And the singer now describes trying cocaine as the “worst decision of my life”. He said: “I was never a diva in the early days. I think the drugs led to that behaviour and that label stuck with me. There are occasions when you take substances, when you come down from them, which lead to bad behaviour and irrationality. I was irrational, shouted at people… it makes you insane, it is an insane thing to do.”
Sir Elton, 72, told the Awards Chatter podcast about taking cocaine for the first time at the Caribou Ranch recording studio in Colorado, US, in 1974: “I wanted to join in and be part of the crowd. And the crowd were smoking dope and doing cocaine.
“I saw someone doing cocaine and I didn’t know what it was. I said, ‘What are you doing? And what does it make you feel like?’ And they said, ‘It makes you feel good.’ “So I thought, ‘OK, I’ll have a go.’Worst decision of my life.
“If I could go back in time would I do that again? No – absolutely no way.”
The star, who has been clean since 1990, said watching the drugs scenes in his recent biopic Rocketman was “emotional”. “I was weeping,” he added. “It brought back a lot of painful memories.
“But I wanted to show the painful story of addiction. I wanted to show the whole journey and redemption.”