He is one of the best-selling musicians in the world, whose songs are still loved by millions, but Sir Elton John has admitted he is not very “relevant” now.
The 66-year-old pop star, who released his 31st studio album, The Diving Board, in September, said it was a “tremendous asset” to no longer have to “chase the charts” and have top 10 records.
Instead, he said, he could just “do what I like”.
He told the Andrew Marr Show on BBC One: “I don’t think my melodies and my songs are relevant really to the current age.
“People might like them but the records don’t sell as much as they used to by a long way. But I’m not really interested in that any more…
“I’ve been through what I’ve done, I’ve been successful and have the freedom not to care about that any more.”
The singer said he sometimes felt like he was “the acceptable face of homosexuality,” adding that this was something he wanted to use to break down barriers.
He cited Russia as one country where he hoped to help “break down some walls and bring people together through music.”
But he expressed optimism about the growing amount of tolerance of homosexuality around the world.
The change was gradual, he noted, comparing it to the peace process in Northern Ireland.
“Obviously that doesn’t apply everywhere, it takes a long time,” he said. “It’s like Northern Ireland wasn’t solved in a day, it was done by diplomacy, it was done by bargaining and it was done by discussion and actually talking about it.”
After receiving the first Brits Icon award in September, he acknowledged it was “a lovely way to sell the new record”, adding: “I don’t get played much on the radio any more. So, at my age, I’ll take what exposure I can get.”
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