Photo: Jim Dyson/Getty ; Jon Kopaloff/WireImage
Elton Johnis revealing new details about one of his most legendary onstage moments — the time he wore out his welcome at a 1975Rolling Stonesconcert.
The legendary musician, 72, opens up in his new autobiographyMe, out Oct. 15, about his performance during the Colorado gig, where he was supposed to join the band for a rendition of"Honky Tonk Women"but ended up staying for the remainder of their set, uninvited.
In a passage of the book excerpted in theDaily Mail, John admits he was on cocaine during the show. Had that not been the case, “I might have just performed ‘Honky Tonk Women,’ waved to the crowd and made my exit,” he says.
But instead, “I decided it was going so well, I’d stay on and jam along to the rest of their set, without first taking the precaution of asking the Stones if they wanted an auxiliary keyboard player,” writes John.
Keith Richards (L) and Elton John in the 1970s.Janet Knott/The Boston Globe via Getty; Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
However, “After a few songs, it finally penetrated my brain that the expression on his face wasn’t really suggestive of profound musical appreciation,” the “Tiny Dancer” hitmaker writes of Richards, 75.
John “quickly scuttled off, noting as I went that Keith was still staring at me in a manner that suggested we’d be discussing this later, and decided it might be best if I didn’t hang around for the after-show party,” he adds.
“But there was something moreto cocaine than the way it made me feel,” John continues. “Cocaine had a certain cachet about it. It was fashionable and exclusive. Doing it was like becoming a member of an elite little clique that secretly indulged in something edgy, dangerous and illicit.”
“Pathetically enough, that really appealed to me,” he shares. “I’d become successful and popular, but I never felt cool.”
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Elsewhere in the book, John talks about checking into a hospital in Chicago in 1990 in an effort toward being “treated for three addictions at once: cocaine, alcohol and food.”
RELATED VIDEO: Elton John Apologizes for His Expletive-Filled Rant During a Concert
“I had no idea how to work a washing machine and had to ask another patient, Peggy, to show me,” John writes. “After she realized I wasn’t joking, she was helpful, but that didn’t change the fact that I was a 43-year-old man who didn’tknow how to clean his own clothes.”
Me, out Oct. 15, is available for pre-order now onamazon.com.
source: people.com
