Elton John hails followers at emotional last farewell present
6 min readBy AFP
STOCKHOLM: Surrounded by emotional followers from across the globe, Elton John hailed them as his “lifeblood” as he gave his last farewell live performance in Stockholm after greater than 50 years of dwell performances.
“You know how much I like to play live. It’s been my lifeblood to play for you guys, and you’ve been absolutely magnificent,” he advised the delighted viewers on the area within the Swedish capital.
Wearing a tailcoat accented with rhinestones and a purple pair of his trademark giant glasses, the 76-year-old pop celebrity sat down on the piano shortly after 8:00 pm to cheers to open his farewell present with one in all his hottest songs, “Bennie and the Jets.”
He then continued with “Philadelphia Freedom” and “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues” to a rapt viewers, lots of whom have been carrying glowing blue or purple glasses.
Playing for greater than two hours, John interspersed the songs with moments when he would stand up and go away the piano to thank not solely his followers but additionally his band and his crew, a few of whom have been with him for greater than 40 years.
“I want to pay tribute to these musicians… They’re really incredible, they’ve been with me so long, some of them. And they are the best, I tell you, the best,” he mentioned.
Shortly after a rendition of “Border Song” which he devoted to Aretha Franklin, John’s “I’m Still Standing” introduced the 30,000 followers on the Tele2 Arena to their toes.
Before he took his encore, John screened a message from Coldplay, who have been enjoying within the western Swedish metropolis of Gothenburg, during which singer Chris Martin thanked him for his profession and dedication.
‘Amazing present’
“It was amazing. I have no words right now because I haven’t processed all the show, but it was amazing,” mentioned Anton Pohjonen, a 25-year-old financial institution employee from Finland.
“You almost start tearing up on his account. But then it feels great to be here,” added Swedish trainer Conny Johansson, who purchased tickets for the present 4 years in the past.
Excited followers have been trying ahead to an emotional finish to the celebrity’s glittering dwell profession even earlier than the curtain went up.
“It’s going to be very emotional tonight,” mentioned Kate Bugaj, 25, a Polish pupil who admitted she had delayed her Master’s exams to observe her musical hero’s tour.
Describing herself as a “huge fan”, she mentioned all of it started the primary time she watched “The Lion King”, the 1994 Walt Disney movie which gave John one in all his two Oscar music wins.
Fifty-year-old Jeanie Kincer travelled from Kentucky within the United States for the present.
“I wanted to be here for the end because I was too young to be here in the beginning,” she mentioned.
To mark the event, she was wearing purple shorts with braces and a purple, yellow and brown T-shirt — virtually the very same outfit John wore for his first live performance in Stockholm in 1971.
Sweden’s each day Expressen known as the ultimate present “an important chapter in the history of rock ‘n’ roll which is about to end”.
The star has been winding down his decades-long dwell profession with a world farewell tour.
He performed his final live shows within the United States in May and introduced the curtain down on Britain’s annual Glastonbury Festival final month.
Saturday’s farewell live performance was the second consecutive night the Stockholm stadium hosted the legendary British singer-songwriter for the final leg of his last tour, which started 5 years in the past and was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic and a hip operation in 2021.
On his “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour, John could have given 330 live shows, crisscrossing Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada and Britain, earlier than closing in Stockholm.
Overall, the tour has seen him carry out in entrance of 6.25 million followers.
STOCKHOLM: Surrounded by emotional followers from across the globe, Elton John hailed them as his “lifeblood” as he gave his last farewell live performance in Stockholm after greater than 50 years of dwell performances.
“You know how much I like to play live. It’s been my lifeblood to play for you guys, and you’ve been absolutely magnificent,” he advised the delighted viewers on the area within the Swedish capital.
Wearing a tailcoat accented with rhinestones and a purple pair of his trademark giant glasses, the 76-year-old pop celebrity sat down on the piano shortly after 8:00 pm to cheers to open his farewell present with one in all his hottest songs, “Bennie and the Jets.”googletag.cmd.push(perform() googletag.show(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); );
He then continued with “Philadelphia Freedom” and “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues” to a rapt viewers, lots of whom have been carrying glowing blue or purple glasses.
Playing for greater than two hours, John interspersed the songs with moments when he would stand up and go away the piano to thank not solely his followers but additionally his band and his crew, a few of whom have been with him for greater than 40 years.
“I want to pay tribute to these musicians… They’re really incredible, they’ve been with me so long, some of them. And they are the best, I tell you, the best,” he mentioned.
Shortly after a rendition of “Border Song” which he devoted to Aretha Franklin, John’s “I’m Still Standing” introduced the 30,000 followers on the Tele2 Arena to their toes.
Before he took his encore, John screened a message from Coldplay, who have been enjoying within the western Swedish metropolis of Gothenburg, during which singer Chris Martin thanked him for his profession and dedication.
‘Amazing present’
“It was amazing. I have no words right now because I haven’t processed all the show, but it was amazing,” mentioned Anton Pohjonen, a 25-year-old financial institution employee from Finland.
“You almost start tearing up on his account. But then it feels great to be here,” added Swedish trainer Conny Johansson, who purchased tickets for the present 4 years in the past.
Excited followers have been trying ahead to an emotional finish to the celebrity’s glittering dwell profession even earlier than the curtain went up.
“It’s going to be very emotional tonight,” mentioned Kate Bugaj, 25, a Polish pupil who admitted she had delayed her Master’s exams to observe her musical hero’s tour.
Describing herself as a “huge fan”, she mentioned all of it started the primary time she watched “The Lion King”, the 1994 Walt Disney movie which gave John one in all his two Oscar music wins.
Fifty-year-old Jeanie Kincer travelled from Kentucky within the United States for the present.
“I wanted to be here for the end because I was too young to be here in the beginning,” she mentioned.
To mark the event, she was wearing purple shorts with braces and a purple, yellow and brown T-shirt — virtually the very same outfit John wore for his first live performance in Stockholm in 1971.
Sweden’s each day Expressen known as the ultimate present “an important chapter in the history of rock ‘n’ roll which is about to end”.
The star has been winding down his decades-long dwell profession with a world farewell tour.
He performed his final live shows within the United States in May and introduced the curtain down on Britain’s annual Glastonbury Festival final month.
Saturday’s farewell live performance was the second consecutive night the Stockholm stadium hosted the legendary British singer-songwriter for the final leg of his last tour, which started 5 years in the past and was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic and a hip operation in 2021.
On his “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour, John could have given 330 live shows, crisscrossing Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada and Britain, earlier than closing in Stockholm.
Overall, the tour has seen him carry out in entrance of 6.25 million followers.
