up
as your great pop moment.
1009
00:51:22,788 --> 00:51:23,997
It's...
1010
00:51:23,998 --> 00:51:25,331
[Elton] Relationships
collapsing.
1011
00:51:25,332 --> 00:51:27,625
- [Alexis] Yeah.
- When I wrote those songs,
1012
00:51:27,626 --> 00:51:29,128
I was miserably unhappy.
1013
00:51:30,462 --> 00:51:32,798
That kind of came
through in the songwriting
1014
00:51:33,215 --> 00:51:35,425
and it was very,
very moving for me
1015
00:51:35,426 --> 00:51:37,136
and it was very, very cathartic.
1016
00:51:38,262 --> 00:51:40,806
[Alexis] What do you think
influenced your writing?
1017
00:51:42,474 --> 00:51:45,185
[Elton] It was the same time
John Reid broke my heart.
1018
00:51:45,477 --> 00:51:47,813
[♪ soft music playing]
1019
00:51:51,483 --> 00:51:55,154
[Elton] My relationship with him
wasn't all it was meant to be.
1020
00:51:56,196 --> 00:51:58,823
I was very naive.
I didn't know that.
1021
00:51:58,824 --> 00:52:00,700
He was having sex outside...
1022
00:52:00,701 --> 00:52:02,620
- [Alexis sighs]
- ...the relationship.
1023
00:52:02,911 --> 00:52:05,039
When I found out about it,
I was crushed.
1024
00:52:06,040 --> 00:52:08,792
He was very, you know,
very rough.
1025
00:52:09,752 --> 00:52:11,961
I had a party at the house
and we had a fight
1026
00:52:11,962 --> 00:52:14,631
and he's smacked me in the face
and made my nose bleed,
1027
00:52:14,632 --> 00:52:15,758
cut my face.
1028
00:52:17,926 --> 00:52:19,345
I loved John very much.
1029
00:52:19,678 --> 00:52:22,556
But, you know, I'd say, "I can't
go through this anymore."
1030
00:52:23,307 --> 00:52:26,352
And then when that fell apart,
I kind of fell apart.
1031
00:52:27,353 --> 00:52:29,103
John left an emptiness
within me.
1032
00:52:29,104 --> 00:52:30,230
[Alexis] Yeah.
1033
00:52:31,649 --> 00:52:33,651
[Elton] I thought being alone
was a sense of failure.
1034
00:52:35,069 --> 00:52:37,863
Why isn't someone with me?
You're not good enough.
1035
00:52:39,198 --> 00:52:41,659
I chased relationships,
I chased love.
1036
00:52:42,618 --> 00:52:44,536
Always looking for love
all the time.
1037
00:52:48,248 --> 00:52:49,917
[host]
And what's your next ambition?
1038
00:52:53,462 --> 00:52:54,504
Funny that it may seem,
1039
00:52:54,505 --> 00:52:57,090
I don't really have
any ambitions left anymore.
1040
00:52:57,091 --> 00:52:59,134
Not a concrete ambition.
1041
00:52:59,426 --> 00:53:02,053
And my one concrete ambition
was always to make it.
1042
00:53:02,054 --> 00:53:04,097
I don't really have
one set ambition now.
1043
00:53:04,098 --> 00:53:07,267
I'm sustaining my level
of popularity.
1044
00:53:08,102 --> 00:53:11,020
But that-- Again, that's sort of
a secondary importance.
1045
00:53:11,021 --> 00:53:12,815
I really don't know.
I've sort of...
1046
00:53:13,440 --> 00:53:14,982
I haven't got any.
It sounds really strange,
1047
00:53:14,983 --> 00:53:17,945
but I just do not have
any ambitions now.
1048
00:53:18,278 --> 00:53:20,572
I'm sort of plodding on
at the moment.
1049
00:53:20,698 --> 00:53:25,953
[♪ soft music playing,
Elton John "I've Seen That Movie Too"]
1050
00:53:29,832 --> 00:53:34,628
♪ I can see by your eyes
you must be lying ♪
1051
00:53:38,382 --> 00:53:42,344
♪ When you think
I don't have a clue ♪
1052
00:53:45,139 --> 00:53:47,182
♪ Baby, you're crazy ♪
1053
00:53:49,560 --> 00:53:52,438
♪ If you think
that you can fool me ♪
1054
00:53:53,897 --> 00:53:58,402
♪ Because I've seen
that movie too ♪
1055
00:54:04,116 --> 00:54:08,370
♪ The one where the players
are acting surprised ♪
1056
00:54:12,207 --> 00:54:15,919
♪ Saying love's
just a four-letter word... ♪
1057
00:54:18,213 --> 00:54:20,965
{\an8}[Elton] After Yellow Brick Road,
we made Caribou,
1058
00:54:20,966 --> 00:54:23,218
{\an8}the first record
we ever made in America.
1059
00:54:24,428 --> 00:54:25,428
And that was the first time
1060
00:54:25,429 --> 00:54:27,681
we'd been to Colorado
on the road.
1061
00:54:28,223 --> 00:54:29,682
[Alexis] Ray Cooper comes
into the picture.
1062
00:54:29,683 --> 00:54:31,226
[Elton] Yeah.
He was at that session.
1063
00:54:32,686 --> 00:54:34,188
He was a percussion player
1064
00:54:34,480 --> 00:54:38,609
who could also play
xylophone and keyboards
1065
00:54:39,276 --> 00:54:41,320
and just do something daring.
1066
00:54:42,321 --> 00:54:43,946
[Alexis] It’s also during
the sessions of Caribou
1067
00:54:43,947 --> 00:54:45,323
that you take coke
for the first time.
1068
00:54:45,324 --> 00:54:46,949
- [Elton] Yes.
- [Alexis] So who was doing it?
1069
00:54:46,950 --> 00:54:48,868
- The rest of the band was doing it?
- [Elton] John Reid.
1070
00:54:48,869 --> 00:54:50,579
- [Alexis] John Reid was doing it.
- [Elton] Yeah.
1071
00:54:51,747 --> 00:54:53,122
[Alexis] He obviously remains
in your life
1072
00:54:53,123 --> 00:54:54,541
as your manager.
1073
00:54:54,708 --> 00:54:56,584
[Elton] Unfortunately,
I broke up with him
1074
00:54:56,585 --> 00:54:58,253
and stayed with him in business,
1075
00:54:58,754 --> 00:55:01,089
because I was frightened
of confrontation.
1076
00:55:01,298 --> 00:55:03,425
But he was a ballsy,
fiery manager.
1077
00:55:04,510 --> 00:55:05,552
At that time,
1078
00:55:06,220 --> 00:55:08,096
my career was more important
than anything.
1079
00:55:09,681 --> 00:55:10,806
I walked in the room,
1080
00:55:10,807 --> 00:55:12,725
there was like little
white lines and a straw.
1081
00:55:12,726 --> 00:55:15,436
And I said, "What's that?"
And they said, "It's cocaine."
1082
00:55:15,437 --> 00:55:16,521
I said, "What does that do?"
1083
00:55:16,522 --> 00:55:18,105
He said,
"It just makes you feel good."
1084
00:55:18,106 --> 00:55:19,857
- I didn't know what it was.
- [Alexis chuckles]
1085
00:55:19,858 --> 00:55:21,568
"Well, I'll try some of that."
1086
00:55:24,780 --> 00:55:26,073
[Alexis] Did you like it
straightaway?
1087
00:55:26,740 --> 00:55:28,574
[Elton] Not really,
because it made me feel sick.
1088
00:55:28,575 --> 00:55:30,369
So, I thought,
"I don't like this."
1089
00:55:31,703 --> 00:55:33,830
But it didn't stop me going back
for another line.
1090
00:55:34,122 --> 00:55:36,667
Yeah. So,
that was the first time.
1091
00:55:38,961 --> 00:55:40,963
Cocaine opened me up,
and I became social.
1092
00:55:41,755 --> 00:55:42,965
It gave me confidence.
1093
00:55:44,716 --> 00:55:45,883
I suddenly found I could talk.
1094
00:55:45,884 --> 00:55:48,595
I wasn't intimidated to be
in a room full of strangers.
1095
00:55:49,763 --> 00:55:51,556
I quite liked that, 'cause
I always found it difficult
1096
00:55:51,557 --> 00:55:54,184
to, you know, to sit down
and open up.
1097
00:55:55,727 --> 00:55:57,270
I never thought
it was a hard drug.
1098
00:55:57,271 --> 00:55:58,896
I thought, "I'm not an addict.
1099
00:55:58,897 --> 00:56:01,065
"I'm okay on cocaine
or smoking a joint.
1100
00:56:01,066 --> 00:56:02,776
"That's fine. I'm in control."
1101
00:56:03,777 --> 00:56:05,319
[Alexis]
This is a widely held fact
1102
00:56:05,320 --> 00:56:06,988
that if you make records
on cocaine,
1103
00:56:06,989 --> 00:56:08,574
it makes them worse.
1104
00:56:09,616 --> 00:56:12,159
[Elton] Oh, absolutely.
It affects everything.
1105
00:56:12,160 --> 00:56:14,413
You cannot think in a sane
and proper way.
1106
00:56:15,706 --> 00:56:18,708
I was exhausted.
I was exhausted creatively
1107
00:56:18,709 --> 00:56:20,626
and exhausted from touring
1108
00:56:20,627 --> 00:56:23,463
and exhausted-- No, I used
to stay up every night.
1109
00:56:24,840 --> 00:56:26,340
And then,
when the album came out,
1110
00:56:26,341 --> 00:56:27,425
people didn't like it.
