Rocket man Sir Elton John set to jet in, and out

Elton John performs on stage at Staples Center, in Los Angeles. Photo / AP

Sir Elton John will be a real-life rocket man when he blasts into New Zealand next weekend.

The superstar arrives in Wellington on Saturday in a private jet from Japan just hours before taking the stage in front of 30,000 fans at Westpac Stadium.

And while the crowd is listening to his backing band close the concert, Sir Elton will already be zooming back to the airport in a limo to board his waiting plane for his next gig in Hong Kong.

"Sir Elton doesn't hang about," promoter Phil Sprey from Capital C: Concerts told the Herald on Sunday. "He will arrive mid-afternoon and relax for a couple of hours before performing.

"He shoots straight back to the airport as soon as he is finished while his band is still on stage."

Sprey has promoted Sir Elton's concerts in New Zealand for many years. He has performed to about 130,000 fans in New Zealand over the past decade.

"It is usually a case of seeing him briefly backstage to exchange quick hellos before saying 'see you next time mate', then he's gone," Sprey said. "He is travelling without his family because his flight schedule is so punishing. I doubt if many airline pilots would even fancy doing it."

Meanwhile, rock supergroup Fleetwood Mac are set to wow close to 100,000 fans in Dunedin and Auckland this week at the end of their 15-month On With The Show world tour.

Fleetwood Mac say next weekend’s shows will not be their last Downunder. Photo / Supplied

The American band will blast out a 23-song set including hits such as Dreams, Go Your Own Way and Tusk at Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium on Wednesday, and again at gigs at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland on Saturday and Sunday.

Almost half of the 66,000-strong Auckland audience over the two nights will come from out of town, said Mt Smart's director of external relations Paul Brewer. Saturday's concert is sold out but a few tickets are still available for Sunday.

"The influx of fans will mean a significant boost for the local economy," he said.

Fleetwood Mac founding member Mick Fleetwood has said the shows will not be the band's last Downunder.

"This is not goodbye," Fleetwood told the 702 ABC Sydney breakfast show during the band's current tour of Australia. "Stevie [Nicks] mentioned it to me the other night, saying 'this can't be the goodbye tour because no one said that it was'."