Elton John Embarks On Farewell Tour

Between 1967 and the current day, space exploration has seen us put a human on the Moon and send spacecraft to photograph the surface of planets as far as Pluto. During the same period, Sir Elton Hercules John CH CBE – the Rocketman – has written some of the most iconic and beloved melodies of all time and gained legendary status as an artist and performer. 

John’s career achievements are an endless list of awards, titles, and statistics and exhaustive use of superlatives: the greatest, most, best, highest. In collaboration with various lyricists, predominantly Bernie Taupin, John has had more than 70 Top 40 hits and sold over 300 million albums across the globe.  

But dry numbers and facts do not do justice to this extraordinary individual who has been a towering figure in pop culture for five decades. 

Elton John entered the world as Reginald Kenneth Dwight on March 25th, 1947. His musical acumen was evident from a very early age; he was barely out of nappies when he taught himself to play the family piano and started inventing melodies.  

At age 17, he formed the blues band, Bluesology, with fellow musicians Elton Dean and John Baldry. Reggie Dwight had always hated his name, so he combined the first names of his band mates and re-invented himself as Elton John (making it official by deed poll in 1972). 

In 1967, John answered an ad in a music industry magazine; a record company was looking for songwriters. An American lyricist named Bernie Taupin also answered the ad, the two were put together and one of the greatest songwriting partnerships in popular music history began. “Your Song” from the 1970 Empty Sky album was their very first hit single and it became a mainstay in John’s concert repertoire. 

Success came swiftly and by 1971, John had established himself not only as an impressive songwriter but as a dynamic live performer with a penchant for flamboyant couture. In fact, John was just as famous for his outrageous costumes as for his music, donning everything from cute animal onesies to a Donald Duck costume, shiny lame suits, extravagant military-style uniforms, skin tight jumpsuits and arena-filling peacock-feathered ensembles. 

Platform boots were de rigueur and his spectacles were always spectacles. 

One of John’s most famous outfits was the sequinned silver and blue Dodgers baseball uniform worn during his phenomenal 1975 concerts at LA’s Dodger Stadium. John just gave his final US concert ever at that same venue on November 20. 

Despite his super-camp costumes and behaviour, and the fact that he has been out about his sexuality since 1976 (initially as bisexual, then as gay), John’s legion of fans is a cross-section of demographics. That’s due to the universal appeal of his music and the electric, high-octane, stadium-quaking live performances. He can silence an audience with tender tunes like “Blue Eyes” or “Candle In The Wind”, then ignite it with “I’m Still Standing” and the crowd-thrilling call-and-response of “Bennie and the Jets”. 

John is the consummate artist and a very generous performer, putting a lot of time and creativity into his shows. He has toured Australia 17 times, the first tour being in 1971. Each show has had its own unique flavour and very high production values, whether that be the pared back piano and percussion concerts with Ray Cooper or the majestic splendour of his collaboration with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra during the 1986 Tour De Force. 

John has also written music for film and theatre including writing songs for The Lion King; a musical-theatre adaptation of Aida; and songs for Billy Elliot the Musical.

As an out and proud gay man, John has always strongly supported LGBTQI+ causes and in 1992 he established the Elton John AIDS Foundation. One of its major fundraising events is the annual Foundation Academy Awards Party which is among the biggest Oscars parties in Hollywood – no mean feat. 

In 1998, John was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his contribution to music, the arts, and his charitable services. It was a year after the death of his close friend, Princess Diana, at whose funeral he lovingly sang the rewritten “Candle in the Wind” tribute. He received the Order of the Companions of Honour in 2020 – one of only 61 people in the world to receive the award. 

Throughout his career, John has continued to record songs and collaborate with a broad range of artists including Eminem, Luciano Pavarotti, Lady Gaga, Young Thug and Nicki Minaj, Stevie Wonder, Little Richard, and Britney Spears to name only a very few. “Cold Heart”, his duo with Dua Lipa released last year off the Lockdown Sessions album, added another notch to his long tally of Number 1 hit singles. 

The Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour was announced and initiated in 2018, when John was 71 years old. Though it was interrupted for two years, he has fully committed to the extensive itinerary, not only giving outstanding performances so far, but continuing to add shows to the scheduled 300 gig, five continent tour. 

The show is exactly what you’d expect from an artist who has spent five decades giving everything in his creative heart and soul for his fans – and then some.

“Flashy staging, his cheeky personality and a diamond-encrusted Yamaha piano; everyone knew their ticket for the first Australian date of the icon’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour was worth its weight in gold” – WA Today

“The superstar managed to distil a once-in-a-generation career into a fitting once-in-a-generation farewell concert” – Sunday Herald Sun 

Farewell Yellow Brick Road will be the last chance to see this once-in-a-lifetime performer live on stage. It’s gonna be a long, long, time before we ever have someone like Elton John again.