Sir Elton John has revealed he felt a “void” opened up after changing his name to help his career.
The singer, 77, dropped his birth name, Reginald Kenneth Dwight, in his mid-20s, in a bid to help his career.
The veteran pop star explained that she made the decision to reinvent herself because she hated her original nickname, but also admitted that she regrets her decision.
He revealed: ‘I realized that I had put everything into my work, my art, my recording. There was nothing underneath, it was just a void.
“So I had left little Reggie behind, but little Reggie was still inside me.”
Sir Elton was speaking on Good Morning America on Tuesday when he made the shocking confession.
Sir Elton John, 77, revealed he felt an open “void” after changing his name to help his career during an interview on Good Morning America on Tuesday.
The singer abandoned his birth name, Reginald Kenneth Dwight, when he was 20, in a bid to help his career (pictured in 1974).
The veteran pop star explained that she made the decision to reinvent herself because she hated her original nickname, but also admitted that she regrets her decision (pictured with King Charles III on November 24, 2024).
The Rocketman singer revealed he had always hated his birth name and opted for Elton to stand out from the crowd.
He said: ‘Reginald is a very old-fashioned name, shortened to Reggie, which I hated. But in the United States it is a quite popular name.
He went on to say: ‘But I just didn’t like it. As soon as I could I changed my name.
“I was very clever, I thought no one’s really called Elton, so I’ll be Elton and I’ll be the only Elton.”
The Tiny Dancer singer revealed that he too had wanted to leave his childhood behind and opted for a very different name to take on a new personality.
He told the US programme: “I wanted to leave my childhood and that personality behind, but it got to me.”
But Sir Elton explained that he came to regret the decision because he felt there was nothing beneath his new personality and that he hadn’t really left little Reggie behind.
The star initially performed under his birth name Reggie in the 1960s, but decided to ditch the “old-fashioned” stage name and took inspiration from his bandmates.
The Tiny Dancer singer explained that he too had wanted to leave his childhood behind and opted for a very different name to take on a new personality and block out unhappy memories (pictured with Bernie Taupin, 1970).
But Sir Elton explained that he came to regret the decision because he felt there was nothing beneath his new personality and that he hadn’t really left little Reggie behind.
The star’s admission comes after he recently revealed that he lost sight in his right eye over the summer in France and as a result can’t see, read or watch anything.
His now famous name was a combination of bluesology bandmate Elton Dean and Long John Baldry, and Hercules is believed to be a nod to the name of a horse on the TV show Steptoe and Son.
Speaking about his name change in 1987, Sir Elton previously said that his name change gave him a completely new personality, according to Metro.
“I became Elton John, it was like a new lease on life,” he said.
“I didn’t particularly like being Reg Dwight. I had too many sad memories.
I hated the word Reg anyway. It was just a horrible name. As soon as I was Elton, it was just great. “It was like a new personality.”
The star’s admission comes after he recently revealed that he lost sight in his right eye over the summer in France and, as a result, can’t see, read or watch anything.
The hitmaker, who performed his final shows last summer, revealed his vision problems in September.
She took to her Instagram with a lengthy post, explaining how she spent the last few months ‘recovering at home.’
The hitmaker, who performed his final shows last summer, revealed his vision problems in September (pictured performing at Glastonbury 2023).
Speaking to ABC News last month about his new documentary Never Too Late, Elton admitted he was unsure of his ability to record new music as he puts all his attention on his health.
Elton wrote: ‘Over the summer I have been dealing with a serious eye infection which has unfortunately left me with limited vision in one eye.
‘I am recovering, but it is an extremely slow process and it will be some time before sight returns to the impacted eye.
“I am very grateful for the excellent team of doctors and nurses and my family, who have taken such good care of me over the past few weeks.”
Elton concluded: “I have quietly spent the summer recovering at home and feel positive about the progress I have made in my healing and recovery so far.”
And his health battles undermined any new music from the star.
Speaking to ABC News last month about his new documentary Never Too Late, Elton admitted he was unsure of his ability to record new music as he puts all his attention on his health.
He said: ‘It’s been a while since I’ve done anything. I just have to move. Unfortunately, in July I lost sight in my right eye because I had an infection in the south of France.
‘It’s been four months since I couldn’t see. And my left eye is not the best. So there is hope and encouragement that everything will be okay, but I’m a little stuck right now.
‘Because I can do something like this, but going into the studio and recording I don’t know, because I can’t see the lyrics to begin with.
“We’re taking an initiative to try to improve it, but at the moment that’s what we’re focusing on.”