Elton John is back with his first album in four years but it appears the stress of the project got to him as he was seen throwing a tantrum in behind the scenes footage.

The singer, 77, surprised fans by announcing Who Believes In Angels? – a collaboration with country artist Brandi Carlile – on Wednesday afternoon.

In awkward scenes reminiscent of those aired in notorious 1997 documentary Tantrums And Tiaras, the pop legend was seen slamming his headphones down and tearing up a piece of sheet music as he tells aghast onlookers: ‘I’m going home.’ 

But it was not the first time Elton has been caught losing his temper on camera. 

The hitmaker’s temper has reared it’s head a few times over the years, from being forced to film music videos he didn’t want to holidays that turned sour.

Many of the singer’s volatile moments were filmed for Tantrums And Tiaras which took fans into Elton’s private life during his Made In England Tour in 1995.

Elton John’s temper has reared it’s head a few times over the years, from being forced to film music videos he didn’t want to holidays that turned sour

Many of the singer’s volatile moments were filmed for his 1997 documentary Tantrums & Tiaras which took fans into Elton’s private life during his Made In England Tour in 1995

Elton was recently filmed breaking down while recording his new album, Who Believes In Angels?

In one scene from the film, Elton lost his temper after discovering clothes he was set to wear for a music video were forgotten in a car that had since left. 

Wrapped in a leopad-print coat, Elton went on an expletive-laden rant at a group of people at the set with him over the missing clothes.    

He said: ‘I got up at f***ing seven o’clock to be here and a f***ing person left my clothes in the car. What the f**k is going on?’

A man with him, trying to calm him down, said it was not a reason to spoil the video.

Elton replied: ‘I couldn’t give a f**k. I make music, I don’t make f***ing film. I hate videos, they’re f***ing loathsome. I tell you this, I am not doing this video.’

The man then said: ‘The car will be back in five minutes.’

Still not happy, Elton said: ‘It’s not going to be back in five f***ing minutes, it’s gone right back into the centre of Manhattan.’

In another clip from the same day, Elton appeared to have calm down slightly but was still upset over having to film the music video, apparently one of his pet hates.  

In one scene from the film, Elton lost his temper after discovering clothes he was set to wear for a music video were forgotten in a car that had since left

Wrapped in a leopad-print coat, Elton went on an expletive-laden rant at a group of people at the set with him over the missing clothes

He said: ‘I still don’t want to do this.’

‘I know you don’t, just give it one hour,’ one of his helpers replied.

‘Promise me this is the last video I’m ever going to do. I hate f***ing videos!’ he said.

In another unrelated clip, Elton became upset while on holiday in the South of France. 

Dressed in a white polo shirt and matching shorts, the singer became upset over an unseen incident he didn’t ‘want to talk about’. 

The man holding the camera asked him: ‘What just happened?’

‘Nothing, I don’t want to talk about it. I’m never coming here again. I’m never coming to the South of France again,’ he said.

Elton was then seen on the phone organising a plane to take him home.

‘Can you get me a plane tomorrow? Yeah, tomorrow,’ he said, hanging up. 

‘Are you going?’ the cameraman asked.

In another unrelated clip, Elton became upset while on holiday in the South of France and arranged for an early flight home 

The cameraman asked Elton: ‘Are you going?’ to which he said: ‘Yup, I’ve had it here,’ before walking out and slamming the door 

‘Yup, I’ve had it here,’ Elton said before leaving the room and slamming the door. 

Elton previously said his husband David Furnish – who directed Toddlers & Tiaras – has helped him to control his temper. 

‘I still have that streak in me, but the tantrums don’t happen so much any more. They’re more to do with self-esteem, nothing to do with shouting at people because things have gone wrong,’ he said in 2004.

‘They happen when I am tired, and I just get in a snit. But David knows exactly how to deal with them. He talks me through it, saying ‘calm down’ and that’s it.’    

In the clip of Elton recording his new album with Brandi Carlisle, cameras caught him in a highly emotional and all too familiar state while seated at his piano. 

Sir Elton had already been filmed branding the recording session – one of several conducted for his latest album – a ‘f***ing nightmare.’

Cameras had been installed at the iconic Sunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles while Sir Elton recorded his new album with Carlile and producer Andrew Watt. 

But their presence meant the tetchy pop star was caught clashing with studio employees, including Watt, while laying down melodies and vocals.  

After the seasoned producer asked him if he was ready to record, a frazzled Sir Elton snaps: ‘Why do you think I am sitting here?’ 

Watt is later filmed raising his own voice while attempting to reason with the pop legend, telling him: ‘I am just trying to make the song as best as it can be… you are so impatient!’ 

Even collaborator Carlile doesn’t escape Sir Elton’s wrath, with the American singer later admitting she struggled to form a bond with him during their time together. 

She says: ‘Elton is prone to bouts of insecurity especially where the stakes are high. I am having a hard time connecting to Elton. 

‘There were times when I thought why does he want to do this.’ 