1111
00:56:27,426 --> 00:56:29,052
[♪ somber music playing,
Elton John "Ticking"]
1112
00:56:29,177 --> 00:56:32,723
♪ Remember Mama said
Ticking, ticking ♪
1113
00:56:32,973 --> 00:56:35,683
♪ Grow up straight
and true blue ♪
1114
00:56:35,684 --> 00:56:37,519
♪ Run along to bed ♪
1115
00:56:38,145 --> 00:56:45,068
♪ Hear it, hear it
Ticking, ticking ♪
1116
00:56:51,491 --> 00:56:52,491
I haven't got any illusions
1117
00:56:52,492 --> 00:56:53,868
that I'm gonna stay
at the top forever.
1118
00:56:53,869 --> 00:56:55,494
[interviewer] How long
do you think you've got?
1119
00:56:55,495 --> 00:56:57,580
I don't know. Every year
I think, "This is it," you know?
1120
00:56:57,581 --> 00:57:00,333
Uh, so I-- You can't predict it.
1121
00:57:00,334 --> 00:57:02,919
That's what's so much fun
about this business.
1122
00:57:03,170 --> 00:57:04,338
You just can't predict.
1123
00:57:04,463 --> 00:57:05,672
[♪ soft music playing]
1124
00:57:08,008 --> 00:57:09,343
My debauchery came.
1125
00:57:10,761 --> 00:57:12,512
I was desperately
wanting happiness...
1126
00:57:14,097 --> 00:57:15,974
and going completely
the wrong way about it.
1127
00:57:19,311 --> 00:57:22,147
I've had quite a lot
of lonely periods in my life.
1128
00:57:23,440 --> 00:57:25,066
You know... [stutters]
...the bubble thing.
1129
00:57:25,067 --> 00:57:26,234
[Alexis] Right.
1130
00:57:26,526 --> 00:57:29,154
[Elton] Marilyn Monroe,
Elvis Presley,
1131
00:57:30,656 --> 00:57:33,241
there's a danger
that people live in that bubble
1132
00:57:34,242 --> 00:57:36,119
and they become
sequestered away.
1133
00:57:38,914 --> 00:57:41,040
I'd like nothing more than
to shut my bedroom door
1134
00:57:41,041 --> 00:57:43,502
and then go and do
a two, three-day binge...
1135
00:57:45,128 --> 00:57:46,545
on my own in my hotel suite,
1136
00:57:46,546 --> 00:57:49,591
just watching porno,
smoking dope, whiskey.
1137
00:57:52,886 --> 00:57:55,346
Running away
was what I did in my childhood.
1138
00:57:55,347 --> 00:57:56,515
I've shut the door.
1139
00:57:56,807 --> 00:57:58,265
- I've been running away...
- [Alexis] Yeah.
1140
00:57:58,266 --> 00:57:59,934
...ever since
I was four or five years old,
1141
00:57:59,935 --> 00:58:01,895
shutting the door
when my parents were rowing.
1142
00:58:04,773 --> 00:58:05,941
[Alexis] Cocaine doesn't help.
1143
00:58:25,669 --> 00:58:27,212
[Elton] This is
the most special place.
1144
00:58:27,421 --> 00:58:28,629
It's the best gig in the world,
1145
00:58:28,630 --> 00:58:30,673
{\an8}because of the history
involved in everything
1146
00:58:30,674 --> 00:58:34,176
{\an8}that's gone on here, you know?
It's just an exciting place.
1147
00:58:34,177 --> 00:58:35,344
{\an8}All the wonderful artists
1148
00:58:35,345 --> 00:58:36,721
that have played here
over the years.
1149
00:58:36,722 --> 00:58:38,681
It's a piece of magic
and they don't--
1150
00:58:38,682 --> 00:58:41,101
There's not many venues
that are magical like this.
1151
00:58:41,476 --> 00:58:42,893
Not-- I can't think of any,
actually,
1152
00:58:42,894 --> 00:58:44,396
after Madison Square Garden.
1153
00:58:44,813 --> 00:58:46,021
It's just, you know,
when they say,
1154
00:58:46,022 --> 00:58:47,106
"Where do you like to play?"
1155
00:58:47,107 --> 00:58:48,775
it's a no-brainer.
Madison Square Garden.
1156
00:58:49,526 --> 00:58:50,526
It's always been special.
1157
00:58:50,527 --> 00:58:53,155
John Lennon came onstage here
Thanksgiving,
1158
00:58:53,613 --> 00:58:55,031
and, um, you know,
1159
00:58:55,157 --> 00:58:56,783
you don't forget things
like that.
1160
00:58:57,659 --> 00:58:59,577
- [crew member 1] Rolling?
- [crew member 2] Still rolling.
1161
00:58:59,578 --> 00:59:00,661
[crew member 3] Speed.
1162
00:59:00,662 --> 00:59:02,204
{\an8}[crew member 1] Okay,
here we go. Stand by.
1163
00:59:02,205 --> 00:59:04,206
{\an8}[♪ royal music playing]
1164
00:59:04,207 --> 00:59:08,002
[narrator] Ladies and gentlemen,
Her Royal Highness the Queen.
1165
00:59:08,003 --> 00:59:10,297
- Good evening.
- [crew members laughing]
1166
00:59:10,422 --> 00:59:14,050
{\an8}I've been asked to do
this commercial.
1167
00:59:14,593 --> 00:59:18,471
{\an8}It relates
to a gramophone record...
1168
00:59:18,472 --> 00:59:19,722
[crew members laughing]
1169
00:59:19,723 --> 00:59:23,477
...called Mind Games
by John Lennon.
1170
00:59:23,852 --> 00:59:26,480
[Alexis] You knew
John Lennon through Tony?
1171
00:59:26,980 --> 00:59:28,147
[Elton] Yes.
I met him through Tony.
1172
00:59:28,148 --> 00:59:30,107
- [Alexis] Okay.
- [Elton] I met him on the set.
1173
00:59:30,108 --> 00:59:31,359
where John was doing a video
1174
00:59:31,485 --> 00:59:33,361
and Tony was actually dressed up
as the Queen of England.
1175
00:59:34,404 --> 00:59:36,238
[crew member 4]
Fred Astaire and ginger beer.
1176
00:59:36,239 --> 00:59:37,908
- [laughs]
- [indistinct chatter]
1177
00:59:38,408 --> 00:59:39,617
[Elton] I was obviously
1178
00:59:39,618 --> 00:59:41,828
very intimidated
and very excited.
1179
00:59:42,788 --> 00:59:45,122
Tony had told me
that he was really nice
1180
00:59:45,123 --> 00:59:46,290
and good fun and everything,
1181
00:59:46,291 --> 00:59:48,627
and it was like I'd met someone
I'd known all my life.
1182
00:59:50,670 --> 00:59:52,339
We started to hang out together.
1183
00:59:53,590 --> 00:59:56,301
We went out a lot,
had a lot of fun.
1184
00:59:57,302 --> 00:59:58,385
This man was in The Beatles,
1185
00:59:58,386 --> 01:00:00,221
and he still wants
to make music.
1186
01:00:00,222 --> 01:00:01,806
He still wants
to be politically involved.
1187
01:00:01,807 --> 01:00:03,892
He still has a purpose
in his life.
1188
01:00:04,267 --> 01:00:05,768
And I love people like that.
1189
01:00:05,769 --> 01:00:08,145
I love people who think
about tomorrow
1190
01:00:08,146 --> 01:00:09,355
rather than yesterday.
1191
01:00:09,356 --> 01:00:11,775
♪ Life is the real one... ♪
1192
01:00:12,776 --> 01:00:15,445
[Elton] We just hung out
and just had a great time.
1193
01:00:16,112 --> 01:00:17,988
We just laughed and laughed
and laughed,
1194
01:00:17,989 --> 01:00:19,616
and we did a lot of drugs.
1195
01:00:21,243 --> 01:00:22,952
[Alexis]
I heard a fantastic story
1196
01:00:22,953 --> 01:00:24,537
that you and him were
in a hotel room
1197
01:00:24,538 --> 01:00:25,622
in New York somewhere.
1198
01:00:25,747 --> 01:00:27,289
[Elton] Yes. It was like 2:00
in the morning.
1199
01:00:27,290 --> 01:00:29,501
- Mountains of coke coming out.
- [Alexis chuckling]
1200
01:00:31,378 --> 01:00:33,088
[Elton] I thought,
"Is that the police?"
1201
01:00:33,421 --> 01:00:36,131
And so, being so paranoid,
it took me about five minutes
1202
01:00:36,132 --> 01:00:37,884
to walk across to the peephole.
1203
01:00:39,594 --> 01:00:41,262
- And I saw it was Andy Warhol.
- [Alexis chuckling]
1204
01:00:41,263 --> 01:00:42,888
I went to John.
[whispering] "Andy!"
1205
01:00:42,889 --> 01:00:44,223
And John went, "No way."
1206
01:00:44,224 --> 01:00:45,474
- [doorbell ringing]
- [Alexis laughs]
1207
01:00:45,475 --> 01:00:47,310
[Elton] So, he kept ringing
the bell and we just...
1208
01:00:47,894 --> 01:00:49,104
[Alexis] You hid
from Andy Warhol?
1209
01:00:49,229 --> 01:00:50,896
[Elton] He carried
the camera everywhere,
1210
01:00:50,897 --> 01:00:52,565
the Polaroid.
Like, "No, thanks."
1211
01:00:52,566 --> 01:00:53,775
[Alexis laughs]
1212
01:00:53,900 --> 01:00:56,110
[♪ upbeat music playing,
Elton John "Grey Seal"]
1213
01:00:56,111 --> 01:00:57,695
[Elton] That was the fun part
of the cocaine.
1214
01:00:57,696 --> 01:00:59,906
♪ If anyone can cry
then so can I ♪
1215
01:01:00,282 --> 01:01:02,533
♪ I read books
and draw life... ♪
1216
01:01:02,534 --> 01:01:05,412
You did spend quite a lot of time
in LA last year, didn't you?
