Elton John unable to watch his own musical after losing eyesight
As legendary musician Elton John continues to open up about ongoing health concerns, the songwriter has revealed that his eyesight has yet to return to full capacity. In September, John revealed that an eye infection had caused him to completely lose sight in his right eye, with “limited vision” in his left eye. Now, the condition prevents him from viewing his own musical, The Devil Wears Prada.
Despite his condition, John has been working tirelessly in recent months, creating an original score for the West End musical adaptation of The Devil Wears Prada, based on the book by Lauren Weisberger.
At a recent gala performance of the show, John appeared on stage to discuss his work, and to thank his husband, David Furnish, who he described as being “his rock”.
While onstage, John also revealed that he has been unable to watch the musical as a result of his sight loss. “I haven’t been able to come to many of the previews because, as you know, I have lost my eyesight. So it’s hard for me to see it,” the songwriter shared. Nevertheless, he seemed to remain in good spirits, adding, “But I love to hear it, and boy, it sounded good tonight.”
John also took to his social media channels to provide an update on his ongoing health concerns. “I am healing, but it’s an extremely slow process and it will take some time before sight returns to the impacted eye,” he wrote in a statement, adding: “I am so grateful for the excellent team of doctors and nurses and my family, who have taken such good care of me over the last several weeks.”
Elton John’s struggle to make new music due to condition
Initially, John had opened up about a nasty eye infection he had contracted while in France back in July. However, last month the songwriter revealed that this infection had left his vision obstructed for months on end. Even now, five months on from the initial infection, his vision still appears to be suffering.
Appearing on Good Morning America last week, the songwriter provided a slice of optimism, sharing, “There’s hope and encouragement that it will be okay, but… I’m kind of stuck at the moment, because I can do something like this [the interview], but going into the studio and recording, I don’t know, because I can’t see a lyric for a start.”
Elton announced his retirement as a touring musician back in 2018, prior to commencing his extensive Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, which lasted until July 2023.
Since then, he has worked predominantly as a studio musician, crafting scores for The Devil Wears Prada as well as Tammy Faye, which recently opened on Broadway. So, although his battles with sight loss are preventing John from doing many of the things he is best known for, they do not seem to have crushed his unwavering artistic spirit.
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