David Furnish has seen Elton through a lot of bad times as they enter a new partnership together in the movies with the film `Women Talking Dirty`. Roald Rynning spoke to Elton about this special relationship.

It’s obvious that Elton is a content guy at this point of his life. After years of alcoholism and drug abuse, he is clean and sober and living happily with David at Woodside, his grand estate of 22 years, near England’s Windsor Castle.

The two are so relaxed together that even in front of the “dreaded” media, they share intimate jokes. For example;upon hearing director Giedroyc’s description of “Women Talking Dirty” as a tale of “My man has done me wrong,” Elton nudged David and quipped, “I have that problem, too.” They have been together for four years, but Elton is not bringing David on his upcoming tour.

“I’ve always made the mistake of having people give up their jobs and come with me. People lose their identity that way and feel worthless. Therefore David has his own career and routine with the film company.” Despite an intense rock’n’roll life: alcohol and drug abuse, much sexual confusion (he tried to commit suicide shortly before his failed marriage took place in the mid-80s), a string of boytoys (including the jilted boyfriend who wrote the book “Elton, My Elton”) and accusations of drug orgies with underaged boys (he sued and won a million pounds in damages from The Sun), Elton’s face is surprisingly unlined. At 52, he looks younger than his age and comes across as confident and harmonious. And after decades of agonizing about his balding head, he now sports auburn hair, trademark glasses and wears rather conservative clothing (today a simple grey jacket).

“I’m older and wiser, but I’ve always had a bad self-image,” confesses Elton, who still hates to see pictures of himself. He sighs, “And I’m always going to have a weight problem.”

The cause of his problems, Elton claims, is rooted in an unhappy childhood. He was at odds with a distant father whose approval he constantly sought and never got. Ever since, Reginald Dwight - as he was christened - has lived “in fear of not being liked.” Music, he says, saved his life. Overcompensated for his insecurities, he became rock’s most flamboyant entertainer, dominating the ‘70s charts with classic singles like “Rocket Man,” “Crocodile Rock,” “Daniel,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down on Me” and “Candle in the Wind.” And then there was his outrageous stage costumes; spectacles with mink, feathers or flashing lightbulbs that spelled Elton, and ostrich boas, the Eiffel Tower on his head or him dressing as Donald Duck or the Statue of Liberty.

“Performing has always been an escape for me,” he says of the reason he survived the self-destructive, drug-indused period in his life. “Most performers are seeking attention and approval. The tragedy is when you don’t know how to be offstage.”

“Thankfully, sitting around and doing nothing doesn’t appeal to me,” continues the driven artist, who still wants another hit album, another Oscar, a Tony Award. And he would like to write a screen musical. “The thing that saved my life was that I always worked. No matter what shape I was in, I still managed to perform and make records. I love to tour. The greatest thing in the world is to get onstage.”

Still, in the 80’s Elton used to hide at Woodside for weeks at a time, boozing and drugging and refusing to see anyone. “Pride and ignorance” held him from dealing with his demons. In 1990, he finally went into rehab with his ex-boyfriend and came out another person. AA meetings and therapy helped him find a way back to his feelings and old values.

“At one point all I could feel was fear,” he recalls of the time as an addict. “I’m not afraid of anybody now.”

But he is still haunted by his old habits.

‘Two or three times a week he has cocaine nightmares,” reports David, “and he wakes up in a cold sweat.”

Despite having lost close friends like fashion designer Gianni Versace and Princess Diana, Elton has never fallen off the wagon. Except for an occasional longing for a glass of red wine, his present lifestyle with David and their thirteen dogs at Woodside and three other homes (in London, Atlanta and South of France) is a picture of health.

When not busy with the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which has raised $15 million for AIDS treatment (all the royalties from his singles go to the foundation and he frequently performs benefit concerts), Elton is still as passionate about music as ever. He reads Billboard (the music bible) every week and listens to “everything that comes out.”

These days he is listening to new albums by friends like Sting and Pet Shop Boys.

“I got advanced copies and I went “Bastards!” because their albums are really good,” he laughs. “But I’m not threatened by new artists. I get inspired by good stuff, and it feels good to be in the charts after 27 years, with all these new acts. I like to survive.”

Still, if they ever open a club dedicated to the music of Elton John, don’t expect to see him hanging out there.

“I wouldn’t go anywhere near the place, I can tell you that,” Elton deadpans. What he likes to do in his spare time is to shop.

“I was always attached to things,” admits the rocker, who sold off most of his Woodside belongings in 1989 but has since refilled the state. “Things were my friends as a kid. It’s probably an addiction, but as my mum says, ‘It’s better than putting stuff up your nose.’ “ Rumours of his financial troubles, however, are unfounded. “You shouldn’t believe anything you read.” He shakes his head furiously.
“My budget is fine. No bankruptcy. It started with The Times of London. A lot of rubbish. If you print stuff you don’t check out, it ends up like that.”

He has, however, toned things down on the stage. He now considers himself “a guy who sings and plays the piano because I don’t want to look ridiculous as an old rock’n’roller.”

”As for his health, Elton is in top shape after having a pacemaker implanted earlier this summer.

“That got so much publicity that next week I’m having my leg amputated,” he concludes with a laugh. “I had a month where I couldn’t really do anything, physically. But I got the all-clear. I’ve been recording, I’m going on tour next week and I’m playing tennis with Andre Agassi, so I’m alright, thank you. I’m not dead yet.”

by Roald Rynning/Planet Sydication