Elton John: 'My father was disappointed in me'

Sir Elton John has revealed his father never attended one of his concerts and was "disappointed" in his son, despite the singer's celebrity status.

Speaking following the birth of his first child, the 63-year-old musician described Stanley Dwight as a "tough, hard, unemotional man".

"He was dismissive, disappointed, and finally absent," Sir Elton said. "I just wanted him to acknowledge what I'd done. But he never did."

Mr Dwight, a former member of the RAF, died in 1992. He divorced Sir Elton's mother, Sheila, when the singer was 15.

"It wasn't that he didn't know how to relate to kids," added the singer.

"He left us, remarried and had another family, and by all accounts was a great dad to them. It wasn't children, it was me."

In an interview, the pop legend ?and his long-term partner, David Furnish, described the birth of Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John as "the happiest moment of our lives".

The infant, who weighed 7lb 15oz, was born prematurely via a surrogate in California on Christmas Day.

The couple ?say they want to offer their son a "normal upbringing".