Elton John Recalls How Band Thought He Was Shot After Fan Threw Hash Pipe at Him During Concert

Having entertained fans with his music since the 1960s, Elton John turned his love for music into a career that continues today. Selling over 300 million albums thanks to records like Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Blue Moves, and Regimental Sgt. Zippo, the singer performed at venues all over the world. And now, at 77 years old, the star is looking back on his career in the spotlight and some of the memorable moments that went on to define his legacy. Recently, John remembered the time his band thought someone shot him after a member of the crowd threw a hash pipe at him. 

Taking a trip back to 1974, John took the stage in Greensboro, North Carolina. With the crowd energized to see John perform his hit songs at the time, the singer wrote in his memoir, Farewell Yellow Brick Road: Memories of My Life on Tour, “Fans have often thrown things onstage when I’m playing, but usually it’s been something reasonably soft. Not in Greensboro. As we plowed through a rendition of ‘Burn Down the Mission’ [about halfway through the set], someone hurled a metal hash pipe toward the stage from the crowd.”

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Elton John Recalled Feathers Being Everywhere As Paramedics Worked On Him

Although a seasoned professional when it came to performing on stage, John admitted, “I didn’t see it coming. The silver pipe smashed against my temple, drawing blood, and I completely blacked out. The band kept playing because it took them a second to realise what had happened. They told me later they thought I’d been shot because they saw blood pouring down my face.”

At the time, John’s bodyguard, Jim Morris, hurried on stage to protect the singer and get him off stage. With paramedics working on him while backstage, the singer joked, “There were feathers everywhere.” 

With John not letting the incident scare him away from the stage, the hitmaker returned to North Carolina in both 2001 with Billy Joel and in 2022 thanks to his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour. While getting older and dealing with health issues, the icon declared himself the “luckiest man in the world.” 

(Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images for The Devil Wears Prada Musical)