Sir Elton met the singer, who died last year, at a lunch meeting in London in 1993.

In an interview with the Telegraph, he said Jackson was “charming, lovely – but damaged”.

He continued: “He came down here and we closed all the curtains and had lunch. He said it was the first time he’d sat down and had a meal with people for 10 years.

“He would always eat on his own.”

Sir Elton said that fame meant people in the public ever never “grow up”, adding: “But thank God, I did.”

(by Jason Gregory)