Elton John’s mum never met her grandkids due to huge row, ex manager claims

Elton John’s former manager has claimed a massive family feud stopped the singing sensation’s mum from ever meeting her grandchildren.

Speaking on podcast Too Late to Die Young, John Reid, 69 – who served as Elton’s manager for almost 30 years – said it all began when Elton fired John as his manager back in 1999 after stories were leaked from his office. According to the former music manager, the ‘Rocket Man’ star cut all ties with his mother Sheila Farebrother after she refused to cease communication with John after he was fired.

Although Elton reportedly later rekindled the relationship with his mum, he allegedly never got around to introducing her to his two children Zachary, eight and six-year-old Elijah, who he shares with husband David Furnish. She sadly died in December 2017 at the age of 92.

“The children were a big surprise to me,” John told host Nina Myskow on the podcast. “I wish him nothing but the best. The sad thing was his mother never met them.”

The relationship between Elton and Sheila was apparently so torn that the singer didn’t even attend his mother’s 90th birthday. In fact, according to John, Sheila ended up hiring a lookalike of her son as entertainment for the event.

John, who maintained a close relationship with Sheila for almost 50 years, said they were surprised when the fake Elton walked in the door.

“It was all wrong,” he explained on the podcast. “We were like, ‘what is this?’ She said, ‘I knew he wasn’t going to come, so I thought I’d get a substitute’.”

Despite the family disagreements Elton maintained a strong presence in the music industry. This year he will head to Australia to perform for the final time as part of his farewell tour.

In a post shared on Facebook over the weekend by promoter Chugg Entertainment, it was confirmed the 71-year-old will travel to the country in November, performing at a number of locations across Australia before heading down to New Zealand.

“It’s official! Elton John is doing one last tour of Australia and New Zealand before he retires, starting in November this year, across 18 shows!” the post read. “This is going to be MASSIVE!”

Read more: ‘I want to go out with a bang’: Elton John announces final Australia tour

Elton will first bless Australians with his beautiful voice in Perth on his epic Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, singing hits such as ‘Bennie and the Jets’, ‘Rocket Man’, ‘Tiny Dancer’ and ‘Crocodile Rock’.

From there, the English singer will move east to Adelaide and Melbourne and then up to Brisbane and Sydney. He will also take to the stage in the Hunter Valley, Mount Cotton for a Day on the Green, Woodend, Wahgunyah and the Yarra Valley.

Are you a fan of Elton John? Do you have a good relationship with your grandchildren?