Sir Elton John has ‘new respect for sight-impaired people’ after vision issue
The musician is releasing a new album with Brandi Carlile.
Sir Elton John has said he has a “new respect for sight-impaired people” after he contracted an eye infection that affected his vision.
The 77-year-old, who announced details of his forthcoming album on Wednesday, previously said in an interview the infection last summer had impacted his ability to record music and left him feeling “stuck”.
His latest offering, Who Believes In Angels?, is a collaboration with US singer Brandi Carlile and is set for release in the spring.
Speaking to The Guardian, he said: “I could do an ‘Elton John’ record easily.
“That’s what I didn’t want to do any more. I wanted a challenge.
“I wanted to put all my old stuff to bed.”
The musician said he was nervous about recording the album, explaining: “It wasn’t me being anxious about other people, it was me being anxious about me.
“Once we got through the first three songs, we knew we had something. And I was much more relaxed… but I was a bit of a nightmare.”
The album, co-written by Sir Elton’s songwriting partner Bernie Taupin and produced by Grammy winner Andrew Watt, was recorded across 20 days in October 2023.
Speaking about one of the songs, A Little Light, Sir Elton said: “She (Carlile) was staying next door, she came in and I was pretty down.
“It was Israel-Gaza. I said, ‘Look at this, the world is f*****. I don’t know why we’re in the studio recording when this is going on.’ She wrote the song that day and we recorded it that day.”
Carlile said: “He was contemplating not doing the album.
“He was like, maybe this is not the time. My verse is what I wish I’d said.”
She added that you could tattoo the quote “It’s such a fine line between faith and apathy” on him.
Reflecting on this, Sir Elton said: “I’m an optimist permanently.
“I’ve got bad eyesight at the moment. There have been days where I’ve been miserable, but then I think about how lucky I am.
“I’ve got a new respect for sight-impaired people and people who are totally blind, some of whom I’m in touch with.
“But to hell with it, I’ve got a great life, and hopefully my sight will improve. What she’s saying is I’ve overcome a lot.
“This is not going to beat me. I’ve beaten addiction, I’ve beaten health issues, and I can pick myself up and dust myself off.”
In September, Sir Elton revealed in a social media post that a “severe eye infection” had left him “with only limited vision in one eye”.
He added: “I have been quietly spending the summer recuperating at home, and am feeling positive about the progress I have made in my healing and recovery so far.”
Before the album’s release on April 4, Sir Elton and Carlile will take to the London Palladium on March 26 for an evening of performance and storytelling.
Sir Elton’s headline set at Glastonbury in 2023 was his last UK performance as part of his 330-date Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, which ended with an emotionally charged show in Stockholm, Sweden.
In January he achieved his ninth UK number one album with Diamonds, a greatest hits compilation.
