Elton John says Farewell Yellow Brick Road on final tour
Credit to Author: Stuart Derdeyn| Date: Mon, 16 Sep 2019 18:05:00 +0000
Elton John Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour
When: Sept. 21 to 24,
Where: Rogers Arena
Tickets and info: Ticketmaster.ca
After 57 years performing, Sir Elton Hercules John (CBE) is saying goodbye to global fans.
The Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour was announced on January 24, 2018. With 300-plus dates, the piano-playing pop star’s last road trip is scheduled to end in a two night stand at The 02 in London in December. The musician born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on March 25, 2947, wants to spend more time with his husband David Furnish and their two sons, Zachary and Elijah.
He’ll be home in time for Christmas. Still standing, but probably ready for a well-earned retirement.
Along the way, John makes multiple stops across Canada. It’s testament to his popularity that none of these dates are single night shows. Vancouver actually has a three night-run. That’s nearly 57,000 fans entertained at one stop and the other venues are of a similar size. Sir Elton is doing his best to not bow out breaking fan’s hearts. The setlists on the tour are averaging 25 songs a night and almost all of those were hit singles, from the heights of his gaudy, glam-rock phase to the soundtrack successes.
Such is the career of the artist who began making pocket change playing in pubs and local rock bands before first gaining attention in 1962 backing UK blues singer Long John Baldry in Bluesology. Changing his stage name to Elton John in 1972, he and his lifelong lyricist Bernie Taupin, set about writing the first album. Titled Empty Sky (1969), it didn’t do much. The followup, 1970s Elton John, included the single You Song which went top 10 in both the UK and U.S. and remains in regular rotation on classic rock and adult contemporary radio to this very day.
From there, it’s a whirlwind of creative and commercial successes. By the time Honky Chateau became John’s first U.S. No. 1 record in 1972, his catalogue was already getting packed with the sort of singles most artists’ dream about achieving just once or twice. The John/Taupin songwriting machine made it look easy, and one year later, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road dropped including the title track, Bennie an the Jets (U.S. No. 1), Candle in the Wind, Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting and Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding. And the songs just kept coming. By 2013, Billboard hailed the artist as the most successful male solo artist on the trade magazine’s Hot 100 Top All-Time Artists. He was just behind the Beatles and Madonna.
As fans prepare for the 72 year-old singer’s arrival, here are five things to know about someone once referred to as “Reggie.”
1: The Top Tune. Given the depth of the John/Taupin back catalogue, trying to get fans to agree on their top 10 tracks taken from the 30 albums the two have collaborated on is very difficult. Given there are over 58 Billboard top 40 hits included in the list over a 50 year period, there are generational shifts to take into account too. In a Sept., 2018 piece in the Guardian, critic Dave Simpson compiled a top 50 songs list. Top spot went to Tiny Dancer, a six minute-long tune from Madman Across the Water which bombed upon release. Revitalized by its inclusion in director Cameron Crowe’s film Almost Famous, the song has held the top spot in numerous lists published over the years.
2: The Voice. Sure, the wild costumes and accessories such as the US$5,000 spectacles that spelled his name in lights were great for gaining attention in the powder-happy hedonism of the glam rock era. Being a piano player in an era rife with showy guitar heroes was pretty different. But what really has been John’s most potent tool throughout his career is his spectacular voice. He can croon, he can soar, he can scream and he almost lost it. In 1987, John had surgery on his vocal cords to deal with a non-malignant lesion which resulted in his voice taking on whole new levels of deeper timbre and a noticeably rounder and fuller quality. He first showcased this on his 21st studio LP, Reg Strikes Back which included yet another Adult Contemporary chart No. 1 tune in I Don’t Wanna Go on with You Like That.
3: The Osbourne Effect. While Bernie Taupin may be one of the only lyricists ever to wind up a household name, he isn’t the only writer that John has turned to for words. Award-winning UK writer Gary Osbourne has been a frequent collaborator, coming up with Part Time Love, Little Jeannie and global hit Blue Eyes, amongst others.
4: The Bitch is Back. Hands down, the best backstories of any John hit is the one for this snarky rocker from 1974. As reported in the Guardian, the musician was very well-known for throwing mega-tantrums at the time. Following one such outburst, Bernie Taupin’s ex-wife, Maxine Feibelman, exclaimed “Uh-oh, the bitch is back.” Taupin loved it and turned it into the lyric for this celebrated rocker, which featured John’s good friend John Lennon on tambourine. John has joked that it is “my theme song.”
5: Retirement; not Retirement. Easily one of the most prolific artists to come out of the classic rock era, Sir Elton has been busy in the soundtrack scene since the 1970s, hitting a career high with The Lion King in 1994. And, yes, Gnomeo & Juliet could be a career low as far as these projects go. OK, the biopic Rocketman didn’t perform as hoped either, but it’s all so much water off of John’s Donald Duck costume’s back. He has inked a deal with Universal Music Group to represent both his five decade-long catalogue as well as new music. There will doubtless be new music. Who knows, maybe there could be a tour with Taron Egerton playing John performing only music from his 1970s records. The music is certain to have a life of its own after Elton hangs up his concert platforms.