Sir Elton John says feels he wasted a large chunk of his life through drugs.

The veteran singer had battled addiction in the earlier years of his career before cleaning up his act, and he opened up to the Today show about the fall-out from his dependencies.

John conceded that a "big part" of his life was wasted as a result of drug use and he added that it is more of a "disease" than an addiction. He said:

"I wasted such a big part of my life. I was a drug addict and self-absorbed. You know, I was having people die right, left, and centre around me, friends."

He continued: "And yet I didn't stop the life that I had, which is the terrible thing about addiction. It's that - you know, it's that bad of a disease."