Sir Elton is 'back on his feet'

The singer was forced to cancel several UK and US tour dates

Sir Elton John has said he is back on his feet and "bouncing around" after being treated in hospital for flu and E.coli earlier this month.

The 62-year-old spoke about his recovery at his annual Aids Foundation benefit in New York.

"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," he said.

The singer was forced to cancel several UK and US dates due to the illness.

"The worst thing was having to cancel shows, I hate that. But I'm back on my feet and I'm bouncing around now," he added.

The Elton John Aids Foundation aims to fund innovative HIV prevention programmes and to eliminate the stigma and discrimination associated with the illness.

The singer said the current economic crisis makes his work harder but stressed the need to continue in the fight against the disease.

"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."