Elton John falls
ill during concert in Australia

Elton John left the stage briefly during a weekend concert in Brisbane, Australia, after being struck by a bout of nausea, according to a news report Monday.

John left the stage without a word about two hours into his Sunday concert. He was gone for about five minutes, the Australian Associated Press reported.

When he returned, the 59-year-old pop star used an Australian colloquialism to explain that he had left the stage to vomit. "I thought I'd better chunder in the toilet [rather] than all over the front row," he was quoted as saying.

Apparently feeling better, John closed the show about 45 minutes later. (AP)