Elton John devastated by suicide

Mar 12, 2010, 12:10 GMT

Sir Elton John has revealed an ex-lover of his committed suicide.

The pop star was left devastated by the death of his lover who hurled himself under an oncoming vehicle and admits the tragedy still affects him now.

Elton and his husband David Furnish are among several producers of new Broadway play 'Next Fall' - which focuses on a relationship between two gay men which is turned upside down by a serious accident - and the 'Rocket Man' singer admits it was his own painful personal experience which motivated him to get involved with the project.

Elton - who came out in the late 80s - told New York Post columnist Cindy Adams: "David saw it several times. I read it several times. There is some of us in it. Years back I had a relationship, and I had absolutely no idea in the world he was going to do this... he threw himself under a truck. There was so much grief.

"Look, we all need love. We all have the same fears and insecurities. We should all be allowed to be free."

The play's storyline follows the five-year relationship between devout Christian Luke and committed atheist Adam, when Luke is seriously injured Adam has to turn to his partner's homophobic parents for support.

David thinks the play's message has never been more poignant following the ongoing developments regarding gay rights in the US, which include Proposition 8 the constitutional amendment passed in California in 2008 which outlawed same sex marriages in the state.

The Canadian filmmaker said: "It's the right timing for this. The religious divide between right and left has gotten wider, and so the rights of gay people never got back to where it was heading."

'Next Fall' opened on Thursday night (11.03.10) at the Helen Hayes Theater in New York and both Elton and David were present.