Elton John autobiography, Me, has been published in paperback today (October 13th). The book was co-written by Alexis Petridis, and covers all aspects of the rock legend's life and career. The “Rocket Man” posted two clips on his social media pages; one hysterical clip finds him behind the mic trying in vain to pronounce “preposterousness.” The other clip features Elton reading a passage in which he's performing down under during a torrential rainstorm, terrified his toupee is about to be blow off his head.
Elton John admits that although he ultimately has no regrets about how he lived his life early on, he's far happier since becoming sober and falling in love 25 years ago: “I'm glad that I lived my rock star years, because it made me appreciate now what I shouldn't be doing. When I was younger I did everything I possibly could and I had a great time. I took it too far and didn't know when to stop. But the good thing is that life since 1990 has been all about trying to grow up, trying to see things from a different perspective — listening. And I was lucky to find my partner and that's been the saving grace of my life, as well.”
Elton John admitted that his over-the-top persona — both on and off the stage — during the 1970's and '80s was often a mask for his admitted low self esteem: “When I was drinking and doing drugs, you become completely ridiculous. I mean, you become self-obsessed, your values go completely out the window. Y'know, you don't like the color of the wallpaper on the plane, or the way it's done, you don't like the color of the furniture in the hotel room — it's all that absolute nonsense. Like all entertainers, they're very comfortable on the stage, off the stage, I didn't really. . . I was still the young boy from Pinner, who was just kinda insecure, a little overweight, and, y'know, had an inferiority complex. I just showed off on stage. All entertainers want to do is show off.”
