Given he is one of the most successful performers and recording artists of all time, it’s hard to imagine that Sir Elton John would ever feel nervous before a show.
But ahead of his set on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury tonight, the multimillionaire musician admits he is apprehensive about headlining the festival because it’s a new experience for him.
The 76-year-old says of the gig, “I’m a little intimidated by it because I haven’t played there, I haven’t been there.”
But he goes on to say that the opportunity to appear at the legendary Somerset festival has “come at the right time”.
Elton, who is reaching the end of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, says, “I’m a great believer in serendipity and fate – this is the most wonderful way to sign off in England.”
This tour will be the last one the singer says he will ever do and, having started it in September 2018 in Pennsylvania, it will end this July in Stockholm.
Elton’s Glastonbury performance will be his last in the UK and to mark the occasion, he says he’s going to have a “different setlist” to his other shows – and even some special guests.
“I’ve got guests who I can’t tell you who they are,” he says. “But it’s going to be wonderful – I’m really looking forward to it.”
When his debut at Glastonbury was announced, Elton said in a statement, “There is no more fitting way to say goodbye to my British fans. They have been beyond brilliant and have supported me through all the highs and lows of my career. I can’t wait to embrace the spirit of the greatest festival in the world.”
In the past, the Pyramid Stage has welcomed performers such as Beyoncé, Stormzy, Kylie Minogue and Paul McCartney, and closing Glastonbury feels like a fitting finale to a career that has spanned more than five decades.
Elton’s music has brought so much joy to so many over the years and his farewell tour has given his fans across the globe one last chance to show their appreciation.
Just last month, Victoria and David Beckham – who chose Elton to be godfather to their oldest child, Brooklyn – showed him some love as they attended his final concert in London and sang along to some of his biggest hits.
In a video posted to his Instagram, an emotional David hugged his daughter Harper as he sang along to I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues. Victoria was similarly appreciative, sharing a clip of David belting out Crocodile Rock.
The Beckhams aren’t the only famous faces who watched Elton sing on stage in the capital.
GMB presenter Kate Garraway and her husband Derek Draper also attended one of his London shows in April, with Elton dedicating Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me to the “inspiring” couple. Kate told her Instagram followers afterwards that the gesture had made her “burst into joyous tears” and thanked Elton for his “huge heart”.
The celebs were also out in force at his final US concert at the Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles last November, with the likes of Jude Law, Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney in attendance.
The show, which was live-streamed globally, included a video tribute from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Prince Harry thanked him “for entertaining everybody for so many decades” and for “being the friend that you were to my mum”.
Harry wrote about his close friendship with the superstar in his memoir Spare and said he’ll “always love” the singer after they formed a strong bond following Princess Diana’s death.
Elton was close to the royal and when he performed a reworked version of Candle In The Wind at her funeral in 1997, he moved millions with the poignant lyrics.
It’s his capacity to touch the hearts of so many that makes Elton such a beloved star. Yes, he’s a fantastic singer-songwriter and, yes, he’s able to entertain a stadium full of people with his many hits but, despite his riches, he comes across as a man who truly cares about the things that matter.
Born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25 March 1947, he grew up in the north-west London suburb of Pinner, learning to play the piano as a youngster. After joining a blues band when he was 15, he decided to go solo five years later and released his first solo album, Empty Skin, in 1969.
A year later, Elton made the big time with Your Song. What followed was hit after hit, with gems such as Tiny Dancer, I’m Still Standing and Sacrifice dazzling fans around the world.
However, dominating the charts wasn’t enough and he turned his hand to musicals, composing songs such as Circle Of Life and Can You Feel The Love Tonight for The Lion King and tracks for Billy Elliot The Musical.
Music aside, Elton has also been a beacon of light in the gay community and he came out as bisexual in 1976. He was married to German sound engineer Renate Blauel from 1984 to 1988 and then, in 1993, he met the love of his life, Canadian filmmaker David Furnish, now 60, at a dinner party thrown by mutual friends. They entered into a civil partnership in 2005.
One of the things Elton is most admired for is the fact he uses his fame to promote causes he believes in. The singer, who battled drug and alcohol addiction in the past but has been sober since 1990, established the Elton John Aids Foundation in 1992, which is one of the leading independent Aids organisations in the world.
He’s also a huge advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and won the Global Impact award at the British LGBT Awards in 2020. As soon as gay marriage became legal in 2014, and on the ninth anniversary of their civil partnership, he and David got married in a ceremony at their estate in Windsor. But this time they had two very special guests in the form of their sons, Zachary and Elijah, who were ring bearers.
The couple became parents with the help of a surrogate in 2010, when Zachary was born on Christmas Day. They had Elijah three years later. And it’s clear that becoming a father has been one of Elton’s greatest joys.
No doubt one of Elton’s main motivations to give up touring is to spend more time with his family. And as he hangs up his sequined blazers for good, it strikes us that the singer will be remembered for his humanity as much as his music. During a recent show in Leeds, he spotted a boy in the audience who was blind and went out of his way to mention him.
He said, “There’s a little boy in the front row. He can’t see me but he can hear me and he just broke my heart all night. You are so special and you made me feel so great tonight.”
The emotional singer then went on to thank his fans for their “love and loyalty” and said, “This is my last tour but it has been such a wonderful occasion as you’ve shown me more kindness on this tour than I can ever remember.”
Somehow we feel like we should be the ones thanking you, Sir Elton.
