Sir Elton John has announced that he won’t be stopping live performances despite currently being on his farewell tour.
His Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour will end in July 2023, with Sir Elton confirming that he “will not be going on tour again” after this.
As reported by the Metro, Sir Elton has expressed the difficulty that touring causes, with him looking forward to “a little bit of freedom” to spend with his husband, David Furnish and their two sons, Zachary and Elijah. He explained, “Touring is exhausting for me now, and it takes me away from my family and my children.”
However, his fans can still hope to see him perform in the future, as he shared that “there may be the odd show.”
The Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour began back in 2018 and has become the most lucrative tour in music history. The tour has already earned £678million with two months still left to go, and it is estimated that the tour will earn approximately £798million upon its completion. Sir Elton has very much challenged himself on this tour, with him having performed 330 shows in total by the end of the tour’s run.
To keep it interesting for himself and fans alike, Sir Elton’s setlists have varied from show to show, with the epics such as “Rocket Man” and “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” being accompanied by lesser known tracks including “Burn Down the Mission” and “Have Mercy on the Criminal.”
Sir Elton has also recorded a concert movie, Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium, available to watch on Disney+. The movie documents his final North American show, featuring special guests and explosive performances of his biggest hits from a career spanning many decades.
Despite suggesting that shows outside of his tour could be on the cards, Sir Elton did recently turn down the opportunity to perform at King Charles III’s Coronation Concert. This came as a surpise to fans, as Sir Elton has been a firm favourite of the Royals for many years, famously forming close relationships with Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth II.
Sir Elton performed a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II following her passing in September 2022, as well as attending Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding in 2011, and performing at the luncheon of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding in 2018.
Sir Elton is also close friends with King Charles and Queen Camilla, having invited the pair to his own wedding to David Furnish back in 2005.
Sir Elton’s lack of attendance was not meant to be viewed as a snub however, with his team confirming to Rolling Stone that it was simply due to scheduling conflicts.