Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Elton John: 'I don't have to tour. I want to be there for parents' evenings and sports days'
In an interview with the Telegraph to be published online tomorrow, Elton says a combination of parenting commitments and a recent health scare - which led to an emergency operation for appendicitis - have prompted him to reappraise his lifestyle.
"I knew I was sick, but I didn't know I had such a dangerous thing inside of me until I had a scan, which was after nine shows, 24 flights and a summer ball," he said. "I could have easily died at any point. Your sense of your mortality kicks in. This is a wake up call for me, it really is. I'm 66 not 36 anymore. I want to write another musical for Broadway and I want to spend more time with my children. I don't have to tour. I don't need the money."
Elton and his partner, David Furnish, became fathers in 2010 when their son Zachary was born to a surrogate mother. They have since had another child, Elijah, who the singer said completed his family "in a most precious and perfect way".
"[Elijah is] the icing on the cake," he said. "I love every minute of fatherhood, staying up all night, changing nappies, kids crying, I find it really funny and inspiring. It connects you to the world in a new way."
Up until now, Zachary has accompanied Elton on many of his trips abroad but the singer says, once the two-year-old starts school in 2015 he wants to be there to drop him off and pick him up.
"I don't want to just be the father who reads them a bedtime story," he said. "I want to be one of the dads in the playground, there for parents' evenings, sports day. I've got all that ahead of me and I am so looking forward to it."
The public first learnt of Elton's health problems in July when he pulled out of a concert in Hyde Park. He went on to cancel all his remaining summer concerts, and is due to return to the stage tonight at the First Direct Arena in Leeds.
"When I had the operation, I said 'This has got to stop, this is crazy, why am I doing this?' I'm a great believer in signs coming to you in life to tell you something. This appendix thing, it's so lucky I didn't die. So I'm treating is as a sign in great big letters saying 'for f---- sake get a grip!'"
Read the full interview tomorrow on the Telegraph website
Source : http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568414/s/30bff610/sc/8/l/0L0Stelegraph0O0Cculture0Cmusic0C10A284370A0CElton0EJohn0EI0Edont0Ehave0Eto0Etour0B0EI0Ewant0Eto0Ebe0Ethere0Efor0Eparents0Eevenings0Eand0Esports0Edays0Bhtml/story01.htm
