Elton John reveals the one piece of advice he’d give his younger self: “Never take drugs”
Elton John has revealed that the one piece of advice he would give his younger self would be to never take drugs.
John, who will be 35 years clean later this year, has spoken candidly over the years about his abuse of drugs and alcohol. Now, during an interview with Smooth Radio, the ‘Rocket Man’ singer has explained why it remains the biggest regret of his life to have ever taken illicit substances.
“Never take drugs,” he told host Kate Garraway when asked for the advice he wishes he could tell his younger self. “I took drugs, it took me down, and then when I recovered, I had to go through that journey to become the person that I am.”
While his drug addiction caused him huge problems, John explained how “music has been in my entire life” even during the height of his substance abuse. He added, “I still went out there and made music. I recorded, I toured, and it saved me. It nearly destroyed me, but it saved me.”
John, whose joint album Who Believes In Angels? with Brandi Carlile is out today, also discussed the dark side of fame during a recent appearance on the Smartless podcast.
He reflected: “We did so much work in five years and went to the pinnacle of fame in five years. I lost the person that I was originally. That was very hard for me, and it took me loads of years to get it back. I got it back when I got sober, which is 35 years this year, hopefully.”
Thankfully, John’s sobriety has allowed him to unlock his real self once more, which laid dormant for two decades, noting, “That little boy inside of me had vanished, but the little boy has come back, and everyone needs that little child inside of them to keep them going. Unfortunately, I lost it and it made me very sad and depressed.”
In a review, Far Out wrote of John and Carlile’s new album: “Equipped with a swirling concoction of varying degrees of greatness—including Watt’s unmatched production, John’s unrelenting voice, and back-and-forth lyrical collaborations between Carlile and Bernie Tapin—Who Believes In Angels should have demonstrated the very best of seasoned energy and efficiency, and while this is true in obvious ways, some moments feel a little directionless or unintentionally flat.”
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