Sir Elton John felt "joyous" when he lost his virginity at 23.
The 72-year-old singer is very proud of the sex scene depicted between himself and his manager, John Reid, in ‘Rocketman’ – the upcoming movie based on his life and music – because the lovemaking was a "vital" part of his life story.
He said: "If I am telling my story, it has to be honest.
"I was a virgin until then. I was desperate to be loved and desperate to have a tactile relationship.
"When they tear their clothes off in the movie, that was how it happened. It was in San Francisco.
"I’m so glad it’s in there because I am a gay man and I didn’t want to airbrush it under the carpet.
"This is who I am and I was so joyous. When he is lying in my arms and I’m sitting back with a smile I’m thinking, ‘Ah, I’m normal, I’ve had sex’…
"I’m proud ‘Rocketman’ is the first major studio film with a gay love sex scene in it. If I’d left it out, I’d have felt I was cheating people.
"If they don’t like it, I understand, but it’s part of who I am. That night was a very, very important part."
The ‘Tiny Dancer’ hitmaker – who has sons Zachary, eight, and Elijah, six, with husband David Furnish – admitted conversations about sex were limited when he was young.
He told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "When I grew up, my father told me if I masturbated I’d go blind. At 13 years of age, I started to have glasses and I went, ‘Oh my God! This is coming true!’ "
The movie – which stars Taron Egerton as Elton and Richard Madden as John – lays bare the ‘Your Song’ singer’s drug addiction and he admitted it was difficult to watch at times.
He said: "Even though I was in a terrible state and I was doing a lot of drugs, I still kept working, I still kept making records and still kept touring and the music kept me alive. If I had stopped, I wouldn’t be here. It’s difficult to watch because I thought, ‘God, I don’t want to go back there’."
While Elton still has his "dark" side, he thinks his husband and sons help him to stay on the right path.
He admitted: "There are still parts of being a performer which will lead to the dark side. But it doesn’t last long because I have David and I’ve my children.
"When my children are around, I never feel dark.
"I would never have thought I would be in a relationship for 25 years. I couldn’t last with any relationship because drugs came into it.
"When I’m looking at those scenes when I’m alone, that’s how I was. I was in my house just doing cocaine and I was afraid to walk down the stairs. That’s craziness. I’m grateful… life is wonderful.
"I’d everything going for me, and I nearly threw it all away."
Elton John’s ‘joyous’ first time
