Elton John says he is anxious to get back on the road next year so he can wrap up his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour.
“It’s something I wanna finish,” John told NME of his final tour, which was delayed by the pandemic. “I’m looking forward to doing it and going out on the high that we were on – we were an express train that hit the buffers.”
John kicked off the tour in September 2018 and did shows in Toronto, Ottawa, Quebec City, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg. Concerts in Toronto and Montreal that were scrapped due to the pandemic are scheduled to take place Feb. 14 and 15, 2022 and Feb. 18 and 19, respectively.
In June, John announced the addition of two stadium concerts in Canada – Sept. 7 at Toronto’s Rogers Centre and Oct. 21 at BC Place in Vancouver.
“At the moment I finish supposedly in 2023, in the summer, by which time I’ll be 76 – and that’s it, baby,” said John, who recently underwent hip surgery. “I can’t wait to do it and have a great time, and I can’t wait to finish and say, “No more – I’ve had enough.’”
John insists he is not done with music. “I will do records and I’ll do my radio show, but as far as schlepping and doing shows? I’ve had enough applause. I wanna be with my family. I wanna be with my boys,” he explained. The singer has sons Zachary and Elijah with his Canadian husband David Furnish.
“I’ll still be creative, but I don’t want to spend the rest of my life flying here, flying there. I can’t do any more than I’ve done now and save for the odd charity thing that may come up, that’s it for me.”
Once the tour is over, John won’t have to perform the songs that made him famous. “It’s the future I’m interested in,” he said. “I’m not interested in the past – not even Elton John’s past.
“I know I have to sing what I do onstage but I very, very rarely go back and listen to my own records. I’m more interested in hearing something new.”