Elton John, with one last concert, said goodbye to half a century on stage

First modification: 07/09/2023 – 21:42

“You know how much I love playing live. It has been my soul to play for you, and you have been absolutely magnificent. I will always carry you in my mind, in my heart and my soul”, with these words the British ‘Rocket Man’ announced his retirement of the stages from the Swedish capital.

This would be his last tour, as was explicitly announced on his website. It began in 2018 and was scheduled to end in 2021, but due to complications from the pandemic, it was extended until 2023.

Despite this, his audience has been faithful and with crowds of different generations the iconic artist has demonstrated the musical legacy he leaves behind for posterity.

The artist’s official news portal reports that more than six million people have attended the 330 concerts on this tour, baptized as Farewell Yellow Brick Road, who has toured various places in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. According to figures published by Billboard, box office revenue exceeded 800 million dollars.

A show in your style

with success bennie and the jets the british artist opened the night. Dressed in a frock coat, inlaid with gemstones and eccentric glasses, Elton John gave his fans two hours full of sentiment and musical talent.

The 76-year-old pop superstar sat down at the piano just after 8 p.m. local time to kick off the night and followed his first song with Philadelphia Freedom’ and I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues, before an enthralled audience, some of whom wore shiny blue or red glasses to emulate the artist’s traditional ones.

The show continued with repeated interruptions in which the pop singer took his time to thank his fans, his band and his technical team, who have accompanied him in these 52-year career, because even some people from his closest group have been with him for close to 40 years.

“I want to pay tribute to these musicians…they’re really amazing, some of them have been with me so long. And they’re the best, I’m telling you, the best,” he said.

Shortly after a performance of Border Song, which he dedicated to Aretha Franklin, followed with I’m Still Standing, that brought almost all of the 30,000 fans to their feet at the Tele2 Arena.

“A andincredible spectacle, not to forget”

“It was unbelievable. I’m speechless right now because I haven’t processed the whole show, but it was unbelievable,” Anton Pohjonen, a 25-year-old Finnish bank worker, said when asked by AFP about his experience at the concert.

“It almost makes you want to cry for no reason just being here. But then it feels great to be here,” said Swedish teacher Conny Johansson, one of the fans who bought tickets to the show four years ago.

“It’s going to be very emotional tonight,” said Kate Bugaj, a 25-year-old Polish student before entering the concert, who admitted delaying her master’s exams to follow her musical hero’s tour. Describing herself as a “huge fan,” she said it all started the first time she saw “The Lion King,” the 1994 Walt Disney film that gave John one of his two musical wins at the Oscar.

Other followers traveled long distances just to be with him at this moment. This is the case of Jeanie Kincer, 50, who traveled from Kentucky, United States, to enjoy the show. “She wanted to be here for the end, because she was too young to be here at the beginning,” she told AFP.

To mark the occasion, she was dressed in red shorts, wearing leg braces; and a red, yellow and brown T-shirt, almost exactly the same outfit John wore to his first concert in Stockholm, in 1971.

With EFE and Reuters