Sir Elton John has compared Eminem to Sir Mick Jagger after seeing him perform for the first time.

The iconic 'Rocket Man' singer collaborated with the 45-year-old rapper - whose real name is Marshall Mathers III - on his hit single 'Stan' at the Grammy Awards in 2001, and he was left in awe of the star, and he has likened the performance to seeing the Rolling Stones band member wow crowds.

Speaking to Eminem for Interview magazine, Elton said: ''I was just mesmerized by you and your performance; it made the hairs on the back of my arms stand up.

''It was like seeing Mick Jagger for the first time. I hadn't really been exposed to that kind of rap in live performance before, and it was electrifying.''

Although the pair struck up a friendship that night, Eminem has hailed Dr Dre as his mentor and credited him for the positive impact he has had on his successful career.

The 'Lose yourself' hitmaker said: ''I studied Dre a lot. I don't know if you'd call it a mantra or what, but he believed that if you never go away, it's hard for someone to miss you.

''And I realise that some people see going away as, 'Oh, he's irrelevant now,' but I feel like if I don't go away, I get sick of myself. It's never been my thing to be in the spotlight all the time.''

Elton also opened up about the importance of songwriters having an editor they can bounce off when they're too attached to a song, to help them realise when changes need to be made.

Eminem agreed, adding: ''Yeah, my manager [Paul Rosenburg]. He and I go at it during the making of every album, and sometimes we're on the same page and sometimes we're not. He's usually right about it, though.

''It's just hard when you've spent so much time on something, writing and recording, laying the vocals, getting the hook right, getting the beat right, making everything sound right - you spent a freaking week trying to make it sound perfect, and someone comes along and shoots it down.''