Elton John’s cocaine addiction and 20-year drug battle that nearly killed him
Elton John performed at BST Hyde Park as part of his Farewell tour last night. His 50-year career has seen highs and lows – from huge hits to an almost deadly battle with addiction
Elton John has been sober for over 30 years but his addictions nearly killed him
Eton John kicked off this year’s British Summer Time festival at Hyde Park yesterday.
The iconic Rocketman singer performed at the festival as part of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour.
Elton has been all over the world as part of the tour, which is set to be his final one before he retires.
Elton John’s career has spanned five decades and the legendary performer has had countless hits, 25 platinum albums and has sold over 250 million records worldwide.
But his rise to fame as a global superstar didn’t all go smoothly and like many musicians, Elton developed a severe drug addiction that put him on the path of destruction.
Here’s the story of the Rocketman’s 20-year battle with drugs and how he became sober.
Elton’s drug addiction
Elton tried cocaine for the first time at the start of his musical career
Image:
( Michael Putland/Getty Images)
In recent years, Elton has been open about his past drug problems.
His battle with addiction was documented in the 2019 musical biopic Rocketman and in the same year, the singer also published his autobiography Me, Elton in which he detailed his decades-long drug problem.
The singer recalled how he tried cocaine for the first time in 1974 and became quickly hooked by the euphoric feeling that the Class A drug gave him.
He wrote: “My appetite for the stuff was unbelievable — enough to attract comment in the circles I was moving in.
“Given that I was a rock star spending a lot of time in Seventies LA, this was a not inconsiderable feat.”
He went on to describe how his drug addiction took hold of his life, writing: “That was the problem. Because I was doing coke, I wasn’t a rational human being anymore.
“You become unreasonable and irresponsible, self-obsessed, a law unto yourself. It’s your way or the highway. It’s a horrible drug.”
Elton’s alcohol and drug addiction was documented in the biopic Rocketman, played by Taron Egerton
And it wasn’t just a drug problem that the flamboyant rockstar had, he was also addicted to alcohol and food and suffered from bulimia for six years.
It was the death of Ryan White, an American teenager who contracted HIV from a blood transfusion, that sparked a change for Elton.
During a Harvard University talk in 2017, Elton said: “Ryan was the spark that helped me to recover from my addictions and start the AIDS foundation.
Within six months [of White’s death] I became sober, and clean, and have been for 27 years.”
When did Elton John quit drugs?
Elton now lives a sober life with his sons Elijah and Zachary and husband David
Image:
( Instagram/@davidfurnish)
After a 20-year battle with addiction, Elton quit drugs and alcohol for good in 1990.
He checked into Lutheran General Hospital to receive six weeks of treatment for his alcohol, drug and food addictions and also joined an Alcoholics Anonymous group, which he’s still a member of today.
He’s now been sober for over 30 years and reflecting on the huge achievement in an Instagram post, he revealed that he would be dead if he hadn’t asked for help.
He said: “If I hadn’t finally taken the big step of asking for help 30 years ago, I’d be dead.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all the people who have inspired and supported me along the way.”
Elton told Rolling Stone that throughout his recovery “music never left my side” and he summed up his addiction journey to Variety in 2019, saying: “I am a survivor. I’ve survived a lot of things.
“Life is full of pitfalls, even when you’re sober. I can deal with them now because I don’t have to run away and hide.”
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