The dates and details of Elton John’s last ever tour, “Farewell Yellow Brick Road”, have been announced at a press conference today.
Seventy-year-old Elton announced that he is to retire from touring after nearly a quarter of a century in the business. But he would say farewell to fans with a series of 300 dates spanning three years.
In recent years, he has struggled with ill health and spent quite a while in hospital last year after picking up a bad bacterial infection on the South American leg of his 2017 world tour.
He also pulled out of a gig in London’s Hyde Park in 2013 to have emergency appendix surgery that could have been deadly if not treated immediately.
His career has seen him performing live regularly since the 1970s when he broke into the USA market with a host of shows at the Las Vegas Troubadour.
Fittingly, his last world tour will come after he finishes a six-year residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas that is due to end this May.
A cryptic message posted on his official website before the announcement read: “I’ve finally decided that my future lies…” a reference to his song Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.
Over the course of his career, the Candle in the Wind singer has sold more than 300 million records and won a whole host of awards, including an Oscar for his song Can You Feel The Love Tonight from the film The Lion King in 1995, five Grammy Awards, and a Tony Award.
He is due to appear at this Sunday’s Grammy Awards to sing a duet with Miley Cyrus and will also host a concert in his honour at Madison Square Garden next Tuesday.
Despite retiring from life on the road, it’s unlikely that he will be retiring altogether.
He is currently working on a Broadway musical version of The Devil Wears Prada, the live action adaptation of Disney’s The Lion King, which will feature Beyoncé Knowles, and the animated film Sherlock Gnomes that is to be released by his own production company.
His partner, David Furnish, thinks that despite not touring, he will continue to perform live.
Last year, he told Music Week: “Elton must never stop performing. Some people relish the idea of a retirement where they do nothing [but] for Elton that would be purgatory.
“I think given our commitments to our kids and our family – and now our boys are nearly seven and five and at that point where they need you present more than ever – it’s important we’re there to support them. So that will have an impact on what we do.”
