Sir Elton John has decided to retire from touring. After 50 years of performing on stage, the singer revealed in a press conference on Wednesday, January 24, the reason behind his decision to no longer tour.
“I’m not going to be touring anymore. Apart from the last tour that is going to start in September,” the eight-time Grammy winner, 70, said during the live streaming event, revealing that he will embark on the three-year Farewell Yellow Brick Road global tour before he retires.
“My priorities have changed in my life. We had children and that changed our lives,” John said about his two sons Zachary, 7, and Elijah, 5, he shares with husband David Furnish. “In 2015, David and I sat down with the school schedule and I said, ‘I don’t want to miss too much of this.’”
He added: “My life has changed. My priorities now are my children and my husband and my family.”
The road awaits, a journey begins…
Watch the special announcement LIVE now on https://t.co/fEQsOiAsbm.#EltonEvent pic.twitter.com/WuC2tjhS6I
— Elton John (@eltonofficial) January 24, 2018
A countdown first appeared on the “Rocket Man” singer’s website, with a statement that read: “I’ve finally decided my future lies…”
A video was shared early Wednesday on the singer’s Twitter page announcing that the live streaming event would be taking place later in the day. “A wrinkle in time. Past meets present. A taste of things to come at the #EltonEvent today. Watch the special announcement live at 9.30 PT / 12.30 ET / 17.30 GMT,” the tweet read.
A wrinkle in time. Past meets present.
A taste of things to come at the #EltonEvent today. Watch the special announcement live at 9.30 PT / 12.30 ET / 17.30 GMT on https://t.co/fEQsOiiRjO. pic.twitter.com/WLbNkT1EoJ
— Elton John (@eltonofficial) January 24, 2018
The video montage gave a timeline of John’s career and said the announcement will reveal his plans for the future as he is “embarking on the next phase of his creative journey” and that it will be “every bit as surprising and powerful as his first performance almost 50 years ago.”
The retirement announcement comes nearly a year after the music legend was forced to cancel several concerts due to a rare bacterial infection. The singer took to Twitter in April last year to give his fans an update on his health.
“Woke up to an avalanche of well wishes,” John captioned a photo of himself performing at a show at the time. “Thanks to everyone for reaching out. I’m resting well and looking forward to getting back on tour.”
Us Weekly also previously reported that the “Tiny Dancer” singer canceled all of the April and May 2017 dates of his Las Vegas residency, The Million Dollar Piano.
John began performing at the age of 15 and began touring in the United States in the ’70s. For more information about the tour, visit EltonJohn.com.
