Sir Elton John says he was “very close” to being killed by drugs
Sir Elton John has told Piers Morgan that he was “very close” to dying from his addiction to drugs and drink. Sir Elton was interviewed for Piers Meets Elton: A Life Stories Special on ITV 1. He used the interview to say that he was the “biggest junkie that ever was”.
Asked by Morgan how close he was to dying, Sir Elton replied: “Very close. I mean, I would have an epileptic seizure and turn blue, and people would find me on the floor and put me to bed, and then 40 minutes later I’d be snorting another line.
“This is how bleak it was, I’d stay up, I’d smoke joints, I’d drink a bottle of Johnnie Walker and then I’d stay up for three days and then I’d go to sleep for a day and a half, get up, and because I was so hungry, because I hadn’t eaten anything, I’d binge and have like three bacon sandwiches, a pot of ice cream and then I’d throw it up, because I became bulimic and then go and do the whole thing all over again. That is how tragic my life was.
“I never considered myself a drug addict, I thought drug addicts were people who stuck needles in their arms. And I was the biggest junkie that ever was.”
On a lighter note, Sir Elton told Morgan of his most extravagant purchases. “I bought a photograph for a million dollars, and that was a photograph. It was a Man Ray and I’ve been collecting photography now since 1991 and [partner] David [Furnish] and I have properly the biggest private collection of photography and I’m very serious about it. I don’t talk about it much.”
He also spoke of his love for his civil partner David Furnish. “From the word go, he wasn’t in awe of me, he was always going to tell me the truth. We’ve had a couple of rows but we never go to bed without sorting it out. We never go to bed angry with one another. He’s my soul-mate, he’s the person I speak to first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Every week since we’ve met, we send each other a card. If I’m in America, I courier him a card and he couriers one to me, so that every Saturday we open a card and express our love for each other.”
Sir Elton also used the interview to continue his attack on the X Factor, won this evening by Matt Cardle. Sir Elton said: “I can’t watch those kind of shows. I find it very disturbing for me from the artists’ point of view.
“I’m totally on the artists’ side, anybody who appears on the show, whether they’ve got much talent or not, if they win it, I wonder what’s going to become of them, are they just fodder for two years until the next Leona Lewis comes along, or the next Alexandra Burke. Why aren’t they going on tour? What’s happening? They can’t survive, I know, by just making records.”
