Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Miami Herald - Sunday, January 13, 2002
"As a gay man I'm very lucky not to be infected," he told ITV News in London. "My concern nowadays is that young people think they are invulnerable, but they're not."
John was interviewed after the U.K. Coalition of People Living with HIV and AIDS gave him its Hero Award on Wednesday night. The honor acknowledged his contributions to the fight against HIV and AIDS through the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
"I accept the Hero Award with gratitude but more importantly in the acknowledgment of the 30,000 positive people here in the U.K. today," he said at the ceremony.
John said he'd decided to get involved in fighting the disease after the 1990 death of 18-year-old Ryan White in Indiana.
"It was a time in my life when I wasn't behaving very well," the musician said. "I played at his funeral, and I looked like a 90-year-old man. That was when I decided to clean up my act."
Meanwhile, someone's act John loves is 'N Sync member Justin Timberlake, who uncannily impersonates young Elton in the '70s in John's latest video, This Train Don't Stop There Anymore, directed by acclaimed photographer David LaChapelle, reports USA Today.
"I was completely flabbergasted," John says. "He has every look or mannerism down. I can't stop watching it."
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