Elton John's road to recovery

Sir Elton John has recovered "quicker than expected" after he was struck down with a potentially deadly bacterial infection last month.

The 'Rocket Man' hitmaker spent a few nights in intensive care towards the end of April after he fell "violently ill" while travelling on a flight back to the UK from Santiago, Chile, but doctors are so impressed with his progress that they've given him the green light to attend Cannes Film Festival in France on Monday (22.05.17).

A source told The Sun newspaper: "Elton wasn't sure if he was going to be able to appear at the event on Monday but his recovery has been quicker than expected.

"He hates sitting around waiting for things to happen so he was over the moon when got the okay to do the event."

Fans weren't expecting to see the 70-year-old legendary singer out and about until his scheduled performance at London's Twickenham stadium next month.

But they're in for a treat as he will attend a special press conference at the annual film festival to mark the culmination of a YouTube contest in his honour, where he will announce three new videos made by members of the public for his hits - 'Tiny Dancer', 'Rocket Man' and 'Benny and The Jets' - as part of a competition.

Although he doesn't tend to rest very often, Elton used his downtime recently as a way of spending more time with his husband David Furnish and their two children Zachary, six, and Elijah, four, before he heads back to work for a few months.

His representative said recently: "He's enjoying spending time with David and the kids. He's also using the time to catch up on even more new music."

Doctors ordered Elton to cancel a series of planned performances at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in April and May after he contracted the infection.

- Bang! Showbiz