Sir Elton John says that when he sees snow-covered Alpine mountains it reminds him of wilder drug-fuelled days as a young musician. "When I fly over the snow-covered Alps, all I think about is the 'snow' that I once took," he told German magazine Neon, explaining that the word snow is often used as a synonym for cocaine.

The 57-year-old pop star said he took "a lot" of cocaine when he was younger.

"Somebody once calculated that I spent 70 million dollars every 20 months in the 80s. What for? Amongst other things cocaine."