Sir Elton John says coming out was best thing I ever did

Sir Elton John says coming out as gay was “the best thing I ever did”.

The rock legend admits he spent the early years hiding who he really was: “It’s horrible.”

"I came out in 1973, at the height of my career," he said while a guest co-host on daytime chatshow The View. "And yeah, it hurt me a little bit, but not that much, and it gave me the freedom to be who I was for the rest of my life. I don't have to hide around corners. The worse thing is to be afraid of who you are - it's horrible."

He said before that he "didn't really want people to know who I was, I didn't have the courage of my convictions".

He added: "As soon as I did - I was asked a simple question in a magazine and I said yes - my life transformed itself. I don't have any secrets now. I know it's very difficult for different people in different jobs. But the best thing I ever did was be true to myself."

Elton, who was promoting Next Fall, the Broadway play he is a producer of, joked about his own sex life. Telling of how one of the "deeply religious" characters in the play "prays before sex", he quipped: "I always pray FOR sex."