Hip-hop star Eminem turned to an unlikely counselor to help him battle his addiction to painkillers - flamboyant rock star Elton John.

The Stan hit-maker became a recluse following the release of his last album, Encore, in 2004 as he fought his drug demons. Although he has been clean for a year, at the height of his drug problems the star was reportedly popping 20 painkillers a day and nearly overdosed on methadone.

However it was his friendship with former cocaine addict John - who he performed with at the 2001 Grammys - which set him on the road to recovery.

He tells the Metro Times newspaper, "I talk to Elton (John a lot). We became friends, and I talk to him about things, career-wise. And he had a substance-abuse problem in the past. So when I first wanted to get sober, I called him and spoke to him about it, because, you know, he's somebody who's in the business and can identify and relate to the lifestyle and how hectic things can be. He understands, like, the pressure and any other reasons that you wanna come up with for doing drugs."

"Me and him have had similar lives and stuff. So I reached out to him and told him, 'Look, I'm going through a problem, and I need your advice.'"

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(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)