Elton John headlined the final night of this past weekend’s Glastonbury festival, and it just so happened his set fell on the birthday of his late friend George Michael.
George Michael and Elton John were very close before the former’s untimely death in 2016, with their friendship being immortalised in their 1991 number-one live duet smash hit ‘Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me’.
To pay tribute to his fellow British musician, Elton performed a rendition of the song, sharing a few words before singing to the adoring crowd.
“It’s a very special day today and I wondered how I was gonna approach it,” he said. “One of Britain’s most fantastic songwriters, singers, artists, was George Michael.”
“He was an inspiration and today would have been his sixtieth birthday. So, I want to dedicate this song to his memory and all the music that he left us which is so gorgeous.”
“This is for you George.”
Elton, who had never played at Glastonbury before this year, hinted at a possible retirement during an earlier speech to the crowd.
“Ah wow, I never thought I’d ever play Glastonbury and here I am! It is a very special and emotional night for me because it may be my last show ever in England and Great Britain.”
“So I better play well and I better entertain you. Because you have been standing there so long. I really appreciate all the outfits and everything."
Of course, the ‘Rocket Man’ singer’s potential retirement doesn’t exactly come as a surprise. He’s currently undertaking his ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour’, which has been advertised as one last hoorah around the world.
Sadly, John’s tour date in Auckland was cancelled due to the wild weather earlier this year.
