Songwriting legend Sir Elton John has been open about his various health issues over the years and in more recent times has been left battling with his vision
Sir Elton John has opened up about a series of health challenges that sparked concern among fans around the world, and have left him contemplating his own mortality. The 77-year-old music icon appeared on The Graham Norton Show in February alongside singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile to promote their new track, Who Believes In Angels?
During the emotional interview, Elton spoke about how the songwriting process for another project unexpectedly hit home, forcing him to think about his future. Elton admitted that when he worked on a song called When This Whole World Is Done With Me, written by longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin, he was overcome with emotion.
He said: “Bernie Taupin gave me a lyric for a song called When This Whole World Is Done With Me, and I’m writing the verse quite quickly, and I think this is a really lovely verse.
“And then I get to the chorus, and I find that it’s about my death, my demise. And as a 76 year old man, which I was at that time, and having children and having a husband, mortality, and you think about, ‘How long have I got? How long? I hope I’ve got, much longer than maybe I’ve got.’
“And so by the time I got to the chorus and suddenly realised that I started singing it (and) I lost it for 45 minutes. It was a very, very heavy moment for me.”
Elton John has been battling with health issues in recent years(Image: PA)
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The singer added: “After 45 minutes of being consoled, I was okay, but I recorded the next day… when you’re singing about being washed out to sea and the end of your life, it took me by surprise.”
This moment of truth came after a series of health concerns that the Rocket Man singer has faced over the years, the most frightening one being his declining eyesight.
While Elton was supporting his musical The Devil Wears Prada in a London theatre, the star admitted that he had “lost his eyesight and can’t see the stage”. The shocking news sparked a wave of concern from his fans.
Elton later revealed that the issue stemmed from a serious eye infection he contracted during a holiday in the South of France. He posted an update on Instagram in September, saying: “Over the summer, I’ve been dealing with a severe eye infection that has unfortunately left me with only limited vision in one eye. I am healing, but it’s an extremely slow process and it will take some time before sight returns to the impacted eye.
“I am so grateful for the excellent team of doctors and nurses and my family, who have taken such good care of me over the last several weeks. I have been quietly spending the summer recuperating at home, and am feeling positive about the progress I have made in my healing and recovery thus far. With love and gratitude.”
The singer recently worked on a song that made him think about the end of his life(Image: PA)
Although he had hoped for a gradual recovery, Elton told the London audience that his condition hadn’t improved, saying: “I’ve lost my eyesight and cannot see the stage… As some of you may know I have had issues and now I have lost my sight. I haven’t been able to see the performance but I have enjoyed it. To my husband who’s been my rock because I haven’t been able to come to many of the previews… it’s hard for me to see it but I love to hear it and it sounded good tonight. Thank you for coming!”
This is far from the first health hurdle the singer has faced. In 2013, he postponed tour dates due to appendicitis, with a spokesperson saying he made “superhuman efforts” to perform despite being unwell. He later had surgery to have his appendix removed.
Elton has also lived with Type 2 diabetes since the early 2000s, and made considerable changes to his diet because of it. On Ruthie’s Table 4 podcast, he shared: “I can have an apple, I can eat a bit of melon. As long as you’re sensible about it, it doesn’t shoot your blood sugar up. But what I crave is chocolate and ice cream, I can’t have any ice cream.”
He added with a laugh: “If I had a death row meal, it wouldn’t contain anything except sweets, because I can’t eat them now. So, I’d have ice cream, donuts, apple pie, rhubarb crumble.”
In 2017, the Your Song hitmaker was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He decided to get surgery instead of chemotherapy, hoping that would take less of an emotional toll on his family. However, he suffered from complications after the procedure that nearly claimed his life. In his memoir Me, Elton revealed he was just “24 hours from death” after contracting a rare infection.
He remembers lying awake in a hospital bed, sharing: “In the hospital, alone at the dead of night, I’d prayed: please don’t let me die, please let me see my kids again, please give me a little longer.”
The following years brought more challenges, including a painful fall that forced him to postpone the 2021 leg of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. While describing the discomfort his hip injury brought him, the singer said: “Despite intensive physio and specialist treatment, the pain has continued to get worse and is leading to increasing difficulties moving.”
He ultimately had surgery and only went back to performing in 2023 after further delays that were caused by the pandemic. Despite all the health setbacks he has faced, Elton is proud to still be alive and kicking. In October, he updated fans on his health, saying: “To be honest with you, there’s not much of me left. I don’t have tonsils, adenoids or an appendix. I don’t have a prostate. I don’t have a right hip or a left knee or a right knee. In fact, the only thing left to me is my left hip. But I’m still here.”
