Elton John review, Glastonbury 2023: The greatest retirement party in pop history

Sir Elton John performs on stage during Day 5 of Glastonbury Festival 2023 on June 25, 2023. Photo / Getty Images

REVIEW:

It started with the explosive bang of Elton John’s rip roaring take on The Who’s Pinball Wizard and just kept going, absolute banger after banger, power ballads and rock ‘n roll blasters, disco epics and glam rockers all pounding out in an atmosphere of joyous celebration.

Glastonbury just threw the greatest retirement party in pop history. Everyone was there, and I’m not just talking about the stars watching from the side of the stage, including Paul McCartney and every other Glastonbury headliner past or present who could wangle a ticket. It was standing room only on the hillside as every single denizen of the festival turned out to pay their respects, leaving every other stage and field of this sprawling site as empty as a ghost town.

Elton John & Brandon Flowers performing ‘Tiny Dancer’ tonight at Glastonbury 😍

pic.twitter.com/PxcT4UexUr

— The Rock Revival (@TheRockRevival_) June 25, 2023

Elton wore a shiny gold suit, sent rippling glissandos of virtuoso piano through the Somerset air and sang like a soulful champion, backed by a quarter of a million revellers singing tunefully along. That is some choir.

After all the Britney Spears and Eminem rumours, the great man’s guest list proved rather different, leaning to the newer and edgier artists he personally loves. Jacob Lusk of rising electronic soul trio Gabriels joined for the rarely performed Are You Ready For Love, whilst genre bending art pop maverick Rina Sawayama gamely stood in for Kiki Dee on a cheery Don’t Go Breaking My Heart. But Brandon Flowers of the Killers was the only genuinely big name, lending some rocky panache to Tiny Dancer.

Sir Elton John and Rina Sawayama perform at Day 5 of Glastonbury Festival 2023 on June 25, 2023. Photo / Getty Images

Presumably Elton was confident that the songs themselves would do all the heavy lifting. What a catalogue of classics. It’s hard to believe we will never hear them performed live by their composer again. Or will we?

The crowd laughed indulgently when Elton said that it “may” be his last ever show in England, as if he was already having second thoughts. Honestly, he still sounds at the height of his powers. Why would he stop?

The crowd for Elton John at Glastonbury 🤯 pic.twitter.com/DSiniwV7rT

— The Rock Revival (@TheRockRevival_) June 25, 2023

You might think this old showbiz veteran had seen it all in a career of over 60 years, but he seemed genuinely awed and utterly delighted by the occasion. The spectacle of Glastonbury is the people. It doesn’t have the biggest screens, the most spectacular production, the latest state of the art special effects. But it has the people, and when they are enclosed in a sense of spontaneous community, hundreds of thousands singing and swaying on a hillside, waving flags, setting off flares, united by the power of music, it really is something extraordinarily life affirming.

The singalong to Your Song in the dusky blue light as a half moon rose above the Pyramid stage was spinetingling. Don’t Let The Sun Go Down on me was towering. Rocket Man, amidst the smoking flares, searchlights and fireworks was awe inspiring. “I’ll never forget this,” Elton promised. Neither will anyone there.