Sun is going down on Elton’s live shows
ELTON John is to retire from touring after more than 50 years, he announced last night.
The 70-year-old hitmaker used his official website to tell his millions of fans of his plans.
His final global tour will last three years and is called Farewell Yellow Brick Road.
Sir Elton’s last ever tour will kick off in September in New York and be streamed live to Los Angeles and London.
British fans will have to wait until 2020 when he will play 10 UK cities.
Sir Elton said he was stepping back to spend more time with his husband David Furnish and their sons Elijah, five, and Zachary, seven.
“My priorities are my husband, my children and my family. I’ve been touring since I was 17,” he said. “I’ve had a good run.”
The musician sparked speculation on Tuesday, posting the cryptic message: “I’ve finally decided my future lies...”.
His current Las Vegas residency is set to run until May 19 and he is billed to play two US dates in June and July.
The retirement announcement comes less than a year after he was forced to cancel shows after contracting a bacterial infection.
The star became “violently ill” during a flight home from Santiago, Chile, last April and spent two nights in intensive care. He left hospital 10 days later but had to cancel the May and April dates of his Las Vegas residency.
Much earlier in his career ill health stopped Elton from taking to the stage.
In 1999 he was fitted with a pacemaker after doctors found he had an irregular heartbeat.
And in 2013 he performed 10 concerts in pain before being diagnosed with appendicitis and cancelling the rest of his European tour.
At the time Sir Elton said he felt “grateful to be alive” revealing that he could have died if his appendix had ruptured.
In 2012 he developed a lung infection during a US tour leading to the cancellation of shows.
He also missed concerts due to a bout of food poisoning. But Sir Elton yesterday denied reports that he was retiring due to ill health. “Last year I picked up an infection. I was very ill and it knocked me sideways but I still did 96 shows,” he said. “Believe me, if you ever do 300 shows, you’re not in ill health.”
Sir Elton began performing in 1962 at the age of 15 under his birth name Reggie Dwight at a pub near his home in Pinner, Middlesex.
In 1967 he met long-time songwriting partner Bernie Taupin with whom he has recorded 31 albums.
By 1970 he was a hit in the US. He formed the Elton John Band and toured the world, becoming the first international pop singer to perform in Soviet Russia.
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