A new video has emerged showing legendary singer Elton John in a fit of rage whilst recording his surprise new album ‘Who Believes in Angels?’ The 77-year-old can be seen slamming his headphones, shouting “f****** nightmare”, before ripping up a sheet of music, saying: “I’m going home.”
This is the first time in his career John has invited cameras into the recording studio, documenting the process of his new studio album he’s made with Brandi Carlile. Thousands of hours of “emotionally turbulent” raw footage were captured at Los Angeles’ Sunset Sound Studios.
Also captured was John’s clash with his producer and songwriter Andrew Watt. Speaking in a voiceover, Elton explains there was “tension in the studio” during the sessions in in October 2023.
He adds: “The reality is… I was exhausted, I had a lot of doubt, I was a nightmare. I was angry, I was tired, I was irritable… I felt I don’t want to do it.”
Watt asks “Are you ready to record?” to which Elton snaps back: “Why do you think I am sitting here.” Watt later shouts at him: “I am just trying to make the song as best as it can be…you are so impatient.”
Carlile shared the difficult moments of recording the album, she said: “Elton is prone to bouts of insecurity especially where the stakes are high. I am having a hard time connecting to Elton. There were times when I thought why does he want to do this.”
In an interview with The Guardian, Carlile said: “He smashed his iPad, he smashed headphones. There were really amazing, classic Elton John outbursts. My lyrics got torn up and thrown on the ground – he goes: ‘F*** off, Brandi.’ He would yell: ‘Predictable! Cliche!'”
John explains eventually “the fog started to lift”. He added: “I felt there were other people involved, I can’t abandon it…..finally it all started to flow. I wanted to play better, sing better, write better and challenge myself at the age I am.”
The album was completed in 20 days and is set to come out on April 4, 2025. John and Carlile have also announced ‘An Evening With Elton John & Brandi Carlile’ at The London Palladium on March 26.
John said the album felt like the second act of his career: “This record was one of the toughest I’ve ever made, but it was also one of the greatest musical experiences of my life. It has given me a place where I know I can move forward. Who Believes In Angels? feels like going into another era and I’m pushing the door open to come into the future. I have everything I’ve done behind me and it’s been brilliant, amazing. But this is the new start for me. As far as I’m concerned, this is the start of my career Mark 2.”