Elton John reveals cancer battle that left him 24 hours from death

He’s currently on his Farewell Yellow Brick Road: The Final Tour – an extravaganza that will take keep him on the road until 2021, visiting five continents and performing over 300 shows. But Elton John has now revealed that he almost didn’t live to see any of it, after he had a nasty health scare.

“The doctors told David I was 24 hours away from death,” the pop icon revealed in his new book Me: Elton John Official Autobiography.

“I was taken to King Edward VII’s Hospital in London,” he explained, “where I had a scan. I was told that my condition was so serious, the hospital didn’t have the equipment to cope with it.”

Read more: Sir Elton John reveals successful prostate cancer treatment

At the time, the musician had just been successfully treated for prostate cancer. He had returned from a tour of South Africa, where, it transpired, he had contracted a dangerous infection.

“If the South American tour had gone on for another day that would have been it: brown bread.”

The story is just one of the many experiences that the singer has included in his new memoir, which is due to be released on October 15.

In another one he revealed that Richard Gere and Sylvester Stallone had almost come to blows over Princess Diana, while at one of his dinner parties.

Read more: Elton John Says Richard Gere & Sylvester Stallone Almost Had a ‘Fist-Fight’ Over Princess Diana

It’s been a whirlwind couple of years for the singer. Not only has he embarked on his final your, but he has also had his life story dramatised in the film Rocketman, directed by Dexter Fletcher. Kingsman’s Taron Egerton played the young Reg Dwight to great acclaim.

John has also filmed a tell-all interview with Graham Norton to talk more about his life, which will air on the BBC this October.