Elton John has announced his retirement from the stage after one more world tour over the next three years. The Farewell, Yellow Brick Road tour will stop in four Canadian cities.
The music icon made the announcement during a live-stream press conference mediated by Anderson Cooper in New York City on Wednesday.
"I'm not going to be touring anymore,” John told Cooper. "I'm not going to be touring and traveling the world. My priorities have changed. I have young children.”
John has been reportedly planning the announcement for two years, and has denied reports that he’s retiring due to health issues.
"In the press today in England, of course, they said I'm in ill-health. But if you're doing 300 shows, you're not in ill health.”
The event in NYC began with a video montage of John’s career, before the singer took the stage to perform “Tiny Dancer” and a stripped-down version of “I’m Still Standing.”
As a 50-year era comes to a close, John made it clear that he wanted to make the tour extravagant.
"It's going to be the most produced, fantastic show I've ever done," he said. "It'll be a wonderful way to thank people...the other things [like award shows] are just superfluous little trinkets.
"I thought the time was right to say hello to all my fans around the road, and then goodbye."
Despite his decision to retire from the road, the 70-year-old musician said he would continue to write music and record following the conclusion of the tour in 2021.
"That doesn't mean I won't still be creative," John said. "But I won't travel any more...I don't want to go out with a whimper. I want to go out with a bang...It'll be the most produced, fantastic show I've ever done.”
John also didn’t rule out the option of a future residency show, but did insist that he needed some time off. The iconic artist even highlighted the fact that he’s never taken a break from touring or recording except for the one year he took to get sober.
"I haven't had much time off in my life… I definitely want to make a couple more albums, but that will be easy since I can do that at home. I want to see friends. I want to spend time at my house and with my photography collection. I'm really looking forward to this tour and I'm really looking forward to the 300th date.
"There's always something left to do. If you look and you're willing to accept new things, life unfolds before you.”
The first set of North American tickets for the Farewell, Yellow Brick Road tour will go on sale on Feb. 2.
Announced Canadian tour dates for 2018:
- Sep. 25 and 26, 2018 - Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
- Sep. 28, 2018 - Ottawa, ON @ Canadian Tire Centre
- Sep. 29, 2018 - Quebec City @ Videotron Centre
- Oct. 4, 2018 - Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
Watch the full press conference below: