Elton John is the saviour of Glastonbury after some of the biggest bands in the world fail to impress
SIR Elton John saved Glastonbury as the 76-year-old megastar dazzled a record TV audience with a golden performance.
Viewing figures had gone stratospheric by the time a flourish of fireworks accompanied his anthemic final song Rocket Man.
At an otherwise lackluster festival, fellow headliners Arctic Monkeys and Guns N’ Roses paled in comparison to his electric set which saw revellers shed tears at the sheer magic of the moment.
The importance of Elton’s gig, which he said on stage could be his last in this country, wasn’t lost on the showman himself.
The I’m Still Standing singer, wearing his trademark huge specs with his suit of gold, welled up on stage as the magnitude of the festival started to overcome him.
Speaking to the huge crowd and the 7.7million watching at home — the highest in Glasto history — Elton said: “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.”
And entertain he did, with a vocally impressive set which saw him tearing through hits including Crocodile Rock, Are You Ready For Love and Don’t Go Breaking My Heart with one of his guest performers Rina Sawayama.
With husband David Furnish and his two children Zachary and Elijah proudly watching on, Elton bid farewell — with insiders saying he was onto his helicopter within 14 minutes because his kids had school in the morning.
As the 100,000 crowd chanted his name, he said: “I want to thank you for 52 years of amazing love and loyalty that you’ve shown me.
“It’s been an incredible journey. 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.”
The other headliners couldn’t come close to stirring up the emotion and joy of his two-hour set.
Arctic Monkeys and ageing rockers Guns N’ Roses failed to impress — but Elton wasn’t the only one who tried to inject life into the festival, which had come under fire for having all-male headliners.
Lizzo, who organisers tried to argue was a second headliner, should have played in place of Guns N’ Roses.
The crowds were arguably far bigger for the effortlessly talented American pop star.
Cat Stevens brought a touch of class to proceedings, while Tom Grennan, Lil Nas X and Texas all worked their hardest to pick up where others had failed.
But the much hyped Lana Del Ray left fans disappointed after turning up 30 minutes late and had having her set cut short.
And Lewis Capaldi, who admitted he was taking the rest of the year off as he was struggling with his mental health, left many in tears as he struggled through.
Blondie’s set was wooden and vocally poor. Foo Fighters were also let down by poor sound.
Thankfully, Elton fired up his rockets in time to save the day.