Sir Elton John was stopped from adopting a Ukrainian orphan in 2009 because of his sexuality. 

The now-75-year-old star and his husband David Furnish tried to adopt a child from an orphanage they visited that year, but they were told they wouldn't be able to because they're gay. 

The 'Rocket Man' hitmaker – who has Elijah, nine, and Zachary, 11, with David – said: "I was carrying this little boy around for hours. We had a press conference at the end and they said 'You seem very fond of this little boy. Would you think of adopting him?' and I went 'I'd actually love to!' 

"Of course, not thinking about social media, it went around the world straight away. It was 'Elton John wants to adopt two children.'" 

Despite this, Elton and David weren't allowed to adopt the boy at the time. 

He told the 'Dua Lipa: At Your Service' podcast: "Because I was gay, I wasn't allowed to anyway. 

He told the 'Dua Lipa: At Your Service' podcast: "Because I was gay, I wasn't allowed to anyway." Photo / Getty Images 

"After that happened, David said, 'Well, what do you think about having kids?' I always said no but this little boy was telling me something. He was saying 'C'mon you can be a dad,' and that's when we decided to have children, because of this little boy in Ukraine." 

Elton celebrated his 75th birthday on Friday, March 25 and he thanked his "lucky stars" for his "wonderful family, friends and career". 

The music icon – who is currently on the North American leg of his 'Farewell Yellow Brick Road' tour – spent the day reflecting on his life and achievements in music. 

He said: "I'm not usually one to look back or get nostalgic, but 75 is such a milestone birthday. I'll definitely find time today to take stock and thank my lucky stars for my wonderful family, friends and career. 

"I feel unbelievably lucky that at 75 I still love what I do so much – I'm still so energised about music and excited I get to play, listen and talk about this every single day. Being back on the road is a blast and the thrill of playing live is as amazing as it was 50 years ago."