Elton John shares heartbreaking admission - 'I don't think I'll see my children marry'

Looking absolutely sensational in a silver and blue ensemble, Sir Elton John dazzled fans at the Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium with his final North American farewell performance, donning an updated version of his iconic Bob Mackie baseball uniform first revealed back in 1975. Nearly five decades earlier, the British legend faced what was then the performance of his life, wrestling with addiction and the aftermath of a suicide attempt.

Today, the 77-year-old is opting to step away from touring to cherish time with his family. "I don’t know how much time I have left," he reveals in his Disney+ documentary Elton John: Never Too Late. "You think about that more when you get to my age, you think about life and death. After this tour, I don’t want to do anything. This is when you start to think about mortality."

The documentary takes audiences behind the scenes as Elton gears up for his final US show and reminisces over his rocketing rise to stardom in the initial five years. As the proud creator of 32 studio albums, a six-time Grammy winner, and having sold over 300 million records globally, Sir Elton is turning his attention to home life – and reveals that his sons are concerned about him. "They worry about my mortality because they know how old I am," says Elton, father to Zachary, 13, and Elijah, 11, alongside his 62 year old husband David Furnish.

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"They love their daddy so they want me to be around forever. I want to see my children get married and I don’t think I’m going to be around for that. You never know. So that’s why I want to give them the best of my time while I’m around them. Time together is so wonderful and so precious."

Elton John opens up about wanting to cherish every moment with his kids in the documentary, where we also saw him calling home to catch up on the day's adventures with his sons. After a school play performance reminiscent of dad's own showmanship, Elton couldn't have been prouder.

But Elton's childhood with his mum and dad was starkly different: "My mother and father – both of them I was frightened of," he shares candidly. Describing a tough upbringing, Elton John recalls, "They were abusive, they were physically violent. When I was one, my mother would beat me with a wire brush until I bled to potty train me. My whole childhood was full of fear. My dad never saw me [perform]. I wish it had been much different."

Elton John opened up about his collaboration with Bernie Taupin that truly launched his path to stardom, after responding to a Liberty Records advertisement in 1967. Reflecting on their instant connection, Elton shares, "We got on straight away. I had someone to go to films with, to go to the pub with. I never really had a best friend and it was great for me."

The singer also delves into his personal life, revealing how his relationship with music manager John Reid explored his sexuality. "He was very confident and very funny and very attractive," Elton recalls. "I’d never had sex. It was my first love. If people were gay, they were in the closet."

Despite a promising start, their relationship deteriorated. Elton discusses the darker aspects in a documentary, stating that over time John's temperament became threatening. "I was afraid of John. He had violence in him. A few drinks too many, if you crossed him he’d punch you or break a glass and put it in your face," Elton says, drawing parallels with his father's behaviour.

Nevertheless, emotional ties kept him clinging to the hope of a lasting partnership, "I can see a lot of my father’s behaviour. I was a young, first-time-in-love person. I still wanted us to be together." As his relationship with John began to crumble, Elton started penning the iconic album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, pouring his heartache into the music. "I was miserably unhappy. It was very moving for me and it was very cathartic," Elton shares.

"I didn’t know he was having sex outside the relationship. When I found out I was crushed. We had a fight and he smacked me in the face," Elton claims. "I loved John very much but said, ‘I can’t go through this any more. ’ John left an emptiness within me. I thought being alone was a sense of failure."

From trying cocaine for the first time and becoming hooked, to sharing the stage with John Lennon at what would be Lennon’s final major concert, the documentary explores how Elton’s success came with a hefty price tag. Just days before his 1975 gig at Dodger Stadium, the singer revealed to his family that he had overdosed on tranquillisers before plunging into his swimming pool and being rescued by his personal assistant. "My mother and my stepfather and my grandmother were worried about me. I had the show to do so I had to be as right as rain. I’ve never taken my personal life on stage with me," he says.

Elton John's life took a positive turn after he came out in an interview with Rolling Stone in 1976, and later at 43, he embraced sobriety. Leaping to the present day, during his final concert in America, Elton introduced his partner of three decades alongside their children, all sporting Elton John jerseys.

The singer expressed to his Dodger Stadium audience, "As you know, I am stopping touring and this will be my last concert in America,” Elton tells his fans at Dodger Stadium. “It’s because I want to spend time with my family. I want to bring them out and show you why I’m retiring – David, Zachary and Elijah."

Elton John: Never Too Late arrives on Disney+ on Friday 13 December