How Sir Elton John eclipsed his peers to become greatest solo star ever
There were two hours of explosive vocals, expensive fireworks, guest performers and non-stop hits.
But the closing seconds of Sir Elton John’s debut (and final) Glastonbury performance were the real reward for his six decades at icon status.
There, in his gold suit and rose-tinted glasses, the rocketman-turned-knight of the realm proved a showman til the end: the last one standing on the Pyramid Stage, still egging on the record crowd chanting his name, as he strutted - with a giant smile and just small hint of hip trouble - off into the wings.
This, we are told, was Sir Elton’s final live performance in the UK. And what a worthy swansong Worthy Farm proved to be: A record crowd of 100,000 plus, a record 7.6million viewers on BBC, and fellow pop idol Sir Paul McCartney himself, snapping pictures and videos like your average fan in the crowd.
If there was any doubt about Sir Elton’s national treasure status before those final notes of his final song, Rocket Man, there certainly wasn’t afterwards.
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Even Sir Elton was somewhat awestruck.
Sir Elton John is a hit with music fans of all ages (Leon Neal/Getty Images)“Thank you Glastonbury!’, he wrote on Instagram on Monday. “The energy last night was like nothing else, and I couldn’t be more grateful to the crowd and the people watching at home for all your love and support. You will be in my heart and soul forever. UK, what a farewell. I love you.”
So could this be the night we saw the sun go down on Britain’s best solo star?
Sir Elton’s certainly in the same stratosphere as the likes of David Bowie. Could it also be argued he’s now eclipsed his peers, Sirs Rod Stewart, Tom Jones and McCartney?
He definitely has the stats for such a claim.
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Since meeting writing partner Bernie Taupin (through a 1967 NME ad), Sir Elton’s sold 300 million records worldwide, performed more than 4,000 shows in 80 countries, written for several musicals and had 10 UK Number ones, 35 UK top 10s, eight UK number one albums and is the first artist to have UK Top 10 singles across six consecutive decades. He’s also had nine US number one singles and 29 US top 10s, and in 2018 was named the most successful male solo artist in US chart history. And he’s raised £550million for those living with AIDS and HIV.
It’s not bad considering he started out as little Reggie Dwight, playing on his granny’s old piano in the front room of his council house in Pinner, Middlesex.
And yet there’s more: His Princess Diana tribute, Candle in the Wind 1997 is the highest-selling single ever, having sold 33 million copies worldwide, and he’s had one diamond album, 40 platinum or multi-platinum and 23 gold.
He was inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, and has two Oscars (for The Lion King and Rocketman (CORR)), 13 Ivor Novello Awards, six Grammys, three BRITs, a Tony, and a Légion d’honneur, France’s highest award.
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Elton performing alongside Kiki Dee in 1977 (Getty Images)
The music legend on stage at Glastonbury on Sunday (Leon Neal/Getty Images)He’s had his face on Royal Mint commemorative coins and Royal Mail stamps, his biopic Rocketman was an Oscar-winning box office smash and his 350-date Farewell tour, which he started in 2018, is the highest grossing tour of all time, (earning £642million to date).
And yes - He’s even got a Blue Peter badge. As CVs go, it’s fairly impressive.
But it’s not just stats that might earn him the honour of our top solo artist. From his historic turn at Dodger Stadium in 1975 which helped him crack the States, to his legendary 1985 Live Aid set, Sir Elton - with his rebellious ‘I’ll wear what I want’ rock star style - has proved our greatest ever showmen, bar perhaps Freddie Mercury.
“Performers are all show-offs anyway, especially musicians,” he once summed up. “Unless you show off, you’re not going to get noticed.”
Sir Elton’s true leg up on his peers though, is his ability to stay truly relevant - and appeal to different generations. Much like one-time foe Madonna, Sir Elton always embraces what’s current.
There have been many different eras to his career: Between 1970 and 1975, he’d racked up hits with Your Song, Tiny Dancer, Rocket Man, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting, Bennie and The Jets, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (with John Lennon) and more.
The 80s and early 90s began with the likes of I’m Still Standing (featuring a questionably-clad Bruno Tonioli) and finished with his love song era, Sacrifice and Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me, with George Michael.
Then came The Lion King and Moulin Rouge years, propelling him into the new century with a new generation of fans.
Never missing a trend, he teamed up with boyband-of-the-moment Blue in the Noughties, Lady Gaga, Paloma Faith, and rapper Young Thug in the 2010s, and Britney Spears, Dua Lipa and Ed Sheeran in the 2020s (not to mention his 2021 Christmas Number One with Ladbaby).
The greatest Glastonbury set of all time? (Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)Years and Years’ Olly Alexander, who duetted with Sir Elton at The BRITs, said: “His impact on music can’t be overstated. He’s constantly played, constantly covered, constantly reinterpreted and he’s still having hits.”
With Sir Elton’s 77th birthday looming, much has been made of his health issues over the past years. In September 2021 he was forced to postpone farewell tour dates after a painful fall, and it’s believed then underwent hip replacement surgery.
Four years earlier Sir Elton contracted a severe infection in South America and was 24 hours from death after having secret surgery for prostate cancer.
He has said: “There are very few bits of me left. There’s no hair, there’s a pacemaker. There’s no tonsils, no prostate, no appendix. I’ve had kidney stones. I’m like the Bionic Woman.”
Now just seven gigs on his worldwide Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour - due to end on July 8 in Stockholm - stand between him and his well-deserved time off with his husband-of-nine-years David Furnish and boys Zachary, 12, and Elijah, 10.
So, have we said goodbye to the best solo act the country’s ever known? He’s certainly made an impact few others could claim. He’s got the stats, the Hollywood-style underdog story, and the universal appeal.
But then maybe we’re also looking at the wrong part of the question. It didn’t escape some people’s notice, how he first addressed the crowd at Glasto...
“It’s a very special and emotional night for me,” he began, “as it MAY be my last ever show in England.”
Now was that a Freudian slip or intentional caveat, Elton? Perhaps the gift of his songs MAY not be finished after all....
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