Elton John details a harrowing concert incident in his new memoir where his band believed he had been shot after a fan threw a metal hash pipe at his head during a performance in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1974.
“Fans have often thrown things onstage when I’m playing, but usually it’s been something reasonably soft. Not in Greensboro,” John writes in “Farewell Yellow Brick Road: Memories of My Life on Tour.”
The incident occurred during “Burn Down the Mission” when an audience member hurled the pipe, striking the singer’s temple.
“I didn’t see it coming. The silver pipe smashed against my temple, drawing blood, and I completely blacked out,” John recalls.
His band continued playing, initially unaware of the severity of the situation.
“They told me later they thought I’d been shot because they saw blood pouring down my face,” John writes. Bodyguard Jim Morris quickly rushed onstage to remove the singer as fears of an assassination attempt spread among the crew.
The scene backstage was chaotic as paramedics treated the bleeding performer, who was wearing one of his signature feathered costumes.
“There were feathers everywhere,” John notes, now able to look back on the incident with humor.
Despite the frightening nature of the attack, John, now 77, considers it one of his “favorite” tour memories. The five-time Grammy winner would return to Greensboro twice more during his career – in 2001 performing with Billy Joel, and again in 2022 during his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour.
The incident appears in John’s new memoir as he reflects on a career spanning six decades and over 300 million album sales. The book’s release comes as the legendary performer faces new challenges, including vision loss that affects his ability to read music and record.
“There’s hope and encouragement that it will be OK, but I’m kind of stuck in the moment because… going into the studio and recording, I don’t know because I can’t see a lyric [to] start,” John recently told Good Morning America.
Throughout his career, John has battled various health issues that forced show cancellations, including serious infections and appendicitis.
Despite these challenges, the “Rocket Man” singer maintains his characteristic optimism, having declared himself “the luckiest man in the world.”