Sir Elton John has revealed that his recent illness was a "wake-up call" in terms of how far he can push himself.

The 66-year-old veteran is a constant fixture on the touring circuit but it all got too much for his body earlier this year when he needed to have his appendix removed.

John - who picked up the inaugural Brit Icon award recently - admitted that the health scare brought into focus the need to look after your body. He said:

“I knew I was sick but I didn’t know I had such a dangerous thing inside of me until I had a scan, which was after nine shows, 24 flights and a summer ball. I could have easily died.”

The pianist added: "Of course, your sense of your mortality kicks in. This is a wake-up call. I’m 66 not 36 anymore. I want to write another musical for Broadway and I want to spend more time with my children. I don’t have to tour. I don’t need the money. I just love playing. When I had the operation, I said: 'This has got to stop, this is crazy, why am I doing this?’ I’m a great believer in signs coming to you in life to tell you something. This appendix thing, it’s so lucky I didn’t die. So I’m treating is as a sign in great big letters saying ‘for f*ck’s sake, get a grip!”