Misfortune Vision Is Not The Reason Elton John Stops Music

Elton John (Instagram @davebenett)

JAKARTA - Although it has officially ended its busy tour schedule, music legend Elton John insists that he has not retired completely from the entertainment world and will continue to be active in music.

As is known, after his global farewell program ending in 2023 in Europe, John is still making several appearances. By the end of this year, he has been scheduled to do 11 private shows.

"I've never done (private shows) this much in my life 'there are solo ones, there are bands with me," Elton John said, citing Variety, Thursday, November 27.

Every now and then, he also appears at public events, such as at the Singapore Grand Prix with the band and one-off performances in San Diego for charity.

Keep appearing on the music stage makes him feel happy, because he can finance his life needs and keep playing music.

However, appearing on stage was not without obstacles, given the permanent blindness in his right eye and very bad vision in his left eye.

John was worried that he would not be able to see the key to the piano or microphone. However, he admitted that he had found a way to deal with it. "I can see, because everything is so close," he said.

"What I can't see when I play with the band is the band, and it's a bit difficult," added John.

He could not see Nigel Olsson (drumer), so he had to ask for help from Davey Johnstone (main guitarist) or other people to signal that they would stay in sync.

Apart from that, John felt a gift. "I sing better than I've ever done before, and I played really well, and I enjoyed it, and it really helped me," he said.

Furthermore, John stated, he can't wait to get into the studio soon and write a new song. He felt the need to make more commercial and more current recordings, in contrast to the collaboration album made with Brandi Carlile, 'Who Believes in Angels?', which he considers a modern album.

To solve vision problems when writing songs, David Furnish's wife said they had taken encouraging small steps.

"We (find) a teleprompter with a green letter, which is easier for him to read. And we make the font size big, and we just put it in front of it when it writes on the piano," Furnish said.

Despite the physical difficulties, John's love of music still takes him away. He is ready to return to the studio to write a song with his favorite producer, Andrew Watt.

John stressed that in dealing with diseases such as his declining vision, just like fighting AIDS, someone should not lose hope and must continue to struggle.

"Music has been my whole life and has given me so much and brought me on a journey I never expected to go on and it's still happening," said John.