Sir Elton John closes Glastonbury with history-making goodbye – telling fans: ‘I will never forget you’
How do you close Glastonbury Festival – and the final chapter of a touring career spanning more than 50 years – when you’re Sir Elton John?
While many Pyramid stage headliners before him have ended with fireworks over the years, when you’re the Rocketman you set the tone from the off and light up the sky at both the start and end of your set.
Sir Elton, resplendent in gold, chose his version of Pinball Wizard to open, a song he has not played in 10 years but a brilliant choice to make his mark.
After The Bitch Is Back, the showman told the crowd: “I never thought I’d ever play Glastonbury. It’s a very special and emotional night for me because it might be my last show ever in England, so I had better play well and I had better entertain you, you’ve been standing there so long and I really appreciate all the outfits and everything. Amazing.”
The audience for Sir Elton’s first ever Glastonbury performance was enormous, building in the early hours on Sunday morning with fans who remained in place for the entire day – loo breaks permitting – to secure their spot.
Different eras of his career were reflected in the many glittering and elaborate costumes worn by fans in the audience, while others dedicated those famous Glastonbury place-marker flags to the star.
In an interview a few days before the momentous performance, Sir Elton’s husband David Furnish told Sky News he would bring out no less than four special guests, as is often tradition at Glastonbury; last year, Sir Paul McCartney was joined by Dave Grohl (prolific again this year) and Bruce Springsteen, while in 2019, The Killers had Johnny Marr and the Pet Shop Boys.
The rumour mill beforehand went into overdrive – some Glastonbury-goers were convinced they had spotted Lady Gaga enjoying the festival incognito and would therefore make an appearance, others favoured Taron Egerton – who played Sir Elton in the Rocketman biopic – to recreate his performance alongside the man himself. Dua Lipa, Britney Spears, Harry Styles and Ed Sheeran were also in the mix, along with, after appearances on site earlier on in the festival, Grohl and McCartney.
But in the end, Sir Elton, known for championing younger performers, “wanted to have newer artists save for one person”. He was joined by Jacob Lusk of Gabriels and The London Community Gospel Choir for Are You Ready For Love?; Stephen Sanchez for a performance of the younger singer’s song Until I Found You; and Rina Sawayama for Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.
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For those expecting huge names, this might have been a slight disappointment, but what a platform for the star to provide to young stars just starting out in their careers.
He also welcomed The Killers’ Brandon Flowers to the stage, telling the crowd the star was “the first person I thought of” when he was deciding on guests. Having played Glastonbury no less than six times himself, Flowers is no stranger to the festival, and the pair performed Tiny Dancer together.
Sir Elton had promised to deliver and his set provided hit after hit after hit, from Crocodile Rock, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting, to I’m Still Standing, Your Song and Candle In The Wind – bringing the house down again and again and again.
Towards the end of the set came Cold Heart, his collaboration with Dua Lipa, who appeared on screen but not as a guest. Fans were encouraged to sing along to her part “and sing it loudly”.
He also paid tribute to the late George Michael, his “friend” and “inspiration”, noting that the day would have marked his 60th birthday and thanking him for the “gorgeous” music he left behind. “This is for you, George,” he said, before none other than Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me.
The set closed with an extended version of Rocket Man – and of course, more fireworks. But not before the star thanked once again those in the crowd who had made the effort to dress up.
“I want to thank you all for dressing up in your costumes, your glasses and your outfits, it makes me feel so happy and so loved.”
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Sir Elton then said goodbye, thanking his fans for 52 years of “amazing love and loyalty”. Glastonbury will be, he has said, his last ever UK performance, his final ever tour set to end next month.
“It’s been an incredible journey,” he told Glastonbury. “I’ve had the best time, I will never forget you, you’re in my head and my heart and my soul, you’ve been amazing. You’ve been an incredible crowd tonight. I wish you love and health and happiness.”
There is no doubt this will go down as one of Glastonbury’s all-time legendary headline sets. And if this really is Sir Elton’s final farewell, there is no better stage on which to say goodbye.
Angelina Jolie says although she appreciates being an artist, she would prefer for her legacy to be “a good mother” and to be known for her “belief in equality and human rights”.
The Oscar-winning actress stars as Maria Callas in the new Pablo Larrain film about the opera singer’s life.
Pic: StudioCanal
She has called Maria “the hardest” and “most challenging” role she has had in her career and put months of preparation into immersing herself into the world of opera.