1217
01:01:05,662 --> 01:01:09,499
Yeah, yeah. I was sort of,
you know, avoiding reality.
1218
01:01:09,916 --> 01:01:11,375
[interviewer] You seem
o have really enjoyed
1219
01:01:11,376 --> 01:01:13,086
the things you did with Elton.
1220
01:01:13,211 --> 01:01:15,004
- Oh, yeah, yeah.
- [interviewer] Yeah.
1221
01:01:15,005 --> 01:01:16,923
Well, Elton and I
are very close.
1222
01:01:17,716 --> 01:01:19,717
♪ Whatever gets you
thru the night ♪
1223
01:01:19,718 --> 01:01:21,427
[young Elton] He played me
some rough cassettes
1224
01:01:21,428 --> 01:01:23,345
of Walls and Bridges, you know,
just the rough tracks.
1225
01:01:23,346 --> 01:01:25,515
We immediately flashed
on Whatever Gets You Thru the Night.
1226
01:01:25,849 --> 01:01:28,350
So, he asked me to--
Would I come down to the studio
1227
01:01:28,351 --> 01:01:30,729
and do some backing vocals?
So I said, "Yeah."
1228
01:01:31,062 --> 01:01:32,855
I-- We listened to the track
back on the big speakers
1229
01:01:32,856 --> 01:01:35,441
and I said, "Could do with a bit
of piano on it, actually."
1230
01:01:35,442 --> 01:01:36,734
So he said,
"All right. Go ahead."
1231
01:01:36,735 --> 01:01:37,861
And then he said,
1232
01:01:37,986 --> 01:01:40,112
"Well, why don't you, you know,
let's sing it as a duet."
1233
01:01:40,113 --> 01:01:42,574
[♪ rock music playing, John Lennon
"Whatever Gets You Thru the Night"]
1234
01:01:42,699 --> 01:01:43,825
♪ Come on listen to me ♪
1235
01:01:43,950 --> 01:01:46,912
♪ I won't do you no harm... ♪
1236
01:01:47,454 --> 01:01:48,954
[Elton] I was very nervous.
1237
01:01:48,955 --> 01:01:51,373
But for me,
it was a dream come true.
1238
01:01:51,374 --> 01:01:52,875
I could have died
and gone to heaven.
1239
01:01:52,876 --> 01:01:56,795
You know, I cycled to Hatch End
to get The Beatles album
1240
01:01:56,796 --> 01:01:58,214
and here I am,
playing on his record,
1241
01:01:58,340 --> 01:02:00,549
um, and having the greatest time
1242
01:02:00,550 --> 01:02:02,509
and having the best fun
with him.
1243
01:02:02,510 --> 01:02:05,387
And I said, "Listen." I said,
"This is a number-one record."
1244
01:02:05,388 --> 01:02:06,805
And he went, "No, no."
1245
01:02:06,806 --> 01:02:08,474
And I said, "Listen,
if it gets to number one,
1246
01:02:08,475 --> 01:02:09,850
"you've got to come on stage
with me."
1247
01:02:09,851 --> 01:02:11,894
And he never thought
in a million years
1248
01:02:11,895 --> 01:02:13,355
it would get to number one.
1249
01:02:16,691 --> 01:02:17,942
And then,
when it got to number one,
1250
01:02:17,943 --> 01:02:19,486
he didn't just try
and shirk out of it.
1251
01:02:20,362 --> 01:02:21,695
And he certainly
hadn't played onstage
1252
01:02:21,696 --> 01:02:23,907
- in New York since Shea Stadium.
- [Alexis] Yeah.
1253
01:02:24,491 --> 01:02:27,869
{\an8}[Tony] We went up to Boston
to see Elton in concert
1254
01:02:28,244 --> 01:02:30,704
{\an8}so that John could get an idea
of what it was like.
1255
01:02:30,705 --> 01:02:33,415
{\an8}And he hadn't been to a show
in a long, long time
1256
01:02:33,416 --> 01:02:36,460
{\an8}and didn't realize how much more
sophisticated it had got.
1257
01:02:36,461 --> 01:02:40,215
{\an8}[♪ rock song playing,
Elton John "The Bitch Is Back"]
1258
01:02:40,340 --> 01:02:43,927
{\an8}♪ The bitch, the bitch, oh
The bitch is back ♪
1259
01:02:46,846 --> 01:02:49,515
[Tony] And especially Elton was
state-of-the-art at that time.
1260
01:02:49,516 --> 01:02:51,225
You know, his sound system,
1261
01:02:51,226 --> 01:02:55,480
his touring entourage
was very lavish, you know?
1262
01:02:56,106 --> 01:02:59,275
And John had come
from the four amps. [chuckles]
1263
01:03:00,026 --> 01:03:01,694
And, you know,
The Beatles' last show
1264
01:03:01,695 --> 01:03:04,572
had been 1966,
in Candlestick Park.
1265
01:03:06,825 --> 01:03:08,409
[Elton] I think he sat there
with his mouth open
1266
01:03:08,410 --> 01:03:09,743
at my outfits
and what was going on.
1267
01:03:09,744 --> 01:03:11,663
He was like, "Oh, this is what
it's like now, is it?"
1268
01:03:16,668 --> 01:03:19,587
{\an8}- [crowd cheering]
- [♪ song fades]
1269
01:03:22,674 --> 01:03:25,300
[Tony] People knew something
was in the air.
1270
01:03:25,301 --> 01:03:27,012
There was a definite buzz,
1271
01:03:27,721 --> 01:03:29,556
there was gonna
be something special.
1272
01:03:30,890 --> 01:03:34,309
John and Yoko had been split up
for a couple of years,
1273
01:03:34,310 --> 01:03:36,687
and Yoko called me
1274
01:03:36,688 --> 01:03:39,274
and says she would like to come
to the show.
1275
01:03:39,607 --> 01:03:41,859
But she said,
"John mustn't know I'm there."
1276
01:03:41,860 --> 01:03:44,194
So, I got her a seat
11 rows back,
1277
01:03:44,195 --> 01:03:46,740
'cause John's so shortsighted
he couldn't see her.
1278
01:03:47,615 --> 01:03:51,452
We're backstage, getting ready
and two gardenias arrive.
1279
01:03:51,453 --> 01:03:53,871
John said,
"I bet they're from Yoko.
1280
01:03:53,872 --> 01:03:56,875
"You know, I couldn't do it
if I knew she was here."
1281
01:03:57,834 --> 01:03:58,960
We said nothing.
1282
01:04:00,086 --> 01:04:01,170
[Elton] He was terrified.
1283
01:04:01,171 --> 01:04:03,798
I mean, I can absolutely
tell you he was terrified.
1284
01:04:05,008 --> 01:04:06,717
And I can tell you
that he was physically sick
1285
01:04:06,718 --> 01:04:08,594
before the show,
1286
01:04:08,595 --> 01:04:10,180
absolutely physically sick.
1287
01:04:10,805 --> 01:04:14,476
[♪ rock music playing]
1288
01:04:36,998 --> 01:04:38,373
[Elton] Thank you,
New York City!
1289
01:04:38,374 --> 01:04:40,585
- [crowd cheering, applauding]
- [Elton] Thank you!
1290
01:04:42,921 --> 01:04:44,422
Seeing it's Thanksgiving,
1291
01:04:45,090 --> 01:04:46,465
we thought we'd make tonight
a little bit
1292
01:04:46,466 --> 01:04:47,717
of a joyous occasion,
1293
01:04:48,635 --> 01:04:51,929
by inviting someone up
with us onto the stage.
1294
01:04:51,930 --> 01:04:53,681
[crowd cheering]
1295
01:04:55,850 --> 01:04:56,851
[young Elton] And...
1296
01:04:57,727 --> 01:05:00,896
I'm sure he will be no stranger
to anybody in the audience
1297
01:05:00,897 --> 01:05:03,273
when I say
it's our great privilege
1298
01:05:03,274 --> 01:05:05,610
to see and hear Mr. John Lennon.
1299
01:05:07,320 --> 01:05:10,824
[crowd cheering, applauding]
1300
01:05:22,460 --> 01:05:24,003
[Elton] The reception
that he got,
1301
01:05:24,170 --> 01:05:26,506
I've never heard a noise,
a roar like it.
1302
01:05:27,173 --> 01:05:30,759
[Tony] No, I think everybody
was just knocked sideways
1303
01:05:30,760 --> 01:05:33,304
by the volume of the ovation.
1304
01:05:33,555 --> 01:05:35,556
And John turned around
and looked at the band
1305
01:05:35,557 --> 01:05:38,100
as though to say,
"What the... [bleep] ...that?"
1306
01:05:38,101 --> 01:05:39,977
[Elton] And a lot of us cried
and, you know,
1307
01:05:39,978 --> 01:05:41,687
there were tears running down
our faces.
1308
01:05:41,688 --> 01:05:44,023
- [crowd cheering]
- [John] Here we go, then.
1309
01:05:44,524 --> 01:05:46,108
A-one, two--
A-one, two, three, four.
