Elton John on his eyesight loss: ‘This is not going to beat me’

Elton John‘s ongoing eyesight problems, caused by a severe infection he got last year, initially delayed the release of his new album Who Believes in Angels?  But while his vision hasn’t improved, he insists that he won’t let it bring him down.

Speaking the U.K. paper The Guardian, Elton says, “I’m an optimist permanently. I’ve got bad eyesight at the moment. There have been days where I’ve been miserable, but then I think about how lucky I am.”

“I’ve got a new respect for sight-impaired people and people who are totally blind, some of whom I’m in touch with,” he continues. “But to hell with it, I’ve got a great life, and hopefully my sight will improve … I’ve overcome a lot. This is not going to beat me. I’ve beaten addiction, I’ve beaten health issues, and I can pick myself up and dust myself off.”

While he can handle his physical problems, Elton reveals that he was negatively impacted emotionally while filming a cameo in the upcoming sequel Spinal Tap 2: In it, he gets killed while onstage. But filming the bit in a huge auditorium gave him a panic attack. “I did kind of hyperventilate,” Elton notes. “I said, ‘Jesus, I’m so glad I don’t have to do this any more.’”

But Elton’s excited about the new album, which he made with his longtime friend Brandi Carlile. “I could do an ‘Elton John’ record easily,” he says. “That’s what I didn’t want to do any more. I wanted a challenge.” 

Brandi, who was often on the receiving end of Elton’s temper tantrums in the studio, tells the paper, “It was really volatile, but really cool.”