Sir Elton John has insisted he’s had “enough applause”.
The 74-year-old music legend is set to bow out of touring after he completes the rest of his ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road: The Final Tour’, which has been postponed until 2023 after he fell and injured himself and subsequently underwent hip replacement surgery.
And while he won’t be going on any more extensive jaunts around the globe, the ‘Tiny Dancer’ hitmaker – who has Zachary, 10, and eight-year-old Elijah with husband David Furnish – has insisted he’s not giving up music completely, as he will continue to make new tunes
Speaking to Fleur East on Hits Radio, he said: “I can assure you it’s the final tour. I will be doing some charity shows if I’m asked, but I’m not touring again. I’ll be 76 when I finish, I need to be with my family. My boys will be teenagers. I will always make music, I’ll always be doing my radio stuff and whatever, but you know I’ve been playing music since I was 17 professionally. That’s 57 years of, it’ll be 59 years by the time I finish. I’ve had enough applause, I can’t do a better show than I’m doing and so I’m really really, I’m really adamant that I’m not touring again. I can’t.”
The ‘Cold Heart’ hitmaker has just released his collaborative LP ‘The Lockdown Sessions’, which features the likes of Rina Sawayama, SG Lewis, and Lil Nas X, and Elton quipped that the young artists keep this “old, old fart young”.
The ‘Rocket Hour’ host laughed: “Old, old fart makes record with Nicki Minaj and Young Thug right?! These are the kind of artists that keep me young.
“You know I listen to all new music, I know all the old music but like it’s the new music in life that keeps me inspired.
“And all these new artists that come along. I mean when you think Lorde make an album at 16 which was amazing like Billie Eilish did when she was 15. There’s a new artist called music called Morgen, M-O-R-G-E-N, she’s from Santa Cruz. She’s made two singles that I’ve played on my record and she’s like, I can’t believe a 16-year-old girl is making this kind of music. It’s astonishing.”
Listen to Elton John – In Conversation with Fleur East on Hits Radio, tonight at 7pm – hitsradio.co.uk.