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Wales Online
Entertainment
Cathy Owen

Glastonbury 2023: Who were Elton John's surprise guests as he performs last ever UK show

There were lots of rumours about who was going to star with Elton John during his first-ever appearance at Glastonbury. Some thought he would be joined by Welsh actor Taron Egerton, who played him in the film Rocketman, others thought Sir Paul McCartney and Dave Grohl might turn up on stage, there was even talk of Britney Spears.

But instead Sir Elton opted for close friends and musicians he respects, rather than headline-grabbing stars. What fans did know was that there would be four musical guest during the legend's headline slot on the Pyramid stage on Sunday night. The Rocket Man singer's headline performance marked the final show at the festival this year, which ran from June 21 to June 25.

His much-anticipated set came after after a weekend of great music, including a high-energy set from Manic Street Preachers, an emotional performance by Lewis Capaldi, and a huge Saturday night headline show from Guns N' Roses.

The crowd for Elton John's headlining performance at the Pyramid stage (James Veysey/REX/Shutterstock)
Elton fans in the audience at Glastonbury (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Opening his two-hour show with Pinball Wizard and The Bitch is Back, and dressed in a gold suit and his signature red-tinted glasses, Elton addressed the crowd, which some viewers think could be Glastonbury's biggest-ever.

And during the set he was joined by musicians he has a lot of respect for. Here is who they were:

Jacob Lusk

(Maja Smiejkowska/REX/Shutterstock)

The US singer competed on the tenth season of American Idol, finishing in fifth place. The 36-year-old is one third of Gabriels, alongside Ari Balouzian and Ryan Hope.

He was Sir Elton's first musical guest, appearing in a hot pink suit to perform alongside The London Community Gospel Choir on Are You Ready For Love?

Stephen Sanchez

(Maja Smiejkowska/REX/Shutterstock)

The only song in Sir Elton's two-hour set that was not from his own songbook was by the 20-year-old singer.

The music superstar told the crowd: "I wanted to have newer artists, save for one person, and this boy I heard last year on the radio... I've asked him to come to Glastonbury to do his song and he's an amazing young talent."

He was then joined by the US singer for a performance of Sanchez's 2022 song Until I Found You.

Brandon Flowers

(Maja Smiejkowska/REX/Shutterstock)

It wasn't Britney and Harry Styles was a no show, the biggest star to join Sir Elton on stage was The Killers frontman, who appeared for Tiny Dancer.

Introducing him, Sir Elton said: "My next guest I first met in 2005 when I first started playing Las Vegas, and he came to my hotel suite to play me his band's first album Hot Fuss - we've been friends ever since."

He added that Flowers, who has performed six times at Glastonbury with his band, was "the first person I thought of" to be a guest during his set.

Rina Sawayama

(Dave Hogan/Hogan Media/REX/Shutterstock)

The Japanese-British singer was hailed by Sir Elton as "an extraordinary talent and amazing recording artist".

The fourth surprise guest of the night joined him to perform Don't Go Breaking My Heart.

Born in Japan, she immigrated to London with her parents at the age of five, and in 2017 released her debut Rina. After signing to a record label in 2020, she released her debut studio album, Sawayama to critical acclaim. He has also modelled for fashion campaigns, and made her film acting debut in John Wick: Chapter 4..

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