Elton John: Sexuality wasn’t private

Sir Elton John waited to publicly declare his sexuality because "nobody asked".

The singer is in a civil partnership with David Furnish and is happy to talk about his lifestyle in public. He insists he never hid his sexual preference as his family and friends knew he was interested in men.

Elton wasn't asked about his personal life until 1976, when he told Rolling Stone magazine he was bisexual. He has since said he is happy to be gay.

"Nobody asked me," he told America's Today show. "When [journalist] Cliff Jahr asked me in Rolling Stone, 'I'm gonna ask you a question, but if you don't want to answer it, I'm gonna turn the tape recorder off.' And I said, 'You're gonna ask me if I'm gay or not.' And he said, 'How did you know that?' I said, 'I've been waitin' for people to ask me this. It's not exactly a secret. I live with my manager. I'm openly gay outside. I don't have a girlfriend. And nobody's ever actually out - I just thought it was common knowledge."

Elton has a foundation which supports people with HIV and AIDS.

He spoke about how keen Britain's late Princess Diana was to get involved with his organisation.

"She wanted to do something desperately for the AIDS foundation. She was amazing, because she was the first person of the royal family or someone that famous to go out into an AIDS ward and touch people and hold them and hug them," he said.

"She was fearless in that respect. And she was fearless in anything she did, whether it came to landmines or whether to AIDS. She was genuine and so 150 per cent behind the cause."