Elton John has officially retired from touring after over 50 years on the road. Now performs on special invitations or venues.
Elton John announced his retirement at the last stop on his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, at the Tele2 Arena in Stockholm, Sweden.
“I’ve had the most wonderful career, beyond belief. 52 years of pure joy playing music, how lucky am I to play music?” John, 76, he said as he closed his set with ”Your Song” and “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.”
“But, ya know, I wouldn’t be sitting here and talking to you if it wasn’t for you. You bought the singles, the albums, the CDs, the cassettes, but more importantly, you bought the tickets to the shows and you know how I love to play live.”
“Every step of the way, my fans have been there, John said after the show. They have stuck with me, they have supported me, they have been patient, and they have kept turning out for every single last show.”
“Tonight has been magical. I’m trying to process it, and I don’t think it will sink in for a while yet that I’m finally finished touring. I can’t tell you how much I’m going to miss the fans and how much their support has humbled me — it will stay with me forever.”
Chris Martin, who was performing simultaneously in Sweden with his band, Coldplay, congratulated the five-time Grammy winner on his retirement.
“Elton, we wanna say, from all of us here, from all the bands and all the artists that you’ve loved and inspired and helped, we just love you so much. We love you so much. Happy retirement and we’re going to miss you so much, man.”
in January 2018, Elton John announced that he will be retiring during a press conference moderated by CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
“I’m not going to be touring anymore, apart from the last tour, which is going to start in September of this year,” the British singer said.
In January 2022, shortly before he resumed the tour, John told “CBS Mornings” he was looking forward to spending time with his family when it was over.
“I mean, I’ve been touring since I was 17 in the back of a van. I’ve had the most incredible life. I’ve been so lucky, and I’ve loved every single minute of it,” he said at the time. “But I’ve had enough of that applause, and I really want … I’ll be 76 years of age when I stop touring in 2023. I want to do something different with the rest of my life.”
However, John clarified that he was only retiring from active touring and will still be performing on special invitation.
“It’s really important to make a distinction between Elton retiring from touring but Elton not playing his very last public performance for the very last time,” David Furnish, John’s partner and manager,told Billboardlast November.
“I know for a fact he will not be touring in any capacity. What you’re going to see is the possibility of a special one-off or a small residency in one venue for a limited period of time.”
