After more than 50 years on the road, Elton John has officially retired from touring.
The legendary singer played his last tour show at the Tele2 Field in Stockholm, Sweden, Saturday July 7, marking his last appearance on his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour.
“I’ve had the most wonderful career, beyond belief. 52 years of pure joy playing music, how lucky am I to play music?” John, 76, told the crowd as he closed his set with ”Your Song” and “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.”
“But, ya know, I wouldn’t be sitting here and talking to you if it wasn’t for you. You bought the singles, the albums, the CDs, the cassettes, but more importantly, you bought the tickets to the shows and you know how I love to play live.”
After the concert, the five-time Grammy winner continued to express his gratitude to his fans for their unending support over more than five decades.
“Every step of the way, my fans have been there. They have stuck with me, they have supported me, they have been patient, and they have kept turning out for every single last show,” he said in a post-show statement, per Consequence.
“Tonight has been magical. I’m trying to process it, and I don’t think it will sink in for a while yet that I’m finally finished touring. I can’t tell you how much I’m going to miss the fans and how much their support has humbled me — it will stay with me forever.”
“I’ve had the most wonderful career, beyond belief. 52 years of pure joy playing music,” he told the crowd.
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The “Tiny Dancer” singer also received a personalized message from Chris Martin, who was simultaneously performing in Sweden with Coldplay.
“Elton, we wanna say, from all of us here, from all the bands and all the artists that you’ve loved and inspired and helped, we just love you so much,” Martin, 46, said in part. “We love you so much. Happy retirement and we’re going to miss you so much, man.”
Before the highly anticipated show on Saturday, John, who has been touring since 1970, posted a touching message on Instagram.
“I wouldn’t be sitting here and talking to you if it wasn’t for you,” he said while thanking fans for their support. What a journey this tour has been and now we find ourselves at the end of it,” he wrote. “Tonight is the final night.”
“It’s really important to make a distinction between Elton retiring from touring but Elton not playing his very last public performance for the very last time,” David Furnish, John’s husband and manager, told Billboard last November.
