Elton John has "never felt happiness" like he has now.

The 77-year-old singer has reflected on his journey to success and how sobriety made him realise what was missing from his life, and it took his husband David Furnish - who he met in 1993 and married in 2014, on the ninth anniversary of their civil partnership - and their sons Zachary, 13, and 11-year-old Elijah to make him feel complete.

Making a surprise appearance at the New York Film Festival for the US premiere of 'Elton John: Never Too Late', People magazine reports he told the audience: “[I've] never felt happiness like I have now. I’m 77 years of age, I’ve done all there is to do...

“When I first became successful in those first five years, it was wonderful. It was all I wanted. I wanted people to love the songs, buy the records.

“In 1990, I got sober, and when that happened, I began to understand what was missing from my life: humility, gratitude, and faith. I had to build a foundation. Yes, music is wonderful. Fame is wonderful. But it didn’t satisfy me. Something was missing.

"So eventually, I found complete and utter happiness and bliss when I met David and when I had my children.”

The 'Rocket Man' hitmaker - who retired from touring last year - also gave thanks to music for always being there for him during the "good times and the bad times".

He said: “There’s always been music through the good times and bad times. I’ve always relied on music to pull me through. Even when I was in my darkest times, I still played music, I still recorded music, so I have to say thank you to music for being the most incredible inspiration to me throughout my whole life."

Elton's documentary 'Elton John: Never Too Late' - which was co-directed by his husband David and filmmaker R.J. Cutler - reflects on the life and career of the music icon ahead of his final US concert and will be available to stream on Disney+ in December.