Elton John bids farewell to the British public, before his return to France

2023-06-26 02:39:17

Elton John bade farewell to the British public on Sunday evening on the stage of the legendary Glastonbury festival, in the south-west of England. At the beginning of November, tickets sold out in just over an hour for the 2023 edition, despite a price that is close to 400 euros.

Golden suit, glasses with red lenses, Elton John, 76, arrived with a little stiff step on stage, cheered by the crowd, before starting “Pinball Wizzard”. A song that the star interpreted in the film “Tommy” (1975), adapted from the rock opera of The Who. He then continued on “The Bitch is Back”, before launching: “It’s a very special and emotional evening for me, it may be my very last show in England, in Great Britain, so I I have an interest in playing well,” he added.

Elton John, who will end his world farewell tour in Stockholm on July 8, closes this 51st edition in front of tens of thousands of festival-goers on the famous Pyramid Stage. “I arrived at 7 o’clock” for “this very special day in the history of Glastonbury”, explained Ben Monk, facing the stage. “Why would we miss this! ? he added, specially dressed as a tribute to the “great man”.

“It’s the first time I’ve been asked” to play at Glastonbury, Elton John said at the end of 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,” he said. The show on Sunday was different from what audiences saw during Elton John’s tour, who deployed extravagant costumes and spectacular visual effects to accompany his titles “Tiny Dancer”, “Rocket Man” or “Your Song”.

A new album in preparation

Elton John, moved by a “healthy” nervousness before this show according to his husband David Furnish, had already made it known that he would start with a song that he has not played for 10 years. But if Elton John says goodbye to the scene, he plans to work on a new album in the fall.

Called “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 was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, a hip operation in 2021 and a positive Covid test last year. The star is expected in Paris on Tuesday and Wednesday for two concerts at the Accor Arena (after a previous Wednesday).