I'M STILL STANDING-Elton reveals his biggest secrets

Drink, Drugs and his feud with Diana.

No-one on the planet would think Sir Elton John’s life has been boring – but the extent of his drink, drug and sex-fuelled existence in the 1970s and 1980s has been laid bare in his new autobiography Me, along with shocking stories and twisted tales concerning his dysfunctional family, famous and flashy friends, and his own personal battles with addiction. But among the tragedy, there’s also a heap of humour. Here are some of the 72-year-old’s scandalous revelations.

1 His mum almost spoilt his wedding day

Elton’s mother Sheila, with whom he eventually fell out, was a difficult woman, he says. On the day civil unions became legal in the UK, Elton and his lover David Furnish had planned an intimate wedding followed by a huge party at their Windsor home. The singer was worried about anti-gay protesters but it was his mother who caused a ruckus, turning up “in character as a raving sociopath”, he writes.

“Then Mum announced she wouldn’t be joining the convoy of cars setting off for Windsor, nor would she be coming to the private lunch afterwards. Oh, great. The most important day of my life and one of Mum’s moods appeared to be upon us, the ones I’d lived in terror of when I was young. When David and I exchanged our vows, she started talking, very loudly, over the top of us: rattling on about how she didn’t like the venue and couldn’t imagine getting married in a place like this.”

2 He has a fabulously close friendship with Sir Rod Stewart

To this day, Elton refers to Rod by the name “Phyllis” – a drag name they chose for him in the 1970s. (Elton’s is “Sharon”.)