Pneumonia halts Elton John in NZ

Rock icon breaks down in tears as he loses voice and is assisted from stage at Auckland gig.

Elton John performs at Mt Duneed Estate, Geelong during his Australian tour. Picture: AAP

Rock icon Sir Elton John received medical attention before cutting short his show in Auckland last night.

After receiving on-stage medical attention, the English superstar was unable to finish his set at Mount Smart Stadium.

He teared up in front of the capacity crowd, apologising and departing his set with nine songs unsung.

“I’m sorry. So very sorry … I’ve completely lost my voice,” he said after an aborted attempt to sing Daniel, requiring assistance to leave the stage.

Sir Elton began his show by telling fans he had “walking pneumonia”, according to TVNZ, and appeared distraught at not being able to finish his show. His legion of fans in attendance — which included NZ opposition leader Simon Bridges — cheered the legend off the stage despite their obvious disappointment.

“Unfortunately Elton had to cut short his concert in Auckland this evening due to Walking Pneumonia. What a pro, he tried to stay but his voice was shot. Regardless, we all knew we were in the presence of a legend!” Lisa Hopkins wrote on Twitter.

.@eltonofficial broke down after losing his voice to walking pneumonia 2/3rds through his Auckland show. It was hard to watch! Amazing hour 45 regardless 👌🏼 pic.twitter.com/9jUb0xSIh4

— Clint Roberts (@kiaoraclint) February 16, 2020

The 72-year-old is more than a year into his “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour, which he says will be his last major tour.

He has two more shows in Auckland this week before heading to Australia for a run of dates with his last concerts planned in London at year’s end.

Sir Elton was involved in a mild controversy earlier in his New Zealand leg, when a warm-up act was binned from a second outing on the bill after interrupting his pre-show nap.

AAP