Sir Elton John and David Furnish made the ''bitter-sweet decision'' regarding the star's touring retirement as a family.

The 'Candle in the Wind' hitmaker and his husband - who together have sons Zachary, seven, and Elijah, five - recently announced that he plans to quit touring in 2021 and spend more time at home with his family.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, David said: ''Elton's decision to stop touring was a family decision.

''We sat down about four years ago ... It was a bitter-sweet decision to give up something you love but there is that greater love waiting for him at home. And on a selfish note, I couldn't be happier.''

Elton, 70, announced in January that he would embark on a three-year 'Farewell Yellow Brick Road' world tour to mark his retirement, which will see him play over 300 shows across the globe, concluding in 2021.

David revealed his husband is working hard to prepare for the shows, and is keen to ''go out on a high''.

He added: ''Doing a tour like that takes a lot of preparation. He said he wants to go out on a high and say goodbye to his fans in a touring capacity for the last time.''

However, David also explained it isn't the end for Elton as a musician, and confirmed he still has every intention to write new material - including for the stage - and even treat his fans to ''one-off performances''.

He explained: ''He's still going to write music, he's still going to put out albums, he's going to be writing some musicals and he'll still do one-off performances. He should never stop performing, that's just who he is. It keeps him alive, I think.''