LORRAINE HAHN, Host: Welcome to Talk Asia, I’m Lorraine Hahn. How does one even begin introducing Elton John? A ‘living legend’1, a survivor who found fame in the late 60s, enraptured the world with2 his flamboyance3, imagination and pure talent in the 70s and 80s.
And despite some hard times, including drug and alcohol abuse4, coming out of the closet5 and losing loved ones, Elton John at 57 is still at the top of his game6. For the next half hour, you’re going to hear Elton speak about matters closest to his heart7 as well as a sneak preview8 of his latest album. Elton and I have spent some time together during his recent Asia tour. I began by asking him to9 what does he owe this enduring10 popularity?
ELTON JOHN, Musician: That’s a good question. I think, basically, because I play a lot of concerts. I mean record sales can fluctuate11, they can go up and they can go down. But I think the secret of any artist’s longevity12 is the ability to play before an audience13. And I think if you look at all the people that are my peers of the same age group14, we’re still going out there and we’re still selling concerts because we learn our craft15 and we still love to play. We’re musicians and we like to entertain people and we like to play live16.
Of course, you still have to make the records and I like doing that, but I think the real success is writing the songs, having the songs to be able to sing and having the ability to write songs. But I think mainly it is to be able to go out in front of an audience anywhere in the world and entertain17 them.
My Mother Encouraged Me to Follow My Path
HAHN: Who else has been a great influence in your life, do you think?
JOHN: Well, my mother. I mean my mother, especially, you know, encouraging me to follow the path that I’d chosen18, to become a musician, to do something that I’d really wanted to do, which was an incredibly19 understanding thing for her to do.
HAHN: That’s interesting, because most parents say, “No, go to school, get a degree”20 and you know, do something that’s gonna bring some food on the table21, for sure22.
JOHN: My father, bless him, he wanted me to be a banker or join the Air Force23 and I just wasn’t going to do that. I just wasn’t cut out to24 sit behind a desk. I knew from an early age25 what I wanted to do. I didn’t know that I would become Elton John the singer, because I was just an organ26 player in a band. But I would have been quite happy working in a record store... anything to do with music27.
I’ve Put an Awful Lot of Work for New Life
HAHN: Your life has been up and down and up and down. What would you say would be your darkest point in your life and how did you get out of it?