What you need to know about Elton John Doc on Disney+

Elton John is still better than ever in his riveting new documentary, Elton John: Never too latea look back at the highs and lows of the singer’s 50-year performing career.

The documentary premieres on Disney+ on December 13 and features never-before-seen footage, diaries and audio interviews for his memoir Me, plus animations that recreate the Grammy winner’s memories. Directed by Elton’s husband David Furnish (who also produced the 2019 Elton biopic Rocketman) and RJ Cutler (The September issue), the film follows the rock star as he performs his final shows in America, culminating in a November 20, 2022 concert at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles.

The filmmakers hope that by showing how Elton John went from struggling with drug addiction to overcoming addiction and starting a family, it will inspire others who want to make a change in their own lives. As per its title Never too late“the message of the film (is) that it’s never too late to make the decisions that will affect your life,” Cutler tells TIME.

Here’s a look at some of the most memorable moments from the film:

A history of abuse

Elton describes his parents as abusive. He endured beatings while being potty trained and even while walking down the street in front of people.

From a young age he had the gift of being able to hear a melody and then play it on the piano. His father hated rock ‘n’ roll, so he set out to prove him wrong. He enrolled at the Royal Academy of Music and started a band called Bluesology. In the late 60s, he answered an ad for Liberty Records, which was looking for songwriters, and met his longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin. As a way of distancing himself from his abusive childhood, he stopped going by his birth name of Reginald Kenneth Dwight and began going by Elton John. His father never saw him perform.

Elton says his former manager and lover John Reid, whom he dated from 1970 to 1975, was also abusive to him, once punching him so hard in the face that he had cuts all over his face and his nose started bleeding .

By performing on stage, Elton says he is able to transcend the dark moments of his past. In the film, Elton describes music as “my sex” and “an escape,” noting, “I’ve never taken my personal life on stage.”

His friendship with John Lennon

The film delves deep into Elton’s friendship with another legendary British rock star, John Lennon.

Elton recalls one time he was doing “mountains” of cocaine with John Lennon in a hotel and Andy Warhol knocked on the door.

The film features footage of John Lennon surprising the audience at Elton’s Thanksgiving Madison Square Garden concert on November 28, 1974. They performed “Whatever Gets You Through the Night”.

Lennon’s ex, the artist Yoko Ono, ended up being in the audience. Lennon and Ono reunited shortly after the show. Elton ended up becoming godfather to their son Sean.

The 1974 Thanksgiving show would end up being the Beatles’ last major concert appearance. He was fatally shot on December 8, 1980 in New York City.

Desperate to settle down

One of the most surprising things Furnish found out about her husband was in 1976 Rolling Stone interview, where the star said “I’m thirsty to be loved” and “I just want to settle down” and “I want to have some kids.” Elton appeared to come out as bisexual by saying: “I haven’t met anyone I’d like to settle down with – of either sex.”

Elton got sober in 1990 at the age of 43. “It took me 43 years to learn to function as a human being, rather than a rock star,” he says in the documentary.

When Furnish first met Elton, it seemed that the musician’s career did not leave time for children. Plus, the 1997 documentary Elton John: Tantrums and tiaras (also directed by Furnish) gave a widespread impression that the rock star was a hothead. As Furnish tells TIME, “Unfortunately, it associated Elton with tantrums and this notion that he loses his rag immediately. And there were no tantrums in the making of this movie.”

Elton John: Never too late makes it clear that what keeps Elton calm is his marriage to Furnish and their two sons Zachary and Elijah. In the film, Elton is shown to be a doting father. He shares sweet moments with his sons, takes their phone calls and asks how school was.

“I’ve never felt happiness like I have now,” Elton, now 77, said at the film’s Sept. 24 premiere in Manhattan, where he performed “Tiny Dancer.” He said that music itself “didn’t satisfy me”; he only felt complete when he got married and became a parent. “I found utopia. You can get here if you have a little faith.”