Watch Elton John's fireworks-strewn, emotionally-charged, 10-minute Glastonbury version of Rocket Man

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By ( Classic Rock ) published

Has there ever been a more epic ending to a festival?

Fireworks exploding above the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury
(Image credit: BBC)

For those watching at home, it's possible Glastonbury 2023 will be most remembered for the performances of two singers. Saturday night saw Guns N' Roses headline the Pyramid Stage, while Sunday saw Elton John's final show on UK soil. 

It's fair to say that both Axl Rose and Elton John's voices have seen better days. One UK newspaper compared Rose's voice to a "clogged lawnmower", while Sir Elton's vocals are a faded facsimile of the original. But Elton's status as a national treasure on a final victory lap means his fractured pipes are barely mentioned, while it's open season on the GN'R man, with some critics still banging on about his "legendary" tardiness. "Will Axl show up on time?" they ask, hilariously, as if it's still 1989 rather than, you know, this century. 

But anyway. Elton. What a show. What a setlist. What a way to go out, if indeed he is. And now the BBC has released the official broadcast footage of the set-closing Rocket Man, a 10-minute, fireworks-strewn tour-de-force with enough emotional heft to move even the sturdiest of hearts.

Just seven dates remain on Sir Elton Hercules John CH CBE's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road tour. He plays the first of two shows at the Accor Arena in Paris this evening, with the final performance scheduled for Stockholm's Tele2 Arena on July 8. Full dates below.  

Elton John: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road tour dates

Jun 27: Paris Accor Arena, France
Jun 28: Paris Accor Arena, France
Jul 01: Zurich Hallenstadion, Switzerland
Jul 02: Zurich Hallenstadion, Switzerland
Jul 05: Copenhagen Royal Arena, Denmark
Jul 07: Stockholm Tele2 Arena, Sweden
Jul 08: Stockholm Tele2 Arena, Sweden

Fraser Lewry
Fraser Lewry
Online Editor, Classic Rock

Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 40 years in music industry, online for 27. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.