1310
01:05:46,109 --> 01:05:49,737
[♪ jazz music playing, John Lennon
"Whatever Gets You Thru the Night"]
1311
01:05:58,997 --> 01:06:01,249
♪ Whatever gets you
thru the night ♪
1312
01:06:02,041 --> 01:06:04,711
♪ It's all right
It's all right ♪
1313
01:06:06,004 --> 01:06:08,047
♪ It's your money or your life ♪
1314
01:06:09,090 --> 01:06:11,676
♪ It's all right
It's all right ♪
1315
01:06:12,886 --> 01:06:15,722
♪ Don't need a sword
to cut thru flower ♪
1316
01:06:16,514 --> 01:06:18,808
♪ Oh no, oh no ♪
1317
01:06:20,226 --> 01:06:22,270
♪ Whatever gets
you thru your life ♪
1318
01:06:23,396 --> 01:06:25,940
♪ It's all right
It's all right ♪
1319
01:06:27,275 --> 01:06:29,402
♪ Do it wrong or do it right ♪
1320
01:06:30,445 --> 01:06:33,114
♪ It's all right
It's all right ♪
1321
01:06:34,032 --> 01:06:36,701
♪ Don't need a watch
to waste your time ♪
1322
01:06:37,619 --> 01:06:40,205
♪ Oh no, oh no ♪
1323
01:06:57,055 --> 01:07:00,308
♪ Hold me, darlin'
Come on listen to me ♪
1324
01:07:00,683 --> 01:07:03,102
♪ I won't do you no harm ♪
1325
01:07:03,937 --> 01:07:07,397
♪ Trust me, darlin'
Come on, listen to me ♪
1326
01:07:07,398 --> 01:07:11,319
♪ Come on, listen to me
Come on, listen, listen ♪
1327
01:07:24,332 --> 01:07:27,877
- [crowd cheering]
- [♪ song fades]
1328
01:07:37,178 --> 01:07:39,179
[John] I'd like to thank Elton
and the boys
1329
01:07:39,180 --> 01:07:40,640
for having me on tonight.
1330
01:07:42,725 --> 01:07:43,850
We're trying to think
of a number
1331
01:07:43,851 --> 01:07:46,061
to finish off with
so that I can get out of here
1332
01:07:46,062 --> 01:07:47,980
- and be sick.
- [young Elton chuckles]
1333
01:07:47,981 --> 01:07:49,439
[John] And we thought
we'd do another
1334
01:07:49,440 --> 01:07:52,193
a number of an older,
strange fiancé of mine
1335
01:07:52,610 --> 01:07:54,736
called Paul.
This is one I never sang.
1336
01:07:54,737 --> 01:07:57,739
It's an old Beatle number,
and we just about know it.
1337
01:07:57,740 --> 01:07:58,825
Here we are.
1338
01:07:59,617 --> 01:08:02,787
[rock music playing, John Lennon
"I Saw Her Standing There"]
1339
01:08:10,920 --> 01:08:16,301
♪ Well, she was just seventeen
You know what I mean... ♪
1340
01:08:16,843 --> 01:08:19,928
{\an8}[Tony] When John came offstage,
he got in the back of the limo
1341
01:08:19,929 --> 01:08:21,388
{\an8}and he looked at me
and he said,
1342
01:08:21,389 --> 01:08:23,766
{\an8}"That was... [bleep] ...great!"
[chuckles]
1343
01:08:24,851 --> 01:08:26,518
{\an8}We went back
to the Sherry-Netherland
1344
01:08:26,519 --> 01:08:28,980
and Elton
was in the bathroom crying.
1345
01:08:29,897 --> 01:08:31,773
And John said to me,
"Where's Elton? Where's Elton?"
1346
01:08:31,774 --> 01:08:34,401
I said, "He's in the bathroom,
John. He's crying."
1347
01:08:34,402 --> 01:08:36,654
[laughs] So, John said,
"What's he crying about?"
1348
01:08:37,030 --> 01:08:39,657
I said, "Because of the--
What has happened."
1349
01:08:39,907 --> 01:08:44,578
"He's so over the moon about it,
he's c-- he's in tears."
1350
01:08:44,579 --> 01:08:47,497
So, John said, "Oh, my God."
He said, "Should I go in?"
1351
01:08:47,498 --> 01:08:48,832
And I said, "Yeah."
1352
01:08:48,833 --> 01:08:51,711
They ended up sitting
in the bloody lavatory
1353
01:08:51,919 --> 01:08:53,588
at the hotel together.
1354
01:08:57,091 --> 01:09:00,636
We were all enjoying
it as a very joyous event,
1355
01:09:01,054 --> 01:09:06,100
not as John's swan song,
which it turned out to be.
1356
01:09:07,352 --> 01:09:09,686
But none of us realized that
that was gonna be
1357
01:09:09,687 --> 01:09:12,398
the last show
that he would ever do.
1358
01:09:13,524 --> 01:09:15,485
[♪ soft music playing]
1359
01:09:20,823 --> 01:09:22,949
[Elton] I was probably
the catalyst of Yoko and John
1360
01:09:22,950 --> 01:09:24,285
getting back together again.
1361
01:09:24,869 --> 01:09:26,995
If I hadn't played on
"Whatever Gets You Thru the Night,"
1362
01:09:26,996 --> 01:09:28,997
if I hadn't told him
he had to do the show,
1363
01:09:28,998 --> 01:09:30,875
maybe he would never
have met Yoko again.
1364
01:09:32,627 --> 01:09:34,002
Of course,
they did get back together.
1365
01:09:34,003 --> 01:09:35,087
And they had Sean.
1366
01:09:35,088 --> 01:09:36,798
- [Alexis] And you’re his godfather?
- [Elton] Yeah.
1367
01:09:39,342 --> 01:09:41,469
- He became in love again.
- [Alexis] Oh.
1368
01:09:42,595 --> 01:09:44,262
[Elton] And so, his wildness,
1369
01:09:44,263 --> 01:09:47,266
it kinda stopped the drugs.
Stopped the craziness.
1370
01:09:48,851 --> 01:09:50,728
Which was great,
I was very happy for him.
1371
01:09:52,355 --> 01:09:55,066
- Didn't stop my craziness.
- [Alexis] Were you-- [laughs]
1372
01:09:55,233 --> 01:09:58,069
[♪ lively music playing.
Elton John "Levon"]
1373
01:10:07,453 --> 01:10:11,332
♪ Levon sells
cartoon balloons in town ♪
1374
01:10:15,128 --> 01:10:18,047
♪ His family business thrives ♪
1375
01:10:20,007 --> 01:10:23,803
♪ Jesus blows up
balloons all day ♪
1376
01:10:25,930 --> 01:10:30,143
♪ Sits on the porch swing
watching them fly ♪
1377
01:10:32,603 --> 01:10:36,816
♪ And Jesus
He wants to go to Venus ♪
1378
01:10:39,986 --> 01:10:43,030
♪ Leave Levon far behind ♪
1379
01:10:45,783 --> 01:10:49,412
♪ Take a balloon
and go sailing ♪
1380
01:10:51,247 --> 01:10:56,878
♪ While Levon
Levon slowly dies ♪
1381
01:10:58,129 --> 01:11:02,340
♪ He was born a pauper
to a pawn on a Christmas Day ♪
1382
01:11:02,341 --> 01:11:05,343
♪ When the New York Times said
"God is dead" ♪
1383
01:11:05,344 --> 01:11:07,221
♪ And the war's begun ♪
1384
01:11:08,181 --> 01:11:12,101
♪ Oh, Alvin Tostig
has a son today ♪
1385
01:11:15,605 --> 01:11:17,982
♪ And he shall be Levon ♪
1386
01:11:18,816 --> 01:11:21,110
♪ And he shall be a good man ♪
1387
01:11:22,069 --> 01:11:24,197
♪ And he shall be Levon ♪
1388
01:11:25,239 --> 01:11:27,700
♪ In tradition
with the family plan ♪
1389
01:11:28,242 --> 01:11:30,620
♪ And he shall be Levon ♪
1390
01:11:31,496 --> 01:11:34,040
♪ And he shall be a good man ♪
1391
01:11:35,875 --> 01:11:39,879
♪ And he shall be Levon ♪
1392
01:11:40,922 --> 01:11:43,174
♪ And he shall be Levon ♪
1393
01:11:44,383 --> 01:11:46,260
♪ And he shall be a good man ♪
1394
01:11:47,136 --> 01:11:49,472
♪ And he shall be Levon ♪
1395
01:11:50,556 --> 01:11:53,100
♪ In tradition
with the family plan ♪
1396
01:11:53,518 --> 01:11:55,728
♪ And he shall be Levon ♪
1397
01:11:56,729 --> 01:11:58,981
♪ And he shall be a good man ♪
1398
01:12:01,025 --> 01:12:04,862
♪ And he shall be Levon ♪
1399
01:12:05,780 --> 01:12:09,784
♪ He shall be Levon, yeah ♪
1400
01:12:25,258 --> 01:12:29,387
- [♪ song fades]
- [♪ soft piano music playing]
1401
01:12:30,346 --> 01:12:32,890
What key is
"Don't Go Breaking My Heart" in?
1402
01:12:33,099 --> 01:12:34,474
- F? D?
- [manager] D.
1403
01:12:34,475 --> 01:12:36,269
[indistinct chatter]
1404
01:12:45,903 --> 01:12:49,197
I can't remember it.
Too long ago, 1976.
1405
01:12:49,198 --> 01:12:51,408
- [musician] That's a while back.
- Don't remember back that far.
1406
01:12:51,409 --> 01:12:53,410
Can't even remember what I had
for breakfast this morning.
1407
01:12:53,411 --> 01:12:54,536
[laughter]
1408
01:12:54,537 --> 01:12:57,039
♪ I've got dementia ♪
1409
01:13:00,084 --> 01:13:02,503
I think I've got dementia.
I can't remember.
1410
01:13:02,795 --> 01:13:03,838
[all laugh]
1411
01:13:04,046 --> 01:13:05,506
[Elton] Is Dua here or not?
1412
01:13:06,173 --> 01:13:08,133
- Here she comes. Hey, baby.
- [manager] There she is. Hello!
1413
01:13:08,134 --> 01:13:09,385
[Elton laughs]
1414
01:13:10,094 --> 01:13:12,178
I am so excited to be here.
1415
01:13:12,179 --> 01:13:13,764
- [Elton] Hello, lovely.
- Hello, hello, hello.
1416
01:13:14,223 --> 01:13:15,807
[Elton] Hi, gorgeous.
I haven’t seen you...
