Elton John: I’m tapped in

Sir Elton John is "realistic" about what is going on in the entertainment business.

The 66-year-old music legend started performing professionally when he was just a teenager.

He likes to stay as hip as possible and is always tapped into what's trendy on the music scene.

"I'm realistic and I keep up with what's going on. I manage Lily Allen, James Blunt and The Strypes," he told British newspaper The Sun.

"And if I don't work and I don't create, then I don't feel as if I'm contributing anything."

Elton shot to fame in his twenties and he drew inspiration from memories of early fame while writing the three Dream instrumentals on his forthcoming album The Diving Board.

"It could be a summation of my career because it's about young people becoming successful and diving off into the unknown," he explained.

"What's going to happen? Are they going to survive it? Are they going to become victims of their own success? Are other people going to prey on them and destroy them?

"You could actually say it's about me, but I was thinking about Lindsay Lohan when I was writing it."

Elton is deeply inspired by how he wrote his music on his 30th solo effort The Diving Board.

The musician claims it was an effortless process and he is happy with how the tunes turned out.

"I can still make great and relevant records. This sounds like a proper adult record, like it was made by someone who has been around a while," he explained.

"In January 2012, I wrote and recorded about 11 songs in three days. Not having any other instruments except bass and drums made it relaxed and open.

"I loved it. I was very excited because I'd never recorded like that before. How extraordinary!"