Elton John shares ‘never-before-seen footage’ from 2023 Glastonbury headline set
Glastonbury Festival 2023
Hours before Sir Elton John was set to headline the Glastonbury 2023 stage, he told festival founder Sir Michael Eavis he considered it “serendipity” as the performance marked his final UK tour date.
The veteran singer has shared backstage footage to mark one year since “one of the most special performances of my life” – ahead of Dua Lipa, Coldplay and SZA taking over the headline slots this year.
Before his performance on June 25 last year, Sir Elton was filmed greeting a wheelchair-bound Sir Michael at Worthy Farm.
“Thrilled to be here,” Sir Elton said.
“I think it is serendipity that I’m here because (it’s) the last show I’ll ever do probably in Britain, and it couldn’t be better, and you’ve been amazing.
“All my guys said this is so great.”
Sir Michael said: “We’ve waited for years for this,” before Sir Elton kissed his hands.
The performance marked his last UK performance as part of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour.
In a YouTube video captioned The Road To Glastonbury 2023, the footage included a close-up of Sir Elton’s dressing room which featured his on-stage wardrobe and what appeared to be a Pyramid Stage cake adorned with a rocket ship and his piano.
During his set, Sir Elton brought out Brandon Flowers of The Killers, Jacob Lusk of Gabriels, Rina Sawayama and Stephen Sanchez.
“You can’t be in a position like mine and not give back,” Sir Elton said in the video.
“I’m all about promoting new artists, passing the message on, encouraging people who have real talent to be themselves, be there for them, phone them up, that’s what giving back is, the young hold the future.
“Music heals and music is joyous, all I can do is do what I do, bring people together with my music.”
Lusk, who performed Are You Ready For Love, said Sir Elton’s support has “literally been life changing for me”.
Sanchez, who performed his hit track Until I Found You, said: “Elton John taught me that it doesn’t matter who you are or how grand your career gets, you can still be loving and kind to the little guy.”
Sawayama, who sang Don’t Go Breaking My Heart on stage, said: “You go to his concerts and there’s people from all ages, all backgrounds, he shows the true power of music, the lasting power of music, the uniting power of music.”
Flowers, who performed Tiny Dancer with Sir Elton, described the performance as an “honour”.
“My earliest memories of music are from my father listening to people like Elton John. He’s a once-in-a lifetime kind of a performer and songwriter and I love him,” he said.
The video begins a week before the Glastonbury gig, following Sir Elton as he rehearses and explains why he chose “a different set list” from his other Farewell Yellow Brick Road shows.
“I hadn’t played Are You Ready For Love for a long long time and it’s a wonderful song by Tom Bell and having the choir do that and having Jacob sing on it, this has been a shot in the arm, it has given us impetus,” he said.
“The world is pushing apart at the moment, it’s not bringing together and Are You Ready For Love, this is what we need more of.”
The megastar brought his 330-date marathon Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour to an end last July at the Tele2 Arena in Stockholm.
The 77-year-old had been travelling the globe on his farewell tour since 2018, playing to more than six million fans.
It was paused at various points due to the pandemic, while shows in Europe and the UK had to be rescheduled due to the veteran singer sustaining an injury to his hip after suffering a fall in 2021.
Register now for one of the Evening Standard’s newsletters. From a daily news briefing to Homes & Property insights, plus lifestyle, going out, offers and more. For the best stories in your inbox, click here.