Elton John: ‘Was homophobia why my father never saw me perform?’
By Will Stroude
Elton John has opened up about his strained relationship with his father, questioning whether it was homophobia that stopped him from ever attending any of his shows.
The 68-year-old made the comments in a letter written for The Times yesterday (May 12) to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Billy Elliot – The Musical, for which he wrote the music.
Billy Elliot tells the story of a young boy in a Northern mining community who discovers a passion for ballet, and whose father goes on a journey of acceptance.
He wrote: “Billy Elliot gets what I never got — and so many gay men of my generation were denied.
“My father lived to know about some of my success, but he never came to see a single one of my shows.
“The moment when Billy’s dad sees him perform, and sees the beating heart of his son for the first time, and understands what his son will achieve, never came for me. My father was sealed off from my talent and I never knew why. Was it homophobia? Was it fear?
“That was a painful loss for me. But it was also a painful loss, I think, for my dad. That’s what prejudice does to people. It cuts them off from sources of joy — from friendship and kindness and love. It even cuts off fathers from their sons.”
Of Billy’s gay friend in the play, Michael, the Rocket Man singer added: “Billy is supportive to him — and the audience loves him. He often gets one of the biggest cheers at the curtain call.
“If you had told me then that when I grew up, I would write a show featuring a gay child, and heterosexual audiences would cheer him every night and that it would be seen as wholesome family entertainment, I would have thought you were bonkers.”
Elton, who kicks off a new UK tour at the end of the month, was recently named the UK’s most charitable celebrity, and last month joined REM’s Michael Stipe in urging the US government to do more to protect trans prison inmates.
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