Elton John

[incident]

1 minute ago, NorthernSoul52 said:

Time to resurrect this one then.

For those who have not seen, Sir Elton Hercules John - stop laughing at the back - has moved a previously scheduled date in Paris from Sunday June 25 2023 to Wednesday June 21 2023. He know has a curiously-shaped hole in his touring schedule that runs between Thursday June 22 2023 to Monday June 26 2023 next year - right around the time that several hundred thousand people will be descending upon Worthy Farm.

It could be anything. It could be a wedding. It could be a Watford pre-season tour. It could be ladies night at the Palace Hotel Ballroom.

But chances are that it is indeed Glastonbury. We've seen bands move their dates for a trip to the farm before - The Who in 2015, famously - but the fact that this show has been rescheduled almost a year in advance likely lends significant weight to the fact he might just be...

...a lock.

Elton John, Glastonbury Festival 2023.

I love the confidence - and I'm desperately hoping that Elton is on the table again, but we've been here before. My concern given the apparent timing of the change is that if it was Glastonbury, wouldn't the Paris show have been moved earlier? Maybe he enjoyed BST so much he's decided to do it again next year and so cleared the weekend.

At this point, I'm moving from "not happening" to "maybe" but not getting my hopes up.

[NorthernSoul52]

Just now, incident said:

I love the confidence - and I'm desperately hoping that Elton is on the table again, but we've been here before. My concern given the apparent timing of the change is that if it was Glastonbury, wouldn't the Paris show have been moved earlier? Maybe he enjoyed BST so much he's decided to do it again next year and so cleared the weekend.

At this point, I'm moving from "not happening" to "maybe" but not getting my hopes up.

I think a repeat booking at BST is the proverbial fly in the ointment, but it also seems... a little desperate from the latter's standpoint too. A strike against it.

The Paris run was scheduled to be Sunday June 25, Tuesday June 27 and Wednesday June 28. We'd previously discounted him on the basis that he was unlikely to play the Friday evening, and the Saturday slot would have meant an immediate departure to France.

Now, with a whole day to pack in France - Thursday 22 - and pack again in Pilton - Monday 26 - I'd argue he's ready to roll for any of the dates in question. Saturday feels like the shout with a fully clear weekend - it might even be alright for fighting.

Fingers crossed.

[incident]

1 minute ago, NorthernSoul52 said:

I think a repeat booking at BST is the proverbial fly in the ointment, but it also seems... a little desperate from the latter's standpoint too. A strike against it.

The Paris run was scheduled to be Sunday June 25, Tuesday June 27 and Wednesday June 28. We'd previously discounted him on the basis that he was unlikely to play the Friday evening, and the Saturday slot would have meant an immediate departure to France.

Now, with a whole day to pack in France - Thursday 22 - and pack again in Pilton - Monday 26 - I'd argue he's ready to roll for any of the dates in question. Saturday feels like the shout with a fully clear weekend - it might even be alright for fighting.

Fingers crossed.

Sorry, when I said moved earlier - what I meant was that they would have done the rescheduling before now rather than referencing the date of the actual rescheduled show.

[NorthernSoul52]

2 minutes ago, incident said:

Sorry, when I said moved earlier - what I meant was that they would have done the rescheduling before now rather than referencing the date of the actual rescheduled show.

Oh, I get you there. Yes, it does feel a little odd. It makes me assume that he may have possibly been booked for the Friday in the first place, and was then forced to abandon that date - and that Glastonbury have made it worth his while to come back around. (Or, that he has realised that as capstones go, Pilton doesn't get much bigger.)

He could butcher a lot of those songs vocally on the night and it would still cement his legacy as a purveyor of top-drawer musical craftsmanship. (He was in stronger form when I caught him in Sunderland the other week, but there are soft patches. I wonder if the shift for a Wednesday on that Paris show is to give him a full two days of rest on the Thursday and Friday before the Saturday.)

[Gnomicide]

On 1/26/2022 at 7:05 PM, guypjfreak said:

Rather Elton than Paul tbh 

Arf. Or maybe arse.

[NorthernSoul52]

Would quite love to see him rock up and pull a Radiohead - proceed to play a selection of more obtuse cuts for an hour before launching into a home straight of bangers.

Particularly liked his feature on Gorillaz's The Pink Phantom. Was that last year, or the year before? Either way, top stuff for me.

[henry bear]

Let’s face it, if he does play, it’ll be the same setlist he’s been doing all this time on his never-ending farewell tour

[NorthernSoul52]

23 minutes ago, henry bear said:

Let’s face it, if he does play, it’ll be the same setlist he’s been doing all this time on his never-ending farewell tour

Oh, absolutely - and you won't here too many complaints there, I'd image. Even the nominal deeper cuts are songs people still know.

Someone Saved My Life Tonight would be a terrific moment.

[kalifire]

The annual dream begins again. I wonder when he’ll destroy it by scheduling a gig at an obscure, minor football stadium this year? 

