2023-06-25 23:57:43
Facing an audience he will “never forget”, Elton John delivered the last British concert of his farewell tour on Sunday. He performed at the legendary Glastonbury Festival in south-west England.
Golden costume, glasses with red lenses, the 76-year-old star arrived on stage a little stiffly, cheered by the crowd, before settling down at the piano to start “Pinball Wizard”. A song that Elton John performed in the film “Tommy” (1975), adapted from the rock opera of The Who.
He then continues on “The Bitch is Back”, before launching: “This is a very special and emotional evening for me, this may be my very last show in England, in Great Britain, so I interest in playing well.” To take up the challenge, Elton John continues the key titles, from “Your Song” sung by a glittering audience of sequins, through “Candle In The Wind”, a jubilant “Crocodile Rock”, or an intense “I’m Still Standing”.
Elton John dedicated “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” to his “friend” and “inspiration” George Michael, who died on Christmas Day 2016, who would have turned 60 on Sunday. During these two hours of concert without recall, Elton John was joined on stage by four guests.
First the London Community Gospel Choir and Jacob Lusk of the soul-pop group Gabriels, dressed in an improbable pink tailcoat. With Stephen Sanchez, Elton John took over one of the titles of the young American artist of 20 years. He later shared the stage with Brandon Flowers, of the Killers, for “Tiny Dancer”, and with Rina Sawayama for “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”.
“52 years of love”
Elton John finished in apotheosis on “Rocket Man”, with soaring piano and fireworks. During this concert that he will “never forget”, he thanked the public for having dressed for the occasion, for these “52 years of love and loyalty”.
“I had the best of times. I will never forget you, you are in my head, my heart and my soul, you were incredible,” he said. Elton John, who will end his world farewell tour in Stockholm on July 8, was expected by tens of thousands of festival-goers on the famous Pyramid Stage.
“I arrived at 7 a.m.” for “this very special day in the history of Glastonbury,” Ben Monk told AFP, facing the stage. “Why would we miss this!?” he added, specially dressed as a tribute to the “great man”.
“There is no one like him!”, underlines Justine Clayton, who got married to the sound of “Your Song”. “It’s poignant for us. And it’s the same for a lot of people, it brings back a lot of memories for all the generations he played in front of,” she said. “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.”
Tour disrupted by pandemic
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 has been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, a hip operation in 2021 and a positive Covid test last year.
Among the other headliners of the Glastonbury Festival, Lana Del Rey, Lewis Capaldi, the Arctic Monkeys, Amadou & Mariam, or even Rick Astley and his unmissable “Never Gonna Give You Up” which made him a star in 1987 On Friday, the Foo Fighters, for the first time in 25 years at the festival, tumbled out for a surprise concert.
Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl was also invited to join Guns N’ Roses on stage – for their first appearance at the festival – for a revisited “Paradise City”, as well as the Pretenders. Glastonbury welcomes more than 200,000 festival-goers who arrive with tents and backpacks. 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 francs.
This article has been published automatically. Sources: ats / afp
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