LONDON: When Elton John was working on his new autobiography, the legendary singer, songwriter and performer pulled out diaries he had been encouraged to write during a stint in rehab.
One entry read like this: “Got up, tidied the house, bought a Rolls Royce, had dinner, wrote ‘Candle in the Wind,’ had dinner with Ringo Starr,” the musician said. “That was one day.”
John, 72, spoke in a video interview provided to Reuters by his publisher, Henry Holt & Co., to promote the release of his book, which is titled simply “Me.”
The diary entries helped jog John’s memories from his 50-year career filled with hit records, Grammy awards and royal friendships but also addiction and a suicide attempt two days before a show at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
“I wanted to show the tough ride of being a successful artist, and how I went through tough times, and how I came out at the end and got my life together,” John said. “It’s the story of my life up to the present day, warts and all.”
In the book, the “Crocodile Rock” singer revealed recent health scares including a near-fatal infection and a serious bout with appendicitis. “I did like 10 or 11 shows, 24 flights, with a burst appendix,” he said.
John is currently in the middle of a lengthy “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” world tour that will bring his touring career to an end. In the interview, he said performing on stage “just never gets old.”
“I never go on stage late,” he said. “I just love to get out there and I’m raring to go.”
“Even when I was doing a lot of drugs, I still carried on playing music,” he added. “It’s been my touchstone of my whole life.”
A highlight, John said, came in 1975 when John Lennon joined him to perform three songs at Madison Square Garden. It was Lennon’s first appearance on stage in New York since the Beatles played Shea Stadium.
Lennon was so nervous that he vomited before the performance, John said. “He came out to probably the most touching ovation I’ve ever heard,” John said. “We all shed a tear on stage.”
John said he is not sure what his future holds but he is still writing songs.
“I don’t know what’s next and I don’t want to know what’s next,” he said. “I’m just ready for the next chapter.”
A day in Elton John’s life: Buy Rolls, write hit song, dine with Ringo
A day in Elton John’s life: Buy Rolls, write hit song, dine with Ringo
- Diary entries helped jog Elton John’s memories from his 50-year career
- ‘Even when I was doing a lot of drugs, I still carried on playing music’
Art Cairo part of a ‘long-term cultural project,’ founder says
CAIRO: As Art Cairo 2026 draws to a close, its founder Mohammed Younis is keen to set the fair apart from its regional counterparts — and also asserts that the annual event is part of a “long-term cultural project.”
The fair, which took place at the Grand Egyptian Museum and wrapped up on Jan. 26, boasted a distinctly Arab flavor, in terms of galleries, artists and the themes of the artworks on show.
Younis says that is all part of a conscious curatorial effort.
“Art Cairo stands apart from other art fairs in the region as the only platform dedicated exclusively and intentionally to Arab art … While many regional fairs present a broad, globalized perspective, Art Cairo emerges from a different vision — one rooted in presenting Arab art from within,” Younis told Arab News.
Across the fair, depictions of golden age icons such as 1950s superstar Mohamed Mohamed Fawzy by painter Adel El-Siwi jostled for attention alongside ancient iconography and pop culture references from the Arab world.
Abu Dhabi’s Salwa Zeidan Gallery, for example, exhibited work by up-and-coming Egyptian artist Passant Kirdy.
“My work focuses on Egyptian heritage in general, including pharaonic and Islamic art. These influences are always present in what I create. This symbol you’re looking at is a pharaonic scarab … I’m very attached to this symbol,” she told Arab News.
The Arab focus of the curation is part of an effort to bill Art Cairo as a “long-term cultural project,” Younis noted.
“Ultimately, Art Cairo is not simply an art fair; it is a long-term cultural project. It exists to support Arab artists, contribute to building a sustainable art market, and articulate an authentic Arab narrative within the regional and international art landscape.”