1417
01:13:15,808 --> 01:13:17,517
- In so long.
- [Elton] Been so long.
1418
01:13:17,518 --> 01:13:19,228
[♪ upbeat music playing,
Dua Lipa "Cold Heart"]
1419
01:13:19,353 --> 01:13:21,939
♪ Think it's gonna be
a long, long time ♪
1420
01:13:22,064 --> 01:13:26,319
♪ Till touchdown brings me
'round again to find ♪
1421
01:13:26,694 --> 01:13:30,114
♪ I'm not the man they think
I am at home ♪
1422
01:13:30,323 --> 01:13:32,450
♪ Oh no, no, no ♪
1423
01:13:33,534 --> 01:13:38,623
♪ And this is what
I should have said ♪
1424
01:13:39,498 --> 01:13:41,000
♪ Cold heart ♪
1425
01:13:41,500 --> 01:13:44,127
♪ Well, I thought it, but... ♪
1426
01:13:44,128 --> 01:13:45,463
- [Elton] This is it.
- [Zachary] Tiny.
1427
01:13:45,922 --> 01:13:48,049
I thought it was bigger
than this. [laughs]
1428
01:13:49,467 --> 01:13:51,135
[Alexis] Do you remember it
as being bigger?
1429
01:13:51,928 --> 01:13:55,221
Everything from the past
is always bigger in your memory.
1430
01:13:55,222 --> 01:13:58,684
- And this is tiny.
- [Alexis laughs]
1431
01:14:00,061 --> 01:14:01,728
I mean, it's absolutely tiny,
1432
01:14:01,729 --> 01:14:05,191
but it's got great atmosphere.
I mean, look at the floor space.
1433
01:14:07,151 --> 01:14:10,947
I was this close to Leon Russell
and people like that...
1434
01:14:12,239 --> 01:14:15,493
when I'm playing here,
so I could see them perfectly.
1435
01:14:16,827 --> 01:14:19,704
Look at it.
It's got something about it.
1436
01:14:19,705 --> 01:14:22,416
It's got an atmosphere
and an aura about.
1437
01:14:29,256 --> 01:14:30,841
[young Elton]
That's the new cover, folks.
1438
01:14:31,634 --> 01:14:33,468
Took me six years
to crochet that.
1439
01:14:33,469 --> 01:14:35,471
[crowd laughs]
1440
01:14:35,596 --> 01:14:37,263
[interviewer] What can we expect
on that album?
1441
01:14:37,264 --> 01:14:39,475
- [young Elton] Filth.
- [crowd laughs]
1442
01:14:39,600 --> 01:14:41,309
No. Seriously,
it's a story-type album.
1443
01:14:41,310 --> 01:14:42,519
It's the first story album
1444
01:14:42,520 --> 01:14:43,895
that Bernie
and I have ever written.
1445
01:14:43,896 --> 01:14:45,564
It's basically about us two.
1446
01:14:45,982 --> 01:14:48,733
All the experiences
that we had trying to make it
1447
01:14:48,734 --> 01:14:50,443
before we made
the Empty Sky album,
1448
01:14:50,444 --> 01:14:53,363
like, the disappointments
about the songs being refused
1449
01:14:53,364 --> 01:14:55,991
and all the people trying
to sign you up for life
1450
01:14:55,992 --> 01:14:57,159
and things like that.
1451
01:14:58,411 --> 01:14:59,953
[Elton] Captain Fantastic
was the first album
1452
01:14:59,954 --> 01:15:02,498
to enter the Billboard charts
at number one ever,
1453
01:15:03,290 --> 01:15:06,043
so it shows you where
we'd come to in our career.
1454
01:15:09,046 --> 01:15:10,672
[reporter] We've just arrived
in Los Angeles
1455
01:15:10,673 --> 01:15:12,716
with Elton John's mother
and stepfather
1456
01:15:12,717 --> 01:15:14,342
and their next-door neighbors
1457
01:15:14,343 --> 01:15:16,594
and several of Elton's
aunts and uncles
1458
01:15:16,595 --> 01:15:19,682
to see Elton perform live
at the huge Dodger Stadium.
1459
01:15:21,225 --> 01:15:23,059
[Alexis] And why did you want
all these people?
1460
01:15:23,060 --> 01:15:25,396
[Elton] L.A. was the place
I'd made it in America.
1461
01:15:25,563 --> 01:15:27,690
So, it seemed
a natural homecoming.
1462
01:15:28,482 --> 01:15:30,151
I wanted them to feel proud.
1463
01:15:30,317 --> 01:15:33,070
And so, yeah,
I wanted people to see it.
1464
01:15:33,237 --> 01:15:39,201
[crowd chanting] We want Elton!
We want Elton!
1465
01:15:39,326 --> 01:15:46,291
[crowd cheering, chanting]
1466
01:15:46,292 --> 01:15:49,794
I now want to present
a proclamation
1467
01:15:49,795 --> 01:15:53,716
which declares
this week Elton John Week.
1468
01:15:53,841 --> 01:15:56,385
[crowd cheering]
1469
01:15:56,510 --> 01:15:57,845
[Mike] At that time,
1470
01:15:58,763 --> 01:16:01,473
{\an8}there was the excitement
of these big events,
1471
01:16:01,474 --> 01:16:03,725
{\an8}but there was
a lot of emotional stuff
1472
01:16:03,726 --> 01:16:06,020
{\an8}going on with Elton
behind the scenes...
1473
01:16:07,688 --> 01:16:13,402
and cocaine was a big part
of what was going on.
1474
01:16:15,154 --> 01:16:18,364
And I could see the...
the downward spiral
1475
01:16:18,365 --> 01:16:20,868
that he was going through,
physically and mentally.
1476
01:16:26,207 --> 01:16:28,334
[Alexis] How would you define
the state you were in?
1477
01:16:30,628 --> 01:16:33,547
[Elton] I was either
really fun or very miserable.
1478
01:16:34,590 --> 01:16:36,217
{\an8}[Alexis]
Why were you so unhappy?
1479
01:16:36,801 --> 01:16:38,344
{\an8}[Elton]
My career was killing me.
1480
01:16:39,595 --> 01:16:43,641
All I lived for
was my chart position and...
1481
01:16:44,809 --> 01:16:46,977
sex and cocaine.
1482
01:16:48,187 --> 01:16:49,813
I mean,
I felt there must be something
1483
01:16:49,814 --> 01:16:51,398
more to my life than this.
1484
01:16:53,651 --> 01:16:55,151
But I was
the worst kind of person
1485
01:16:55,152 --> 01:16:58,238
to take drugs,
because I couldn't have a line
1486
01:16:58,239 --> 01:16:59,656
- and then put it away.
- [Alexis] Right.
1487
01:16:59,657 --> 01:17:02,118
[Elton] I'd just have to finish it off,
and then I'd want more.
1488
01:17:03,577 --> 01:17:05,703
When you drink that much
and you do that amount of drugs,
1489
01:17:05,704 --> 01:17:07,997
it's like I was dead
and looking at it from up
1490
01:17:07,998 --> 01:17:09,458
in heaven thinking,
1491
01:17:10,000 --> 01:17:12,586
"Who the... [bleep] ...are you?
What have you become?"
1492
01:17:16,298 --> 01:17:18,425
I just wanted someone
to put their arm around me.
1493
01:17:21,262 --> 01:17:24,557
I was nervous about my family
seeing what kind of state I was in.
1494
01:17:25,099 --> 01:17:27,851
The day before the show,
we were having lunch
1495
01:17:27,852 --> 01:17:30,479
at my house in Beverly Hills...
1496
01:17:32,314 --> 01:17:34,191
I took a bunch
of sleeping tablets.
1497
01:17:37,987 --> 01:17:40,739
I took them, came up
to the swimming pool, said,
1498
01:17:40,865 --> 01:17:42,366
"I'm gonna--
I've taken a bunch of tablets.
1499
01:17:42,575 --> 01:17:44,702
"I'm gonna kill my--
I'm gonna drown."
1500
01:17:46,745 --> 01:17:50,958
[♪ soft rock music playing]
1501
01:18:12,062 --> 01:18:15,774
[Mike] I was outside,
sitting with his mum
1502
01:18:15,900 --> 01:18:21,447
and his stepdad and his nan,
and we pulled him out.
1503
01:18:23,574 --> 01:18:24,825
I called the doctor.
1504
01:18:25,784 --> 01:18:28,120
I believe the doctor
pumped his stomach
1505
01:18:28,871 --> 01:18:30,205
and put him to bed.
1506
01:18:30,206 --> 01:18:34,334
And I just sat
by his bed all night
1507
01:18:34,335 --> 01:18:36,545
as he went in and out
of consciousness.
1508
01:18:39,131 --> 01:18:41,133
And then, in the morning,
he came to.
1509
01:18:42,301 --> 01:18:46,096
[♪ soft piano music playing]
1510
01:18:52,603 --> 01:18:54,312
[Alexis]
How did your parents take it?
1511
01:18:54,313 --> 01:18:55,813
[Elton] My mother
and my stepfather
1512
01:18:55,814 --> 01:18:57,900
and my grandmother
were worried about me.
1513
01:18:59,860 --> 01:19:01,694
[Alexis] Were you then in bed
for a couple of days
1514
01:19:01,695 --> 01:19:03,447
- after that or--
- [Elton] No.
1515
01:19:03,572 --> 01:19:05,114
[Alexis] So,
you were right as rain?
1516
01:19:05,115 --> 01:19:08,117
[Elton] Well, I had the show
to do, so I had to be as right as rain.
1517
01:19:08,118 --> 01:19:10,204
[Alexis] There was never any question
of canceling the show?
1518
01:19:10,746 --> 01:19:11,955
[Elton] No.
1519
01:19:11,956 --> 01:19:14,833
I've never taken my personal life
on stage with me.
