The legendary musician - who has battled alcohol and cocaine addictions, as well as the eating disorder bulimia in the past - admitted his "tragic" life come "very close" to ending at the height of his drug problem.

When asked how close his addictions came to killing him, Elton replied: "Very close. I mean, I would have an epileptic seizure and turn blue, and people would find me on the floor and put me to bed, and then 40 minutes later I'd be snorting another line.

"This is how bleak it was, I'd stay up, I'd smoke joints, I'd drink a bottle of Johnnie Walker and then I'd stay up for three days and then I'd go to sleep for a day and a half, get up, and because I was so hungry, because I hadn't eaten anything, I'd binge and have like three bacon sandwiches, a pot of ice cream and then I'd throw it up, because I became bulimic and then go and do the whole thing all over again.

"That is how tragic my life was."

The 63-year-old singer - who suffered from a drug overdose in 1975 - admitted despite his vices, he never considered himself to be a drug addict.

Speaking to Piers Morgan as part of his 'Life Stories' series, Elton added: "I'm not being flippant when I say that when I look back I shudder at the behaviour and what I was doing to myself. It just takes over your whole psyche, this stuff.

"I never considered myself a drug addict, I thought drug addicts were people who stuck needles in their arms. And I was the biggest junkie there was."