Elton John: I could have ended up like Whitney

Elton John fears he could have suffered the same fate as Whitney Houston.

The 'I Will Always Love You' singer drowned in the bath at her Beverly Hills hotel suite in February after taking cocaine, and Elton believes he would have headed the same way had he not managed to get clean and sober in 1990.

He said: "I could have so easily ended up like Whitney Houston. It's a miracle I didn't because I'm sure I did as much cocaine as she ever did."

Now happily settled with partner of 20 years, David Furnish, and their 14-month-old son Zachary, Elton could not be more thankful for how his life turned out.

He told E! News: "I would not be the person I am today [if I hadn't got sober]. I wouldn't have Zachary, David. I wouldn't have anything. I'd probably be dead."

Meanwhile, the couple - who welcomed Zachary through a surrogate on Christmas Day 2010 - are rumoured to be planning to expand their family with a second child by the end of the year.

A source told the Daily Mirror: "The wheels are in motion. David and Elton have never hidden their desire to extend their family, and believe the time is right for another child.

"By the end of this year, or the beginning of next year, there will be a fourth member of the John-Furnish clan.

"They are incredibly excited and loving every minute of parenthood."