1520
01:19:14,959 --> 01:19:16,125
- [Alexis] Okay.
- For those two hours
1521
01:19:16,126 --> 01:19:20,005
or two-and-a-half hours,
it's an escape from turmoil.
1522
01:19:21,090 --> 01:19:23,092
And that comes all the way back
1523
01:19:23,259 --> 01:19:25,510
and the only time I felt
really included sometimes,
1524
01:19:25,511 --> 01:19:28,097
was when I was playing the piano
in front of people.
1525
01:19:31,267 --> 01:19:33,435
[crowd cheering]
1526
01:19:33,602 --> 01:19:37,940
[♪ rock music playing,
Elton John "Pinball Wizard"]
1527
01:19:50,411 --> 01:19:53,455
♪ Ever since I was a young boy
I played the silver ball ♪
1528
01:19:53,706 --> 01:19:56,750
♪ From Soho down to Brighton
I must've played them all ♪
1529
01:19:57,042 --> 01:20:00,045
♪ But I ain't seen nothin'
like him in any amusement hall ♪
1530
01:20:00,296 --> 01:20:04,383
♪ That deaf, dumb, and blind kid
sure plays a mean pinball ♪
1531
01:20:10,556 --> 01:20:13,517
♪ He stands like a statue
becomes part of the machine ♪
1532
01:20:13,726 --> 01:20:16,937
♪ Feeling all the bumpers
always playing clean ♪
1533
01:20:17,104 --> 01:20:20,189
♪ He plays by intuition
the digit counters fall ♪
1534
01:20:20,190 --> 01:20:24,570
♪ That deaf, dumb, and blind kid
sure plays a mean pinball ♪
1535
01:20:30,159 --> 01:20:33,662
♪ He's a pinball wizard
He scores a trillion more ♪
1536
01:20:33,912 --> 01:20:38,709
♪ A pinball wizard
The world's new pinball lord ♪
1537
01:20:39,668 --> 01:20:42,546
♪ He's scoring more ♪
1538
01:20:43,047 --> 01:20:47,468
♪ He's scoring more ♪
1539
01:20:48,761 --> 01:20:49,845
♪ All right! ♪
1540
01:20:50,137 --> 01:20:51,597
[vocalizing]
1541
01:21:00,731 --> 01:21:02,566
Thank you! "Pinball Wizard!"
1542
01:21:02,691 --> 01:21:05,235
[crowd cheering]
1543
01:21:20,209 --> 01:21:23,087
Thank you, Los Angeles!
Thank you, the Dodgers!
1544
01:21:26,340 --> 01:21:32,137
[♪ instrumental music playing]
1545
01:21:37,184 --> 01:21:39,102
[Elton] I was communicating
and having great success
1546
01:21:39,103 --> 01:21:41,688
in front of all these thousands
and thousands of people,
1547
01:21:42,648 --> 01:21:45,817
and I was very good at it.
That's what kept me going.
1548
01:21:45,818 --> 01:21:47,611
I mean, that love of the music.
1549
01:21:48,404 --> 01:21:51,155
But that wasn't how you cope
with normal life.
1550
01:21:51,156 --> 01:21:52,825
That's fantasy land.
1551
01:21:54,493 --> 01:21:56,786
And I had all the success,
I had all of the trappings,
1552
01:21:56,787 --> 01:21:58,871
and I loved that and everything,
but they really--
1553
01:21:58,872 --> 01:22:00,666
They didn't make me happy.
1554
01:22:02,000 --> 01:22:05,671
And I knew that I could not stay
so unhappy and so miserable.
1555
01:22:31,572 --> 01:22:34,575
[Cliff] 18 August 1976.
1556
01:22:35,242 --> 01:22:36,660
{\an8}Speaking with Elton John.
1557
01:22:38,954 --> 01:22:40,289
You've announced no touring.
1558
01:22:40,622 --> 01:22:42,416
You're gonna stay with that if you can.
1559
01:22:42,541 --> 01:22:43,541
[young Elton] For the time.
1560
01:22:43,542 --> 01:22:44,667
I'm not saying I'm retiring.
1561
01:22:44,668 --> 01:22:46,461
I just know it's time
to do something else now.
1562
01:22:46,462 --> 01:22:49,088
[Cliff] This is a very
important time in your life.
1563
01:22:49,089 --> 01:22:50,466
A lot of changes going on.
1564
01:22:50,799 --> 01:22:52,425
[young Elton] Yeah. I mean,
I feel very strange
1565
01:22:52,426 --> 01:22:53,719
at this particular moment.
1566
01:22:54,636 --> 01:22:56,597
[Cliff] You've had five years
at the top.
1567
01:22:57,055 --> 01:23:01,894
You're in a rank of stardom
that's almost incomparable.
1568
01:23:02,311 --> 01:23:04,146
You've got everything
a person could have.
1569
01:23:04,855 --> 01:23:06,607
But what about old Elton,
when he, uh,
1570
01:23:07,608 --> 01:23:11,236
goes home at night?
Do you have love and affection?
1571
01:23:12,112 --> 01:23:13,321
[young Elton] Not really.
1572
01:23:13,322 --> 01:23:15,532
I do have a certain amount
of sex and that's it.
1573
01:23:15,824 --> 01:23:17,325
I would desperately like
to be loved,
1574
01:23:17,326 --> 01:23:19,786
but that isn't part of my life
that's come together yet.
1575
01:23:20,496 --> 01:23:23,706
[Cliff] Can you be relaxed
at all about the kind of person
1576
01:23:23,707 --> 01:23:25,208
you'd really like
to fall in love with?
1577
01:23:25,209 --> 01:23:27,586
[young Elton] I'm a bit of a coward
when it comes to that.
1578
01:23:28,128 --> 01:23:29,504
I tend to get scared.
1579
01:23:29,505 --> 01:23:31,422
As soon as somebody tries
to get to know me deeply,
1580
01:23:31,423 --> 01:23:34,801
I sort of clam up and turn off.
I just won't let people near me.
1581
01:23:35,928 --> 01:23:38,764
I just hurt so much as a kid,
I don't want it to happen again.
1582
01:23:43,352 --> 01:23:45,604
- [Cliff] Can we get personal?
- [young Elton] Hmm, a little bit.
1583
01:23:45,729 --> 01:23:46,813
[Cliff] Shall we turn that off?
1584
01:23:48,941 --> 01:23:50,484
- [young Elton] Keep going.
- [Cliff] Yeah, ok.
1585
01:23:51,026 --> 01:23:52,945
Do you see any time when you can be
1586
01:23:53,153 --> 01:23:54,947
totally honest and upfront about yourself,
1587
01:23:55,155 --> 01:23:56,197
sexually?
1588
01:23:56,198 --> 01:23:57,949
[young Elton] I've never talked
about this before.
1589
01:23:57,950 --> 01:23:59,075
[Cliff chuckles]
1590
01:23:59,076 --> 01:24:00,619
[young Elton]
But I'm not gonna turn it off.
1591
01:24:00,994 --> 01:24:01,994
I haven't met anybody
1592
01:24:01,995 --> 01:24:04,873
that I would really like
to settle down of either sex.
1593
01:24:06,667 --> 01:24:08,377
[Cliff] Do you think
it would be devastating
1594
01:24:08,710 --> 01:24:10,712
for your music
or your sales that is--
1595
01:24:11,338 --> 01:24:13,423
If you were to take
the bisexual posture?
1596
01:24:15,676 --> 01:24:17,718
[young Elton] I think I've got
to the point in my life
1597
01:24:17,719 --> 01:24:19,263
where I have to do
what is honest.
1598
01:24:20,389 --> 01:24:23,057
Basically, I would like
to get married eventually
1599
01:24:23,058 --> 01:24:24,851
and have kids,
'cause I love kids.
1600
01:24:25,185 --> 01:24:26,561
I have to have a personal life
1601
01:24:26,562 --> 01:24:30,314
and I have to have
some peace of mind
1602
01:24:30,315 --> 01:24:31,440
and someone to share it with.
1603
01:24:31,441 --> 01:24:32,858
I've had no one
to share this with.
1604
01:24:32,859 --> 01:24:34,570
And it's a little--
It can get to you.
1605
01:24:34,903 --> 01:24:36,655
I'm getting tired
of being on my own.
1606
01:24:39,533 --> 01:24:41,867
[♪ somber music playing,
Elton John "All the Nasties"]
1607
01:24:41,868 --> 01:24:45,747
♪ If it came to pass
that they should ask ♪
1608
01:24:49,251 --> 01:24:52,045
♪ What could I tell them? ♪
1609
01:24:53,630 --> 01:24:59,469
♪ Would they criticize
behind my back? ♪
1610
01:25:02,723 --> 01:25:05,559
♪ Maybe I should let them ♪
1611
01:25:08,145 --> 01:25:12,316
♪ Oh, if only then
and only then ♪
1612
01:25:12,441 --> 01:25:15,444
♪ They would understand ♪
1613
01:25:16,862 --> 01:25:19,990
♪ They'd turn
a full-blooded city boy ♪
1614
01:25:20,115 --> 01:25:22,534
♪ Into a full-blooded
city man... ♪
1615
01:25:25,871 --> 01:25:29,458
[Alexis] Was there any reaction
to it within the music business?
1616
01:25:31,251 --> 01:25:33,127
[Elton] People around me
were nervous,
1617
01:25:33,128 --> 01:25:34,796
the record company in America.
1618
01:25:35,881 --> 01:25:38,299
There was a knee-jerk reaction
amongst some radio stations
1619
01:25:38,300 --> 01:25:41,386
in America who burnt my records
and stuff like that.
1620
01:25:41,928 --> 01:25:44,473
There's no hiding the truth,
it did hurt my career.
1621
01:25:45,682 --> 01:25:47,099
[Alexis]
Was it a liberating thing?
