Golden costume, glasses with red lenses, the 76-year-old star arrived on stage a little stiffly, cheered by the crowd, before settling on the piano to start “Pinball Wizard”.
In front of an audience he will never forget “Never”, Elton John delivered, Sunday, June 25, the last British concert of his farewell tour, during the legendary Glastonbury Festival, in the south-west of England. Golden suit, glasses with red lenses, the 76-year-old star arrived on stage a little stiffly, cheered by the crowd, before settling at the piano to begin Pinball Wizard. A song that Elton John performed in the film tommy (1975), adapted from the rock opera by The Who. He then continues on The Bitch is Backbefore running: “It’s a very special and emotional night for me, it may be my very last show in England, Britain, so I better play well.”
The shadow of George Michael
To take up the challenge, Elton John strings together the flagship titles, from Your Song intoned by a glittering audience of sequins, passing by Candle In The Winda jubilant crocodile rockor an intense I’m still standing. Elton John dedicated Don’t let the Sun go down on me to his “friend” And “inspiration” George Michael, who died on Christmas Day 2016, would have turned 60 on Sunday. During these two hours of concert without recall, Elton John was joined on stage by four guests. First the London Community Gospel Choir and Jacob Lusk of the soul-pop group Gabriels, dressed in an improbable pink tailcoat. With Stephen Sanchez, Elton John took over one of the titles of the young American artist of 20 years. He later shared the stage with Brandon Flowers, of The Killers, for “Tiny Dancer”, and with Rina Sawayama for Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.
“52 years of love”
Elton John finished in apotheosis on Rocket Man, with piano flight and fireworks. During this concert that he will never forget “Never”, he thanked the audience for dressing up for the occasion, for these “52 years of love and loyalty”. “I had the best of times. I will never forget you, you are in my head, my heart and my soul, you were amazing”he launched.
Elton John, who will complete his world farewell tour in Stockholm on July 8, was expected by tens of thousands of festival-goers on the famous Pyramid Stage. “There is no one like him!”, underlines Justine Clayton, who got married to the sound of Your Song. “It’s poignant for us. And it’s the same for a lot of people, it brings back a lot of memories for all the generations he played for,” she says.
Last tour
“It’s the first time I’ve been asked” to play at Glastonbury, Elton John said in late May in an interview with the BBC. “It comes at the right time, I believe in fate and it’s the most magnificent way to finish in England.” baptized Farewell Yellow Brick Road, this last tour of the singer with 300 million records sold worldwide began in 2018 and was initially supposed to last three years, with more than 300 dates planned. But she has been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, a hip operation in 2021 and a positive Covid test last year.