Elton John played a hit-strewn, 21-song set. Photo: AFP / Oli Scarff
By Mark Savage, BBC News
The sun set on one of the greatest careers in British music history, as Elton John played the last UK show of his farewell tour at Glastonbury.
The 76-year-old legend treated his fans to a masterclass in song and stage craft, with a setlist that never stopped delivering classic pop moments.
'Bennie And The Jets', 'Tiny Dancer', 'Your Song', 'I'm Still Standing' - for two hours, every song was a greatest hit.
"I'm so happy to be here," he told the crowd. "I won't ever forget this."
Elton burst onto the stage shortly after 9pm local time with 'Pinball Wizard' - as promised, a song he had not played in over a decade - following it up with a raucous romp through 'The Bitch Is Back'.
Pausing to catch his breath, he drank in the vast crowd, estimated to be over 120,000 people, and stretched out his arms in gratitude.
"I never thought I'd play Glastonbury - and here I am," he said.
"It's a very special and emotional night for me as it may be my last show in England, in Great Britain.
"I'd better play well and I'd better entertain you because you've been standing there so long," he added.
In the audience next to me, a fan hollered their encouragement: "Go on, you old sausage."
Elton John performs with Rina Sawayama. Photo: AFP / Oli Scarff
The show came toward the end of Elton's Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour - now officially the highest-grossing tour of all time, with box office receipts of $887 million (NZD$1.4 billion).
After Glastonbury, there are just seven dates left, with the final show in Stockholm on 8 July.
It puts to rest a touring career that has seen Elton go from a young upstart rocking the Troubador in Los Angeles, to a part of the rock establishment.
Over the years, he has gained a reputation for flamboyant excess - feather boas, platform heels, elaborate headdresses and pianos that burst into flames.
"I don't move around the stage," he reasoned. "I've got to attract attention somehow!"
But by Elton's standards, Glastonbury was an understated show that focused purely on his love of music.
He stayed in the same gold lamé suit all evening, giving off the air of a man who is at his happiest when he is sitting behind a piano, letting rip.
There were some beautiful, extended flourishes on 'Your Song' and 'I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues'. On 'I'm Still Standing', he pounded the keys so hard, they threatened to fall off.
It has to be said, however, that his voice is not what it was. The clipped vowels and marmalade diction have a whiff of Vegas lounge singer - but here at Worthy Farm, his singing was strangely effective, cutting through the air with a clarity that other headliners failed to match this weekend.
Elton John performs on the piano. Photo: AFP / Oli Scarff
Ahead of the show, rumours of special guests had been bubbling all weekend. Britney Spears was supposedly seen at Bristol airport. A security guard swore they had seen Dua Lipa. Harry Styles was supposed to be here, then he was not, then he was again.
In the end, however, Elton went against the grain, championing a new generation of musicians over pop stars who could easily headline Glastonbury themselves.
He invited Jacob Lusk of US soul group Gabriels to sing 'Are You Ready For Love'; while pop newcomer Rina Sawayama took Kiki Dee's place on a rousing 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart'.
Nashville's Stephen Sanchez even got to sing a song of his own, 'Until I Found You'.
"I heard it last year on the radio," Elton enthused, "and I couldn't believe a 19, 20 year old could write a song like this".
The sole exception was The Killers' Brandon Flowers, who took to the stage in a hot pink suit for a handsome duet of 'Tiny Dancer'.
Their performance proved so moving that TV cameras picked out a proposal in the audience.
Overall, however, the lack of star power caused a ripple of disappointment. "Who's that?" grumbled one fan as Sawayama took the stage.
But there was something admirable about it, too. Elton stayed true to who he was - a music obsessive, whose hunger for rock and pop has fuelled and sustained his career.
After two hours, the set built to an emotional climax.
Elton dedicated 'Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me' to George Michael, "one of Britain's most fantastic singers, songwriters [and] artists".
"He was my friend, an inspiration, and today would have been his 60th birthday - I want to dedicate this song to his memory, and all the music he left us with which is so gorgeous," he added.
Then he drew the curtain on his UK touring career with an extended, elegiac version of 'Rocket Man', as fireworks echoed around the site.
As he took a final bow with his band, the closing lyric, "I think it's gonna be a long, long time," took on a new poignancy.
"It's been an incredible journey and I've had the best, best time," said the star, with a lump in his throat.
He was not the only one.
Setlist
- Pinball Wiard
- The Bitch Is Back
- Bennie & The Jets
- Daniel
- Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
- I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
- Philadelphia Freedom
- Are You Ready For Love? (With Jacob Lusk and the London Community Gospel Choir)
- Sad Songs Say So Much
- Someone Saved My Life Tonight
- Until I Found You (with Stephen Sanchez)
- Your Song
- Candle In The Wind
- Tiny Dancer (with Brandon Flowers)
- Don't Go Breaking My Heart (with Rina Sawyama)
- Crocodile Rock
- Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting
- I'm Still Standing
- Cold Heart
- Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
- Rocket Man
The star's set was watched by so many fans that Glastonbury issued a "standing only" ruke, asking people to fold up their chairs and pack away picnic blankets.
Also watching was Paul McCartney, actors Matt Smith and Kate Hudson, Jamie Oliver, and Taron Egerton, who played Elton in the hit biopic Rocketman, as well the film's director Dexter Fletcher.
"That was incredible," Fletcher told the BBC after the show.
"You can't really put it into words how emotional it was, and how engaged he was, and the connection with the crowd. That's what it was all about."
The performance drew the 2023 Glastonbury festival to a close, after high-profile sets from Arctic Monkeys, Guns N' Roses, Lana Del Rey, WizKid, Lizzo, Blondie and Cat Stevens.
Organiser Emily Eavis has confirmed the event will return next year, with two female headliners already booked.
This story was originally published by the BBC.