Addressing the footage, a sorry Sir Elton later admitted: ‘The reality is… I was exhausted, I had a lot of doubt, I was a nightmare. I was angry, I was tired, I was irritable… I felt I don’t want to do it.’ 

In breathtakingly awkward scenes akin to those aired in notorious 1997 documentary Tantrums And Tiaras, the pop legend is seen slamming his headphones down

The pop legend is reᴀssured by one of his musicians as he reads over a piece of sheet music 

Cameras has been installed at Sunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles while Sir Elton recorded his new album with Carlile and producer Andrew Watt

But their presence meant the tetchy pop star was caught clashing with studio employees while laying down melodies ands vocals

But he admitted he was reluctant to pull out after so many people had committed to helping him make the new album. 

He said: ‘I felt there were other people involved, I can’t abandon it… finally it all started to flow. I wanted to play better, sing better, write better and challenge myself at the age I am.’ 

Sir Elton’s recording studio fracas is the latest in a series of well publicised meltdowns dating back to his career beginnings in the early 1970s. 

The pop legend has previously taken aim at pH๏τographers, ᴀssistants, fellow celebrities, fashion designers and even his own fans – one for merely watching him play tennis. 

In 1997, his volatile temper was captured in warts-and-all documentary Tantrums And Tiaras, filmed two years earlier during Sir Elton’s Made In England tour and ostensibly developed as a rare glimpse at his private life. 

Dressed in a leopard print coat, Sir Elton was filmed vowing he would ‘never go to the f**king south of France again’ after a female fan called to him as he played tennis, prompting him to lose concentration. 

In 2004, he took aim at another pop legend after Madonna won a gong at the Q Awards, sparking a feud that would last for years. 

‘Madonna, best live act? F**k off. Since when has lip-syncing been live?’ he fumed while attending the event, branding the singer a ‘fairground stripper’, a ‘c***’ and ‘a nightmare’.

Fast forward to Taiwan that same year and Sir Elton was caught unleashing a verbal barrage at hapless paparazzi pH๏τographers, calling them ‘rude, vile pigs’ and demanding they ‘f**k off’.

When one asked why he didn’t leave Taiwan, he raged: ‘We’d love to get out of Taiwan if it’s full of people like you. Pig! Pig!’ 

Even those attending his recent Goodbye Yellow Brick Road farewell tour couldn’t escape his temper, with Sir Elton famously screaming at one fan for wandering too close to his piano – despite inviting guests onstage to dance while he performed. 

‘F**k off! You f**ked it up!’ he roared during the show in Las Vegas, before storming offstage. 

Sir Elton had previously insisted husband David Furnish – whom he met in 1993 – improved his self-esteem and cured him of his legendary tantrums. 

‘I still have that streak in me, but the tantrums don’t happen so much any more,’ he said in 2004. ‘They’re more to do with self-esteem, nothing to do with shouting at people because things have gone wrong.

‘They happen when I am tired, and I just get in a snit. But David knows exactly how to deal with them. He talks me through it, saying ‘calm down’ and that’s it.’

Sir Elton has announced a new album with US folk singer Brandi Carlile and Bernie Taupin- which was written and recorded in just 20 days – despite his recent health setbacks

The singer boldly declared that the new studio album – тιтled Who Believes In Angels? and his first since 2021 – is ‘the start of my career Mark 2’

Who Believes In Angels? Is a collaborative effort with US folk singer Brandi Carlile and Sir Elton’s longtime writing partner Bernie Taupin and is set for release on April 4.

He also unveiled a new single from the album, the eponymous track ‘Who Believes In Angels?’

Sir Elton said: ‘This record was one of the toughest I’ve ever made, but it was also one of the greatest musical experiences of my life.

‘It has given me a place where I know I can move forward. Who Believes In Angels? feels like going into another era and I’m pushing the door open to come into the future.’

‘I have everything I’ve done behind me and it’s been brilliant, amazing. But this is the new start for me. As far as I’m concerned, this is the start of my career Mark 2.’ 

The concept for the album, which was recorded in October 2023, was devised by close friends and regular collaborators Sir Elton, eleven time Grammy winning US superstar Brandi and multiple award winning producer and songwriter Andrew Watt.

They set out to create a genuinely collaborative studio album between Elton and Brandi.

The album would mix Elton-led songs and Brandi-led songs, with long term collaborator Bernie Taupin and Brandi both contributing lyrics, and producer and co-writer Andrew Watt acting as the producer, mediator and creative conduit.

Entering Los Angeles’ Sunset Sound Studios in October 2023 with a completely blank slate, they pushed each other out of their comfort zones to write and record an album completely from scratch in just 20 days.

In promo for the new album reads: ‘Ballads co-exist with raw rock and roll, pop songs and country-hued Americana rub shoulders with synth-heavy psychedelia.

‘It’s an album as unexpected as it is triumphant. Elton sounds utterly revitalized. Brandi sounds like a singer-songwriter at the absolute top of her game, her voice melding with Elton’s like a hand in a glove.

‘The resulting songs somehow manage to be unequivocally the work of Elton John and Brandi Carlile, while sounding unlike any album either have made before.’