[Radiochicken]

Dua Lipa / Elton John / Arctic Monkeys

[Rose-Colored Boy]

Dill Dannon. It’s time. 

[CaledonianGonzo]

 

[Rose-Colored Boy]

This is his last chance.. coupled with the relative lack of oldies touring next summer.. prepared to be disappointed once again but the stars certainly look to be aligning. 

[danbailey80]

9 hours ago, NorthernSoul52 said:

Would quite love to see him rock up and pull a Radiohead 

…Sponsor a teenage media studies student to do the visuals, there by alienating 2 thirds of the audience? 

[NorthernSoul52]

8 hours ago, kalifire said:

The annual dream begins again. I wonder when he’ll destroy it by scheduling a gig at an obscure, minor football stadium this year? 

Shrewsbury or Macclesfield for me, Clive.

48 minutes ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

 

I think we've seen this film before, and we didn't like the ending.

37 minutes ago, Rose-Colored Boy said:

This is his last chance.. coupled with the relative lack of oldies touring next summer.. prepared to be disappointed once again but the stars certainly look to be aligning. 

Fingers crossed.

His farewell show clocks in around the 2hr20 mark. Would assume, given Macca got to go all the way, we'd be getting the full Elton John experience - rotating piano, Nigel's gloves, the lot.

Dua Lipa, headlining or not, feels a safe lock to guest for Cold Heart, but I do wonder if we could get a second guest slot. He doesn't play Don't Go Breaking My Heart, but with a litany of partners to choose from, find it tough to believe that won't get an airing.

(Can't wait for folk to say their Glastonbury moment was Elton John and Chris Martin on duet duties for Don't Go Breaking My Heart now.)

[Rose-Colored Boy]

Just now, NorthernSoul52 said:

He doesn't play Don't Go Breaking My Heart, but with a litany of partners to choose from, find it tough to believe that won't get an airing.

(Can't wait for folk to say their Glastonbury moment was Elton John and Chris Martin on duet duties for Don't Go Breaking My Heart now.)

If he’s on the Sunday night then it’s got a Michael Eavis appearance written all over it. 

[Quark]

Until he sets foot on that stage, I pretty much refuse to believe he'll do it. Chances in tour schedules have been and gone before. 

[CaledonianGonzo]

Someone who's better at drawing than me needs to knock up a Charlie Brown kicking the football meme with Eavis as Charlie Brown and Reg as Lucy.

[NorthernSoul52]

17 minutes ago, Quark said:

Until he sets foot on that stage, I pretty much refuse to believe he'll do it. Chances in tour schedules have been and gone before. 

As this could well be the final opportunity, inclined to think he will.

But then again, he wasn't plotted to tour in 2023. So who the heck knows.

[FloorFiller]

4 minutes ago, NorthernSoul52 said:

As this could well be the final opportunity, inclined to think he will.

But then again, he wasn't plotted to tour in 2023. So who the heck knows.

When he first announced the tour, when was the final final U.K. leg supposed to be? Wonder if Glastonbury has always been intended to be a final show on these shores, or maybe it’s something that he warmed to over lockdown/with the tour delay. 

[NorthernSoul52]

22 minutes ago, FloorFiller said:

When he first announced the tour, when was the final final U.K. leg supposed to be? Wonder if Glastonbury has always been intended to be a final show on these shores, or maybe it’s something that he warmed to over lockdown/with the tour delay. 

Erm, good question. I think he was taken aback by the sales for the UK arena leg - added a string of extras there - and they were set for late 2020.

There is the chance that he was booked to play Glastonbury in 2021 alongside a then-unannounced stadium run - because I don't think they were officially confirmed until the start of 2021.

That, as info goes, might tally quite nicely with the fact that the 2021 headliners have been rolled onwards if possible, and that Billie Eilish was a late replacement after Taylor Swift sacked off her Lover tour.

That, in turn, may actually lend weight to the suggestion the latter will not headline until 2024 at the earliest, particularly if 2021's headliners have been locked in since the early stages of the pandemic. Elton John might well have always been in the bag for 2021 - which now begs the question, who else was? It's one of the few reasons I keep bouncing back away from Arctic Monkeys - would they have been booked if they did not have a record in the can to chase? Likewise, why I keep thinking about The 1975 - 2021 atop the Pyramid stage would likely have closed their quote-unquote Music for Cars era that encompassed A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships and Notes on a Conditional Form.

Mere speculation, all of the above, but think it might be close enough to tally when it comes to Reg Dwight himself.

[NorthernSoul52]

Fresh talk suggests Elton John is not a fan of Glastonbury.

Is this the end of the Reg Dwight Dream? Or are we...

...still standing?

[The Nal]

Unpopular opinion - hes absolutely dreadful so Im happy.

[squirrelarmy]

He has just been performing with Yard Act who have just played the festival. They may persuade him to go for it. 

[Mr Boo]

7 minutes ago, NorthernSoul52 said:

Or are we...

...still standing?

Don’t let the sun go down on this dream 😜