'Live 8 was an anti-climax', moans Elton John

It was dubbed the greatest show on earth, but superstar Elton John has criticised Live 8 for lacking a “sense of occasion”.

The singer said there were not enough musical highlights, despite Madonna, Robbie Williams, Pink Floyd, The Who, Paul McCartney and Coldplay taking to the Hyde Park stage.

Elton John, who is known for getting into trouble over his frank views, told The Daily Telegraph: “I thought it was a bit of an anti-climax, to be honest.

“The thought behind it was fantastic, but Hyde Park is a charisma-free zone. There was no sense of occasion and from a musical point, I didn’t think there were were too many highlights.

“I was very pleased to be part of it,” he added “but I didn’t think it was anywhere near as good as the first one. How could it be?”

The flamboyant star duetted at the July 2 extravaganza with Babyshambles rocker Pete Doherty, whose performance of Children of the Revolution was described as a shambles.

Multi-millionaire John, 58, described wayward Doherty as “a mess”, adding “it’s really sad”, and blamed his performance on being “really nervous on the day”.

The historic concert was organised by Bob Geldof to raise awareness of the plight in Africa before the world’s most powerful leaders met at the G8 summit in Gleneagles.

Millions watched around the world as Coldplay’s Chris Martin described the event as “the greatest thing that’s ever been organised, probably in the history of the world”.

But the concert was criticised for not inviting enough black or African stars to perform, and for failing to highlight the impending crisis in Niger, which has left 2.5 million people facing death.

French foreign minister Philippe Douste-Blazy recently attacked the event, saying: “We don’t just want big announcements at summits and rock concerts and afterwards nothing.”

Elton John, who in the past has offended Madonna for saying she mimes on stage and George Michael for “wasting his talent”, also admits in the interview that he’s “not really a lover of musicals” despite penning the score for Billy Elliot.