Elton John Memoir: Preview Excerpts Involve Stories About John Lennon, Queen Elizabeth II

Elton John is releasing his memoir, ME, on October 15, and if the previews of the book are any indication, it could be one of the most intriguing music memoirs in years.

So far, two excerpts in The Daily Mail and The Sunday Times have been published in the lead-up to the release of ME.

In The Daily Mail, John recalled a tale gifting John Lennon and Yoko Ono a naughty clock, as well as cheekily rewriting the lyrics to "Imagine":

"Out shopping one day I realized I might have exhausted the possibilities of retail therapy when I found myself buying a cuckoo clock that, instead of a cuckoo, had a large wooden penis that popped in and out of it every hour.

I gave it to John Lennon when I went to visit him. I thought it was a good present for a man who had everything. John and Yoko were as bad as me when it came to shopping. 

The various apartments they owned in the Dakota [residential building in Manhattan] were so full of priceless artworks, antiques and clothes that I once sent them a card, rewriting the lyrics to Imagine: 'Imagine six apartments, it isn't hard to do, one is full of fur coats, another's full of shoes.'"

In The Sunday Times, Sir Elton shared a story about Queen Elizabeth II slapping her nephew, Princess Margaret’s son, Viscount Linley, in the face when he did not obey one of her requests:

"When he [Linley] repeatedly tried to fob her off, the Queen lightly slapped him across the face, saying ‘Don’t’ – slap – ‘argue’ – slap – ‘with’ – slap – ‘me’ – slap – ‘I’ – slap – ‘am’ – slap – ‘THE QUEEN!’ I know the Queen’s public image isn’t exactly one of wild frivolity, but . . . in private she could be hilarious."

ME is currently available for pre-order via Macmillan Publishers.