Elton John begins UK leg of Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour in Norwich

Elton John began the UK leg of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour in Norwich last night (June 15) – check out fan-shot footage and the full setlist below.

The pop legend announced the first UK dates for his final ever run of shows in 2018, stating then that he wanted to spend more time at home with his two young children.

However, the Australian leg of the tour was brought to a sudden halt in March 2020 due to the COVID pandemic. The stint eventually resumed in New Orleans, Louisiana this January almost two years on from John’s previous live appearance.

After recently wrapping a string of European concerts, the singer has now made his UK live return. He played the Carrow Road stadium in Norwich yesterday (June 15), delivering a 23-song set and kicking off the night with ‘Bennie And The Jets’.

Elsewhere at the gig fans were treated to classics ‘Tiny Dancer’, ‘Rocket Man’, ‘I’m Still Standing’, ‘Crocodile Rock’, and the main set closer ‘Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting’.

John then delivered a three-song encore that consisted of ‘Cold Heart’ (his hit collaboration with Dua Lipa from his latest album ‘The Lockdown Sessions’), ‘Your Song’ and ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’.

“Tonight is the 229th show on the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. We have about 103 shows to do,” John told the audience at one point (via the BBC). “It’s been quite a journey and it all ends next July.

“But I want to thank you because I won’t be playing here again. I want to thank you for all the memories, all the love you’ve sent me, all the loyalty, the kindness, the letters, the dressing up, the costumes, the multiple shows you’ve been to.”

He added: “It means the world to me and I will never forget you guys.”

You can see a selection of fan-shot videos and images from last night’s concert below.

Elton John played (via Setlist.FM):

‘Bennie And The Jets’
‘Philadelphia Freedom’
‘I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues’
‘Border Song’
‘Tiny Dancer’
‘Have Mercy On The Criminal’
‘Rocket Man’
‘Take Me To The Pilot’
‘Someone Saved My Life Tonight’
‘Levon’
‘Candle In The Wind’
‘Funeral For A Friend/ Love Lies Bleeding’
‘Burn Down The Mission’
‘Sad Songs (Say So Much)’
‘Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word’
‘Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me’
‘The Bitch Is Back’
‘I’m Still Standing’
‘Crocodile Rock’
‘Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting’
‘Cold Heart’
‘Your Song’
‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’

John is scheduled to perform in Liverpool tomorrow night (June 17), with further dates in Sunderland (19), Bristol (22, 26), Swansea (29), Cork (July 1) and Watford (3).

Next Friday (June 24) John headlines the BST Hyde Park series in London. Support acts include Rina Sawayama, BERWYN and Let’s Eat Grandma.

John had been set to play a run of rescheduled UK headline dates between October and December 2021. However he was forced to postpone those gigs to 2023 after sustaining a hip injury from an “awkward” fall.

Speaking to NME as part of his Big Read cover interview last October, John explained that he was determined to finish the tour but confirmed that it will also certainly be his last.

“It’s something I wanna finish,” he told NME. “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. At the moment I finish supposedly in 2023, in the summer, by which time I’ll be 76 – and that’s it, baby.”

Related Posts