Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and hello road to recovery. Elton John said he will postpone his farewell tour for two years after injuring his hip in a fall. The pop music icon said he hopes to resume the European portion of the tour in 2023.
Elton John announced in a statement Thursday that his doctors advised him he would need surgery to repair the damage to his hip. The 74-year-old hoped to continue after his fall earlier this summer, but he said the pain he felt made that impossible. John postponed several dates last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“At the end of my summer break, I fell awkwardly on a hard surface and have been in considerable pain and discomfort in my hip ever since,” the statement said. “Despite intensive physio and specialist treatment, the pain has continued to get worse and is leading to increasing difficulties moving. “I have been advised to have an operation as soon as possible to get me back to full fitness and make sure there are no long-term complications.”
That being said, “it is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I am forced to reschedule the 2021 dates of my Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour in Europe and the UK to 2023.”
The “Your Song” singer said he still plans to play at the Global Citizen Live fundraiser on Sept. 25. He wrote he didn’t want to let the charity down. Plus, he’ll only perform five songs, not his typical three-hour setlist.
American audiences may get lucky, though. John said he hopes to kick off the U.S. leg of his tour on schedule in New Orleans this January.
Elton John began The Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour in 2018. He will perform at 309 shows all over the world.
Elton John Wrote New Album During Lockdown
Like most of us, Elton John found himself having a lot of free time last year. But unlike most of us, he used that time wisely.
John got together with several of his famous friends to produce the aptly titled The Lockdown Sessions. The album features duets with Miley Cyrus, Lil Nas X, Stevie Wonder, Brandi Carlile, Eddie Vedder, and Stevie Nicks, Fox News said.
“The last thing I expected to do during lockdown was make an album,” Elton John wrote on Instagram. “But, as the pandemic went on, one‐off projects kept cropping up, and I’ve ended with a selection of really interesting and diverse stuff that was completely different to anything I’m known for, stuff that took me out of my comfort zone into completely new territory.
“At the start of my career … I worked as a session musician. Working with different artists during lockdown reminded me of that. I’d come full circle.”
Elton John will release The Lockdown Sessions on Oct. 22.
