Sir Elton John to retire after marathon global tour

Sir Elton John has announced plans to retire after a marathon 300-date tour that will start in September and last through 2021.

Music superstar Sir Elton John plays the final show of his Once in a Lifetime tour at Cazalys Stadium in Cairns. Picture: BRENDAN RADKE

UPDATED: Sir Elton John has announced plans to retire after a marathon global tour that will start in September.

The 70-year-old British entertainer, revealing his plans at a gala New York event, said he planned to “go out with a bang” with a 300 date tour that will last through 2021.

“It will be the last time that I’m touring and travelling the world, because my priorities have changed,” John told several hundred journalists and guests after a mini-concert and virtual reality presentation about his career.

Saying he has had an “amazing life and amazing career,” he added: “My priorities now are my children and my husband and my family.”

John, who in the 1980s became one of the first openly gay major celebrities, has two children, Elijah and Zachary with his husband, Canadian filmmaker and former advertising executive David Furnish. The children will be 10 and eight-years-old when he finally stops touring.

The “Rocket Man” said he had no health concerns and would stay active, hoping to record more albums and write further musicals.

“I will be creative, hopefully, until the day I die,” he said. John, who closes his latest extravagant Las Vegas residency in May, said he was also open to concerts after the tour but that they would likely only be in his native Britain

At the Grammy Awards on Sunday, John is to perform alongside Miley Cyrus and will collect the President’s Merit Award.

Sir Elton, whose hits include Your Song and Candle in the Wind, has won five Grammys, an Oscar and a Golden Globe for The Lion King, a Tony Award for Aida and received a Kennedy Centre Honour, while selling 300 million records. Sir Elton said: “We had children and that changed our lives and in 2015 we sat down with a school schedule and I thought I don’t want to miss too much of this.

“My life has changed, my priorities have changed and my priority now is my family.” He added the tour was a chance “to say thank you to all my fans around he world and then to say goodbye. It doesn’t mean I’m not going to be creative any more. “It will take three years probably. I’ve been working constantly, I’ve been on the road ever since I made it in 1970.”“I have had a good run ... I want to go out with a bang.”

Asked if he could later reconsider his decision, Sir Elton vowed not to do a “Cher”, adding: “This is the end”.

He rejected claims it was down to health problems he had experienced in recent years.

Elton John to speak on future

Earlier, it was reported in British tabloids that the Rocket Man singer was planning to quit.after nearly 50 years of dazzling the world with his concerts.

The 70-year-old star, whose record sales have been in decline in recent years, is calling time on the road after one last world tour, The Daily Mirror said. The newspaper said the British musician is planning to reveal details in an announcement later on Wednesday.

His representatives would not confirm the report ahead of time.

The report comes less than a year after John was forced to cancel a series of shows when he contracted a bacterial infection.

He became “violently ill” during a flight home from Santiago, Chile, and was admitted to hospital where he spent two nights in intensive care. Following his return John had to cancel the May and April dates in his Las Vegas residency.

Sir Elton’s management said the “potentially deadly” infection forced him to spend two nights in intensive care in April and to cancel concerts in the US.

At the time John said: ‘I knew I was sick but I didn’t know I had such a dangerous thing inside of me until I had a scan, which was after nine shows, 24 flights and a summer ball.’

In March last year, he revealed he planned to make a decision about his touring future in “the next six months”.

His website is currently running the tagline “I’ve finally decided my future lies ...” a reference to hit song Yellow Brick Road.

He is expected to perform a duet with Miley Cyrus at Sunday’s Grammy Awards. He will also host a special concert in his honour at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, with guest stars including Sam Smith, Chris Martin, Kesha, John Legend and Keith Urban.

John, who first toured Australia in 1971, has played 186 concerts across the country and played shows in September last year.