The Biography Channel - Elton John Biography

The Rocketman talks candidly about his troubled childhood, years of substance abuse, and the string of tragic deaths in his life, including those of John Lennon and Princess Diana.

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Elton John
born: 25-03-1947
birth place: Pinner, England

With The Elton John Band back in full swing, they were again at the top of the charts, with memorable hit singles such as ‘I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues’ (1983), ‘I’m Still Standing’ (1983), and ‘Nikita’ (1985). In 1984, surprising friends and fans alike, Elton married Renate Blauel on Valentine’s Day in Sydney, Australia. It lasted four years before Elton decided he was in fact gay and they divorced, with no children, in 1997.

A year after winning the 1986 British Phonographic Industry award for Outstanding Contribution, Elton faced a serious health scare in January 1987. He was on tour in Australia when he had to undergo laser surgery to remove potentially cancerous nodules from his vocal cords. He later admitted that the problem had been caused by smoking too many drugs, including marijuana. He recovered from the surgery, but was unable to reach his previous falsetto range. He continued using drugs until 1990, but this very real brush with ill health, directly related to his ability to sing, gave Elton a focus that was perhaps previously lacking. Another positive focus in helping him to overcome his addictions and illnesses, was that he started living with his partner, David Furnish, a former advertising executive, now a filmmaker.

Deciding to use this revitalised energy, as well as his celebrity status and his vast wealth, Elton wanted to give something back to the community, particularly in connection with AIDS awareness, something close to his heart. In April 1990, he performed ‘Skyline Pigeon’ at Ryan White’s funeral, a haemophiliac whom Elton had befriended and who had died of AIDS. Following that, Elton pledged to donate the royalties from all his future UK singles to combat AIDS. Two years later, in 1992, he did the same thing concerning his American singles and was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, with Bernie Taupin. He then formed the Elton John Aids Foundation and hosted a post-Oscar inaugural party in Beverly Hills in March 1993. This has become an annual and much-anticipated high-profile event. One of the mainstays in Elton’s cleaned up life, is his dedication to raising AIDS awareness and fund-raising for his Foundation.

In further recognition of all his work, Elton was inducted into Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Also that year, he co-wrote with lyricist Tim Rice, original songs for Disney’s ‘The Lion King’ (1994) and for this work, they won an Academy award in 1995. Soundtrack sales topped the 10 million mark and the film was converted into a hit Broadway show that opened in 1997. This strong collaboration continued and they released the albums ‘Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida’ (1999) and ‘The Road to El Dorado’ (2000). They co-wrote the Broadway stage productions of both ‘The Lion King’ (1998) and ‘Aida’ (2000), for which they won a Tony Award for Best Original Score and a Grammy for Best Musical Show Album.