London, Jul 19 (IANS): Singer Elton John says he always thought his homosexuality was "common knowledge" which is why he never officially came out until he was asked directly.

The 65-year-old, who married partner Renate Blauel in 1984 before confirming he was gay in 1988, says he was "waiting" to be asked about his sexual preferences, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Asked by 'Today' host Matt Lauer why he didn't come out until he was in his 40s, he said: "Nobody asked me. When (journalist) Cliff Jahr asked me in Rolling Stone, 'I'm gonna ask you a question, but if you don't want to answer it, I'm gonna turn the tape recorder off.'

"And I said, 'You're gonna ask me if I'm gay or not.' And he said, 'How did you know that?' I said, 'I've been waiting for people to ask me this. It's not exactly a secret. I live with my manager. I'm openly gay outside. I don't have a girlfriend. And nobody's ever actually out - I just thought it was common knowledge.'