1622
01:25:47,100 --> 01:25:48,602
- Was it a--
- [Elton] Oh, totally.
1623
01:25:49,144 --> 01:25:51,313
To finally be able to be
who I was.
1624
01:25:52,230 --> 01:25:53,565
You've no idea.
1625
01:25:54,107 --> 01:25:56,276
It took me years and years
to be honest.
1626
01:25:58,362 --> 01:26:01,113
And then it took me
from that time
1627
01:26:01,114 --> 01:26:04,533
to when I got sober
when I was 43
1628
01:26:04,534 --> 01:26:06,787
to get as honest
as I possibly could.
1629
01:26:08,038 --> 01:26:10,791
{\an8}♪ Oh, my soul ♪
1630
01:26:11,249 --> 01:26:13,919
{\an8}♪ Oh, my soul ♪
1631
01:26:14,544 --> 01:26:16,879
{\an8}♪ Oh, my soul ♪
1632
01:26:16,880 --> 01:26:18,798
[Elton] It's not until
I got sober in 1990
1633
01:26:18,799 --> 01:26:20,592
that everything changed.
1634
01:26:20,967 --> 01:26:23,762
{\an8}♪ Oh, my soul ♪
1635
01:26:24,304 --> 01:26:27,182
{\an8}♪ Oh, my soul ♪
1636
01:26:27,516 --> 01:26:30,977
{\an8}♪ Oh, my soul ♪
1637
01:26:33,855 --> 01:26:35,190
♪ Oh, my soul... ♪
1638
01:26:35,357 --> 01:26:37,900
[Elton] It did take me 43 years
to learn how to function
1639
01:26:37,901 --> 01:26:40,404
as a human being,
rather than as a rock star.
1640
01:26:43,407 --> 01:26:46,410
{\an8}♪ ...Oh, my soul ♪
1641
01:26:46,618 --> 01:26:49,704
{\an8}♪ Oh, my soul ♪
1642
01:26:49,705 --> 01:26:52,874
♪ Oh, my soul ♪
1643
01:26:56,294 --> 01:26:59,005
♪ Oh, my soul ♪
1644
01:26:59,464 --> 01:27:02,050
♪ Oh, my soul ♪
1645
01:27:02,801 --> 01:27:05,512
♪ Oh, my soul ♪
1646
01:27:09,015 --> 01:27:15,272
{\an8}♪ Oh, my soul ♪
1647
01:27:15,772 --> 01:27:19,151
{\an8}♪ Oh, my soul ♪
1648
01:27:21,945 --> 01:27:28,285
♪ Oh, my soul ♪
1649
01:27:28,493 --> 01:27:31,663
♪ Oh, my soul ♪
1650
01:27:34,916 --> 01:27:37,377
♪ Oh, my soul ♪
1651
01:27:38,086 --> 01:27:40,505
♪ Oh, my soul ♪
1652
01:27:41,298 --> 01:27:44,176
♪ Oh, my soul ♪
1653
01:27:47,596 --> 01:27:50,724
♪ Oh, my soul ♪
1654
01:27:50,974 --> 01:27:53,310
♪ Oh, my soul ♪
1655
01:27:53,894 --> 01:27:56,855
♪ Oh, my soul ♪
1656
01:28:00,150 --> 01:28:02,652
♪ Oh, my soul ♪
1657
01:28:03,361 --> 01:28:05,864
♪ Oh, my soul ♪
1658
01:28:06,531 --> 01:28:09,034
♪ Oh, my soul ♪
1659
01:28:09,242 --> 01:28:13,330
[crowd cheering]
1660
01:28:22,255 --> 01:28:27,427
{\an8}[♪ soft music playing, Elton John
"Someone Saved My Life Tonight"]
1661
01:28:36,561 --> 01:28:39,564
♪ When I think
of those East End lights ♪
1662
01:28:39,898 --> 01:28:42,400
♪ Muggy nights
the curtains drawn ♪
1663
01:28:42,526 --> 01:28:45,529
♪ In the little room
downstairs ♪
1664
01:28:47,948 --> 01:28:50,784
♪ Prima donna Lord you really
should have been there ♪
1665
01:28:51,159 --> 01:28:56,206
♪ Sittin' like a princess
perched in her electric chair ♪
1666
01:28:57,791 --> 01:29:04,172
♪ And it's one more beer
And I don't hear you anymore ♪
1667
01:29:04,339 --> 01:29:07,217
♪ We've all gone crazy lately ♪
1668
01:29:07,801 --> 01:29:12,556
♪ My friend's out there rolling
'round the basement floor ♪
1669
01:29:13,390 --> 01:29:16,017
♪ Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh ♪
1670
01:29:18,144 --> 01:29:20,981
♪ And someone saved
my life tonight ♪
1671
01:29:21,147 --> 01:29:24,609
- ♪ Sugar bear ♪
- ♪ Sugar bear ♪
1672
01:29:24,818 --> 01:29:27,070
♪ You almost had
your hooks in me ♪
1673
01:29:27,696 --> 01:29:29,281
♪ Didn't you dear ♪
1674
01:29:29,739 --> 01:29:33,410
♪ You nearly had me
roped and tied ♪
1675
01:29:34,369 --> 01:29:38,414
♪ Altar bound hypnotized
Sweet freedom ♪
1676
01:29:38,415 --> 01:29:42,419
♪ Whispered in my ear
You're a butterfly ♪
1677
01:29:43,837 --> 01:29:47,132
♪ And butterflies
are free to fly ♪
1678
01:29:47,299 --> 01:29:48,466
♪ Fly away ♪
1679
01:29:50,552 --> 01:29:52,971
♪ High away ♪
1680
01:29:53,138 --> 01:29:55,098
♪ Bye bye ♪
1681
01:29:55,557 --> 01:29:58,768
♪ Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh ♪
1682
01:30:03,189 --> 01:30:05,399
[♪ song fades]
1683
01:30:05,400 --> 01:30:08,360
This is a very special night
for me,
1684
01:30:08,361 --> 01:30:11,531
a very emotional night for me.
And-- [clears throat]
1685
01:30:11,656 --> 01:30:15,075
[crowd cheering]
1686
01:30:15,076 --> 01:30:17,661
It's been a long journey. And...
1687
01:30:17,662 --> 01:30:21,666
- [laughs, clicks tongue]
- [crowd cheering]
1688
01:30:28,840 --> 01:30:32,217
I first came here,
to America, in 1970,
1689
01:30:32,218 --> 01:30:34,219
to the City of Angels,
1690
01:30:34,220 --> 01:30:36,931
- Los Angeles.
- [crowd cheering]
1691
01:30:36,932 --> 01:30:39,351
And I played a club called
the Troubadour Club,
1692
01:30:40,727 --> 01:30:42,687
which thankfully is still there.
1693
01:30:43,855 --> 01:30:46,023
It's been 50 years of touring
in the United States
1694
01:30:46,024 --> 01:30:47,733
across all 50 states.
1695
01:30:47,734 --> 01:30:49,693
So, thank you for all the years
1696
01:30:49,694 --> 01:30:51,737
of love and generosity
and loyalty.
1697
01:30:51,738 --> 01:30:53,697
[♪ rock music playing,
Elton John "I'm Still Standing"]
1698
01:30:53,698 --> 01:30:55,825
♪ You just fade away ♪
1699
01:30:56,743 --> 01:30:59,370
♪ Don't you know
I'm still standin' ♪
1700
01:30:59,371 --> 01:31:01,289
♪ Better than I ever did? ♪
1701
01:31:01,957 --> 01:31:07,337
♪ Lookin' like a true survivor
Feelin' like a little kid ♪
1702
01:31:08,380 --> 01:31:12,842
♪ I'm still standin'
after all this time ♪
1703
01:31:13,301 --> 01:31:15,970
♪ Pickin' up the pieces
of my life ♪
1704
01:31:15,971 --> 01:31:18,556
♪ Without you on my mind ♪
1705
01:31:18,890 --> 01:31:22,894
♪ I'm still standin'
Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
1706
01:31:24,521 --> 01:31:29,234
♪ I'm still standin'
Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
1707
01:31:31,444 --> 01:31:33,613
♪ Once I never
coulda hoped to win ♪
1708
01:31:33,780 --> 01:31:36,281
♪ You're startin' down the road
leavin' me again ♪
1709
01:31:36,282 --> 01:31:39,159
♪ The threats you made
were meant to cut me down ♪
1710
01:31:39,160 --> 01:31:41,620
♪ And if our love
was just a circus ♪
1711
01:31:41,621 --> 01:31:43,999
♪ You'd be a clown by now ♪
1712
01:31:44,708 --> 01:31:49,129
♪ You know I'm still standin'
better than I ever did ♪
1713
01:31:50,422 --> 01:31:52,215
♪ Lookin' like a true survivor ♪
1714
01:31:52,841 --> 01:31:54,926
♪ Feelin' like a little kid ♪
1715
01:31:56,219 --> 01:32:00,724
♪ I'm still standin'
after all this time ♪
1716
01:32:01,099 --> 01:32:03,518
♪ Pickin' up the pieces
of my life ♪
1717
01:32:03,977 --> 01:32:06,229
♪ Without you on my mind ♪
1718
01:32:06,813 --> 01:32:10,942
♪ I'm still standin'
Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
1719
01:32:12,277 --> 01:32:16,573
♪ I'm still standin'
Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
1720
01:32:17,949 --> 01:32:22,287
♪ I'm still standin'
Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
1721
01:32:23,455 --> 01:32:28,626
♪ I'm still standin'
Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
1722
01:32:30,545 --> 01:32:35,759
- [♪ song concludes]
- [crowd cheering]
1723
01:32:36,926 --> 01:32:39,721
[crowd cheering, whistling]
1724
01:33:13,505 --> 01:33:17,092
[cheering, whistling continues]
1725
01:33:33,233 --> 01:33:36,402
[♪ soft music playing,
Elton John "Your Song"]
1726
01:33:40,949 --> 01:33:43,243
♪ It's a little bit funny ♪
1727
01:33:44,786 --> 01:33:46,996
♪ This feelin' inside ♪
1728
01:33:48,414 --> 01:33:53,795
♪ I'm not one of those
who can easily hide ♪
1729
01:33:55,672 --> 01:34:00,802
♪ I don't have much money
But boy if I did ♪
1730
01:34:02,303 --> 01:34:08,768
♪ I'd buy a big house
where we both could live ♪
1731
01:34:11,187 --> 01:34:13,356
♪ If I was a sculptor ♪
1732
01:34:14,816 --> 01:34:18,319
♪ But then again, no or a man ♪
1733
01:34:18,778 --> 01:34:23,658
♪ Who makes potions
in a travelin' show ♪
1734
01:34:25,326 --> 01:34:30,707
♪ I know it's not much
But it's the best I can do ♪
1735
01:34:32,083 --> 01:34:38,173
♪ My gift is my song
And this one's for you ♪
1736
01:34:41,092 --> 01:34:44,262
♪ And you can tell everybody ♪
1737
01:34:44,804 --> 01:34:47,182
♪ This is your song ♪
1738
01:34:48,224 --> 01:34:53,646
♪ It may be quite simple
But now that it's done ♪
1739
01:34:54,606 --> 01:34:57,984
♪ I hope you don't mind
I hope you don't mind ♪
1740
01:34:58,109 --> 01:35:01,696
♪ That I put down in words ♪
1741
01:35:02,530 --> 01:35:06,034
♪ How wonderful life is ♪
1742
01:35:06,409 --> 01:35:10,496
♪ While you're in the world ♪
1743
01:35:10,997 --> 01:35:13,750
[Elton] I would like
to introduce somebody who,
1744
01:35:14,083 --> 01:35:15,083
if it wasn't for him,
1745
01:35:15,084 --> 01:35:16,960
I wouldn't be sitting here
right now.
