Septuagenarian British performer Elton John recently announced that he would cease going on tours after the conclusion of his “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour. John’s announcement, delivered to the press of New York and London, started with an animated montage of his many accomplishments as hit tracks like “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” and “Rocket Man” served as background music. Visuals of the announcement included various aspects of John’s career, like his steady Las Vegas show and roles in films like “Aida” and “Gnomeo and Juliet,” and live performances from New York.
The announcement transitioned to a discussion with Anderson Cooper where John expressed that his Farewell Yellow Brick Road will begin in September and is slated to take three years to finish. John noted that the tour is intended to be a global one and its status as his final tour is due to a change in priorities. John expressed a desire to focus on his children, remarking that he’d had a discussion with husband David Furnish and felt that a cessation of touring would be best for their childrens’ education.
While thinking over his career, John admitted that he had no regrets. John had been touring as a musician, either as a solo act or part of a band, since he was 17 years of age and felt that it was time he stopped touring, to give his thanks to loyal fans and friends and focus on tending his children’s futures. Despite the news of one last tour, John was quick to clarify that he was not done performing as a whole. He confessed that he had no intention to stop creating, merely putting a stop to long-distance traveling.
Commenting on his health, John stated that he was in great health, adding that he recently performed 96 shows while fighting a bacterial infection that lasted seven weeks while touring in South America. John’s final tour begins in Allentown, Pennsylvania and is set to have 300 dates. At its conclusion, John’s children will be 8 and 10 years old; ages John knows are important to a child’s development and points in time he refuses to miss.
John’s Las Vegas residency concludes in May, representing 200 shows across a six-year span. John has sold more than 200 million records in his career and is scheduled to perform at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards show, which he is a five-time winner of.
