In an interview with Rolling Stone, singer Elton John reflected on his father: "They wouldn't hold you, they wouldn't say they loved you. I was afraid of my father. I was walking on eggshells the whole time trying to get his approval. He's been dead for a long time, and I'm still trying to prove things to him."

Asked what he meant, Elton replied, "I still do things and say, 'Dad, you would've loved this.'"

Elton's father died in 1997 without ever seeing him play live. His father physically touched him most when he was beating him. "My mum always says, 'That's just the way we did it in those days, and it didn't affect you.'" Elton says. "And I'd say, 'What are you talking about? It affects me every day.'"