Jolie, who recently reached a divorce settlement with actor Brad Pitt, told Sky News: “To be very candid, it was the therapy I didn’t realise I needed. I had no idea how much I was holding in and not letting out.
“So, the challenge wasn’t the technical [side of opera], it was an emotional experience to find my voice, to be in my body, to express. You have to give every single part of yourself.”
The biopic combines the voice of the Maleficent actress with recordings of Maria Callas.
Jolie believes it “would be a crime to not have [Callas’] voice through this because, in many ways, she is very present in this film”.
Who was Maria Callas?
Born in New York in 1923, Maria Callas was the daughter of Greek immigrants who moved back to Athens at the age of 13 with her mother and sister.
After enrolling at the Athens Conservatory, she made her professional debut at 17 and went on to become one of the most famous faces of opera, travelling around the world and performing at Covent Garden in London, The Met in New York and La Scala in Milan.
Callas’s final operatic performance took place at Covent Garden in 1965 when she was 41 but she continued to work conducting master classes at Juilliard School, doing concert tours and starring in the 1969 film Medea.
Written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, Maria focuses on the artist’s final years in the 1970s when she moved to Paris and disappeared from public view.
She died on 16 September 1977 at the age of 53.
Pic: StudioCanal
Jolie on changing motivations as an actor
Maria follows the life of an artist fully consumed by the art she creates and even remarks that “happiness never developed a beautiful melody”.
Reflecting on her own life in the spotlight, Jolie said she noticed her own career motivations change over the years.
“There’s this kind of study of being human that we do when we create, and we communicate with an audience because our work is not in isolation – it’s a connection.
“I think when I was younger, I had different questions about being human and different feelings and now as I’ve gotten older, I understand some things and now I have different questions.
“It’s a matter of life, right? And so maybe that’s interesting that this now is a character really contemplating death and really contemplating the toll of certain things in life that I, of course, couldn’t have understood in my 20s”.
Jolie at the New York Film Festival in September with three of her children (L-R) Pax, Zahara and Maddox. Pic: AP
A family affair
Two of Jolie’s children, Maddox and Pax, took on production assistant roles during the filming of Maria and witnessed their mother perform opera for the first time in public.
She says the film allowed them to create new experiences together and for her children to see her approach to playing a difficult role.
“Everyone in my home, we all give each other space to be who we are and we’re all different.
“I’m the mom, but I’m also an artist and a person and so my family has been very kind and gives me their understanding. They make fun of me, and they support me and just as you’d hope it would be.”
She adds: “When you play somebody who is dealing with so much pain, it’s very important to come home to some kindness.”
Maria is in cinemas now.
Tom Holland’s dad has confirmed his son’s engagement to Zendaya – revealing how the 28-year-old meticulously planned the proposal.
Zendaya, also 28, sparked engagement rumours when she attended last Sunday’s Golden Globes wearing a sparkling diamond on her ring finger.
Neither star has publicly addressed the rumours but Tom’s comedian father, Dominic Holland, has now confirmed the pair are set to wed.
He wrote in a post on his Patreon account: “Tom, as you know by now was very incredibly well prepared. He had purchased a ring.
“He had spoken with her father and gained permission to propose to his daughter.”
“Tom had everything planned out… When, where, how, what to say, what to wear,” he added.
Zendaya arrived at the Golden Globes with a noticeable piece of new jewellery. Pic: Invision/AP
Dominic also noted that while most men worry about being able to afford an engagement ring, he suspects his actor son was “more concerned with the stone, its size and clarity, its housing, which jeweller”.
Tom and Zendaya met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016, when they played the titular hero and his love interest MJ, respectively. Their romance was confirmed in 2021.
In his post, Tom’s father admitted fears over whether being in the spotlight could put a strain on the couple’s relationship.
He wrote: “I do fret that their combined stardom will amplify their spotlight and the commensurate demands on them and yet they continually confound me by handling everything with aplomb.”
“And even though show business is a messy place for relationships and particularly so for famous couples as they crash and burn in public and are too numerous to mention […] yet somehow right at the same time, I am completely confident they will make a successful union.”
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Zendaya rose to fame after landing a role in Disney sitcom Shake It Up, and became a household name after starring in Euphoria.
Holland – who has starred in three Spider-Man films opposite his now-fiancée – made his stage debut in Billy Elliot the Musical in 2008.
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