Elton John opened up about his ‘whirlwind romance’ with John Lennon. (Image: Getty)
opened up about his extraordinary friendship with legend , describing it as a “whirlwind romance”. The two music giants formed an incredible bond when they first met in the 1970s, creating a unique friendship. Lennon’s life was tragically cut short in December 1980 when he was murdered outside his New York flat by Beatles obsessive Mark David Chapman.
Speaking to John’s son, Sean Ono Lennon, Elton reminisced: “That was the kind of wonderful two or three-year whirlwind romance we had, and it was such an important thing in my life, Sean, and it just really helped me. It gave me so much confidence. Your dad was as kind and as generous and sweet and we just hit it off immediately.”
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Elton John and John Lennon met in 1973. (Image: Getty)
The pair first met in person in 1973, and despite having a top 10 hit on both sides of the Atlantic with Your Song, Elton was still awestruck to meet one of his idols. And it appears the admiration was mutual, reports .
During their 2020 conversation on Radio 2, Sean recalled his father’s admiration for the musician: “My dad, when he first heard your voice, he was in America, I think already, and he was thinking that’s the first new kind of British singing that he really liked and dug. I think he said that he loved your music and the songs and he liked the song, Your Song.”
Their bond only grew stronger over time, as Elton played on Lennon’s fifth album, Walls and Bridges, featuring on the hit Whatever Gets You Thru The Night.
In 1974, Lennon made a memorable guest appearance at Elton’s iconic Madison Square Garden concert. The Rocketman singer reminisced: “It was just, for me, it was a dream come true.”
John Lennon joined Elton on stage at Madison Square Garden. (Image: Getty)
Enjoying their shared moments, Elton recounted: “We laughed so much because we talked about the 1950s and 1960s and where we grew up, you know, Round the Horne in England, the radio shows we liked, the songs we liked, we didn’t like, and your dad was just a fountain of knowledge. It was a hand in glove thing and I never thought that would ever happen.”
Emphasizing a down-to-earth connection, Elton noted: “There was no attitude. I hate posers and I hate attitude and your dad didn’t have any of it.”
Elton said he was shocked and saddened by John’s murder and later paid tribute to him with the song Empty Garden. Elton was also unable to attend Lennon’s vigil because he was on tour in Australia. Therefore, he staged his own service in a Melbourne cathedral.
Elton rarely sings the song, explaining to Sean: “It’s very hard for me to sing it, I get quite emotional singing that song and it moves me so much because it reminds me of how…god if your dad was alive today can you imagine what he’d be doing?!”