Goodbye Norma Jean? Sadly, it was goodbye Elton John last night.
is Farewell Yellow Brick Road world tour, which began in 2018 and, after being delayed by the Covid pandemic, finishes next year, rolled into Cork last night.
Although he called his 2015 US tour The Final Curtain, this really is Sir Elton’s final curtain call.
And the 37,000 fans at Páirc Uí Chaoimh gave the 75-year-old from Pinner, a town northwest of London, a rousing send off – not difficult to accomplish as they were in the company of the human jukebox that is Elton John.
Over his 50 year career, he has been one of the biggest selling music artists of all time, up there with Elvis Presley. And the characteristically over-the-top sparkly tux (with matching sparkly glasses) Sir Elton came on stage in Cork wearing last night at 8pm would have The King smiling down from Heaven.
It was an exercise in nostalgia as well as timeless songcraft from the acceptably outrageous demigod sat at his trusty piano stool on a huge shiny black stage.
His outfit was of course dressed down for the man who once played dressed in a Donald Duck costume.
He came onstage to 1974’s piano-driven anthem Bennie and the Jets (which got the crowd up and dancing), followed by Philadelphia Freedom from 1975. 1983’s I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues was up next, a piano-led lament laced with regret that is ultimately uplifting, as was Tiny Dancer from his 1971 album Madman Across the Water and Have Mercy On The Criminal from Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only The Piano Player from 1973.
On the latter, his voice was particularly emotive. If anything, his voice had got better with age. He dedicated The Border to Aretha Franklin and told the crowd to make the good weather count and enjoy themselves. They were going to do that, rain or shine. The instantly recognisable chords of Rocket Man had everyone moving to the beat and waving their arms from side to side in time with the music. The song inspired less by David Bowie's Space Oddity than Ray Bradbury's 1951 short story had everyone in Páirc Uí Chaoimh thinking of the lonely astronaut of the song’s title missing his family while away on a mission in space.
At one point the giant screens on either side of the stage cut to a man in the audience dressed as an astronaut. That got a huge cheer. As did Elton's improvisation piano boogie woogie at the end of the song. "It is going to be a long, long time," he sang, the words echoing around Cork. He stood up and bowed. And it was still only 45 minutes into the show.
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Just as inspired was 1975’s Someone Saved My Life Tonight, a beautiful song about Elton's thoughts of suicide in the late 1960s until a musician friend, Long John Baldry, gave him some well-needed advice and, as the song says, saved his life.
He slowed it down with his 1973 ode to Marilyn Monroe, Candle In The Wind, which was rebooted into a tribute to Princess Diana after she died in 1997. The song had special significance last night on Lady Di's birthday. Elton seemed to tear up at the end of the song.
This was followed by 1984’s Sad Songs (Say So Much) and another melancholic number, Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word. He dedicated Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me
to "the fabulous, gorgeous Graham Norton who is here tonight."
Then it was the full-on rocker The Bitch Is Back from 1974.
On the original recording in 1974, John Lennon played tambourine. A few years ago Elton gave an interview where he spoke about hanging out in New York in the early 1970s with the Beatles star and the drug fuelled nights out they enjoyed. "I can remember being stoned out of our mind on coke at the Sherry-Netherland hotel, and at two in the morning, there would be a knock on the door," he told Rolling Stone. "It took me five minutes to get to get the door because I was so paranoid, but it was Andy f***ing Warhol.
"I said, 'It's Andy Warhol,' and he [Lennon] said, 'Don't f***ing let him in! He'll have a camera and everything!' So we just waited for him to leave."
Seeing Paul McCartney at Glastonbury last week made me think if Lennon was still around that he would be probably up on stage with Elton bashing his oul' tambourine. But I digress...
Next up was I'm Still Standing, which got the biggest crowd reaction of the night, followed naturally by Crocodile Rock.
“I remember when rock was young, me and Susie had so much fun,” he sang. And we all sang it back too, having as much fun as the Susie of the song.
Next up was the rollicking Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting with that raucous guitar riff and Elton imploring Cork: “It’s seven o’clock and I wanna rock, want to get a belly full of beer.”
Then the human jukebox was gone to recharge his batteries.
Only to reappear five minutes later for an encore of a very funky Cold Heart, Your Song and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.
Elton John is that good live that let's hope that he is codding the world with this crazy talk of retirement.
