Elton John has spoke of his delight at recovering from the flu and E.coli viruses that put him in hospital earlier this month.

Speaking at his annual Aids Foundation benefit in New York, the 62-year-old said: "The worst thing about being in the hospital was that it's the first time I've been in bed for about nine days in the whole of my life." The illness resulted in the cancellation of a string of UK and US dates.

Sir Elton went on to express his concern over the current economic crisis and how it might impact his fund raising efforts for his Elton John Aids Foundation. "We are in a bad time economically and everybody's vying for attention - we mustn't let Aids get onto the back seat," he said.

"It's very important that it stays in the forefront of our attention because it's a disease that's not going away. In fact it's really increasing in a lot of areas."

The Elton John Aids Foundation was founded in 1992 to support innovative HIV/AIDS prevention, education programs, direct care and support services for people living with HIV/AIDS. To date, the charity has raised over $125m (£74m).