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.
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Joy star James Norton on the ‘postcode lottery’ of IVF – and playing the scientist who was part of creating the first ‘test-tube baby’
Actor James Norton, who stars in a new film telling the story of the world’s first “test-tube baby”, has criticised how “prohibitively expensive” IVF can be in the UK.
In Joy, the star portrays the real-life scientist Bob Edwards, who – along with obstetrician Patrick Steptoe and embryologist Jean Purdy – spent a decade tirelessly working on medical ways to help infertility.
The film charts the 10 years leading up to the birth of Louise Joy Brown, who was dubbed the world’s first test-tube baby, in 1978.
In the UK, statistics show the proportion of IVF cycles paid for by the NHS has dropped from 40% to 27% in the last decade
Norton, who is best known for playing Tommy Lee Royce in the BAFTA-winning series Happy Valley, told Sky News he has friends who were IVF babies and other friends who have had their own children thanks to the fertility treatment.
“But I didn’t know about these three scientists and their sacrifice, tenacity and skill,” he said. The star hopes the film will be “a catalyst for conversation” about the treatment and its availability.
“We know for a fact that Jean, Bob and Patrick would not have liked the fact that IVF is now so means based,” he said. “It’s prohibitively expensive for some… and there is a postcode lottery which means that some people are precluded from that opportunity.”
Bill Nighy, Thomasin McKenzie and James Norton star in Joy. All pics: Netflix/ Kerry Brown
Now, IVF is considered a wonder of modern medicine. More than 12 million people owe their existence today to the treatment Edwards, Steptoe and Purdy worked so hard to devise.
But Joy shows how public backlash in the years leading up to Louise’s birth saw the team vilified – accused of playing God and creating “Frankenstein babies”.
Bill Nighy and Thomasin McKenzie star alongside Norton, with the script written by acclaimed screenwriter Jack Thorne and his wife Rachel Mason.
The couple went through seven rounds of IVF themselves to conceive their son.
Norton portrays scientist Bob Edwards, while McKenzie plays embryologist Jean Purdy
While the film is set in the 1970s, the reality is that societal pressures haven’t changed all that much for many going through IVF today – with the costs now both emotional and financial.
“IVF is still seen as a luxury product, as something that some people get access to and others don’t,” said Thorne, speaking about their experiences in the UK.
“Louise was a working-class girl with working-class parents. Working class IVF babies are very, very rare now.”
In the run-up to the US election, Donald Trump saw IVF as a campaigning point – promising his government, or insurance companies, would pay for the treatment for all women should he be elected. He called himself the “father of IVF” at a campaign event – a remark described as “quite bizarre” by Kamala Harris.
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Bill Nighy ‘proud’ of new film on IVF breakthrough
“I don’t think Trump is a blueprint for this,” Norton said. “I don’t know how that fits alongside his questions around pro-choice.”
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In the UK, statistics from fertility regulator HEFA show the proportion of IVF cycles paid for by the NHS has dropped from 40% to 27% in the last decade.
“It’s so expensive,” Norton said. “Those who want a child should have that choice… and some people’s lack of access to this incredibly important science actually means that people don’t have the choice.”
Joy is in UK cinemas from 15 November, and on Netflix from 22 November
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