Watch Elton John’s fireworks-strewn, emotionally-charged, 10-minute Glastonbury version of Rocket Man

For those watching at home, it’s possible Glastonbury 2023 will be most remembered for the performances of two singers. Saturday night saw Guns N’ Roses  headline the Pyramid Stage, while Sunday saw Elton John’s final show on UK soil. 

It’s fair to say that both Axl Rose and Elton John‘s voices have seen better days. One UK newspaper compared Rose’s voice to a “clogged lawnmower”, while Sir Elton’s vocals are a faded facsimile of the original. But Elton’s status as a national treasure on a final victory lap means his fractured pipes are barely mentioned, while it’s open season on the GN’R man, with some critics still banging on about his “legendary” tardiness. “Will Axl show up on time?” they ask, hilariously, as if it’s 1989 rather than, you know, this century. 

But anyway. Elton. What a show. What a setlist. What a way to go out, if indeed he is. And now the BBC has released the official broadcast footage of the set-closing Rocket Man, a 10-minute, fireworks-strewn tour-de-force with enough emotional heft to move even the sturdiest of hearts.

Just seven dates remain on Sir Elton Hercules John CH CBE’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road tour. He plays the first of two shows at the Accor Arena in Paris this evening, with the final performance scheduled for Stockholm’s Tele2 Arena on July 8. Full dates below.     

Elton John: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road tour dates

Jun 27: Paris Accor Arena, France
Jun 28: Paris Accor Arena, France
Jul 01: Zurich Hallenstadion, Switzerland
Jul 02: Zurich Hallenstadion, Switzerland
Jul 05: Copenhagen Royal Arena, Denmark
Jul 07: Stockholm Tele2 Arena, Sweden
Jul 08: Stockholm Tele2 Arena, Sweden

Source: loudersound.com