1746
01:35:16,961 --> 01:35:19,671
- Come on, Mr. Bernie Taupin.
- [crowd cheering]
1747
01:35:19,672 --> 01:35:21,007
♪ I sat on the roof ♪
1748
01:35:23,051 --> 01:35:25,261
♪ And kicked off the moss ♪
1749
01:35:26,429 --> 01:35:28,764
♪ Well, a few of the verses ♪
1750
01:35:28,765 --> 01:35:32,101
♪ Well
They've got me quite cross ♪
1751
01:35:33,728 --> 01:35:35,354
♪ But the sun's
been quite kind ♪
1752
01:35:35,355 --> 01:35:36,772
Bernie Taupin!
1753
01:35:36,773 --> 01:35:39,192
♪ While I wrote this song... ♪
1754
01:35:40,652 --> 01:35:44,113
And as you know,
I am stopping touring,
1755
01:35:44,572 --> 01:35:46,616
and this would mean
my last concert in America.
1756
01:35:46,950 --> 01:35:50,119
It's 'cause I wanna spend time
with my family.
1757
01:35:50,536 --> 01:35:55,749
So, I wanna bring them out
and show you why I am retiring.
1758
01:35:55,750 --> 01:35:58,544
David, Zachary, and Elijah.
1759
01:35:59,963 --> 01:36:03,924
[crowd cheering]
1760
01:36:03,925 --> 01:36:07,971
♪ Anyway the thing is
What I really mean ♪
1761
01:36:10,974 --> 01:36:16,229
♪ Yours are the sweetest eyes
I've ever seen ♪
1762
01:36:19,857 --> 01:36:26,197
♪ And you can tell everybody
this is your song ♪
1763
01:36:27,073 --> 01:36:32,578
♪ It may be quite simple
But now that it's done ♪
1764
01:36:33,997 --> 01:36:35,415
♪ I hope you don't mind ♪
1765
01:36:35,790 --> 01:36:40,753
♪ I hope you don't mind
that I put down in words ♪
1766
01:36:41,587 --> 01:36:45,133
♪ How wonderful life is ♪
1767
01:36:45,717 --> 01:36:49,470
♪ While you're in the world ♪
1768
01:36:51,556 --> 01:36:53,224
♪ I hope you don't mind ♪
1769
01:36:53,349 --> 01:36:58,771
♪ I hope you don't mind
that I put down in words ♪
1770
01:36:59,564 --> 01:37:02,859
♪ How wonderful life is ♪
1771
01:37:03,484 --> 01:37:07,030
♪ While you're in the world ♪
1772
01:37:16,789 --> 01:37:18,958
[♪ song concludes]
1773
01:37:19,125 --> 01:37:24,964
[crowd cheering, applauding]
1774
01:37:49,030 --> 01:37:52,241
[♪ soft piano music playing, Elton John
and Brandi Carlile "Never Too Late"]
1775
01:38:02,043 --> 01:38:04,379
♪ It's never too late ♪
1776
01:38:05,296 --> 01:38:08,383
♪ For a wide-open slate ♪
1777
01:38:09,008 --> 01:38:15,014
♪ A kiss from a stranger
A thousand first dates ♪
1778
01:38:15,515 --> 01:38:18,892
♪ You're a diamond, baby ♪
1779
01:38:18,893 --> 01:38:21,479
♪ To hell with heaven's gate ♪
1780
01:38:22,063 --> 01:38:23,981
♪ There's not a moment
too soon ♪
1781
01:38:24,107 --> 01:38:27,985
♪ If it's never too
never too late ♪
1782
01:38:28,778 --> 01:38:34,784
♪ Well, it's never too late
To go shoot out the moon ♪
1783
01:38:35,368 --> 01:38:41,707
♪ We'll go dancing in graveyards
You can keep your balloons ♪
1784
01:38:42,375 --> 01:38:48,131
♪ Be a runaway bride
Trading gifts is the groom ♪
1785
01:38:49,090 --> 01:38:53,719
♪ If it's never too late
For a moment too soon ♪
1786
01:38:56,264 --> 01:39:01,978
{\an8}♪ Time, don't bore me
With the same old tired story ♪
1787
01:39:02,478 --> 01:39:04,814
{\an8}♪ What's new in the news? ♪
1788
01:39:05,690 --> 01:39:08,985
♪ Who's hot?
Where's the glory? ♪
1789
01:39:09,152 --> 01:39:12,113
♪ How we dwell in the past ♪
1790
01:39:12,738 --> 01:39:15,283
♪ For laughing at time ♪
1791
01:39:15,658 --> 01:39:18,911
♪ Don't the years make jokes
of all of us? ♪
1792
01:39:19,036 --> 01:39:20,704
♪ Let the whole ♪
1793
01:39:20,705 --> 01:39:24,333
♪ Let the whole century slide ♪
1794
01:39:39,182 --> 01:39:42,059
♪ There's a last time
for everything ♪
1795
01:39:42,852 --> 01:39:45,104
♪ But we won't ever know ♪
1796
01:39:45,980 --> 01:39:48,816
♪ It's a slow dance
on a carousel ♪
1797
01:39:49,484 --> 01:39:52,153
♪ A walk in the snow ♪
1798
01:39:52,445 --> 01:39:55,781
♪ Don't let it cross your mind ♪
1799
01:39:55,990 --> 01:39:59,160
♪ Keep a smile upon your lips ♪
1800
01:39:59,494 --> 01:40:03,706
♪ Let's spin 'round the sun
like the veil never slips ♪
1801
01:40:06,292 --> 01:40:09,462
♪ Time, don't bore me ♪
1802
01:40:09,629 --> 01:40:12,173
♪ With the same old
tired story ♪
1803
01:40:12,423 --> 01:40:15,009
♪ What's new in the news? ♪
1804
01:40:15,843 --> 01:40:18,846
♪ Who's hot?
Where's the glory? ♪
1805
01:40:19,013 --> 01:40:22,266
♪ How we dwell in the past ♪
1806
01:40:22,725 --> 01:40:25,186
♪ For laughing at time ♪
1807
01:40:25,770 --> 01:40:28,898
♪ Don't the years make jokes
of all of us? ♪
1808
01:40:29,190 --> 01:40:31,692
- ♪ Let the whole ♪
- ♪ Let the whole ♪
1809
01:40:31,817 --> 01:40:35,362
- ♪ Century slide ♪
- ♪ Century slide ♪
1810
01:40:35,363 --> 01:40:37,949
♪ Slide ♪
1811
01:40:39,367 --> 01:40:45,248
♪ Oh, it's never too late
For a wide-open slate ♪
1812
01:40:46,249 --> 01:40:48,793
♪ A kiss from a stranger ♪
1813
01:40:49,544 --> 01:40:52,129
♪ A thousand first dates ♪
1814
01:40:52,588 --> 01:40:55,550
♪ You're a diamond, baby ♪
1815
01:40:56,050 --> 01:40:59,135
♪ To hell with heaven's gate ♪
1816
01:40:59,136 --> 01:41:00,805
♪ There's not a moment
too soon ♪
1817
01:41:00,930 --> 01:41:04,015
♪ If it's never too
never too late ♪
1818
01:41:04,016 --> 01:41:05,226
♪ Oh, no ♪
1819
01:41:05,685 --> 01:41:07,519
♪ There's not a moment
too soon ♪
1820
01:41:07,520 --> 01:41:10,314
♪ If it's never too
never too late ♪
1821
01:41:12,483 --> 01:41:19,197
♪ There's not a moment too soon
If it's never too late ♪
1822
01:41:19,198 --> 01:41:20,908
[♪ song fades]
1823
01:41:24,745 --> 01:41:27,331
[♪ soft music playing]
1824
01:42:05,119 --> 01:42:07,038
[♪ music fades]