Elton John, Hanging Rock

It is a warm balmy evening and the large monolith that is Hanging Rock stands sentinel to witness the final farewell of Elton John.

Having taken seats the crowd eagerly awaits the Rocket Man, and as the opening lines of ‘ Benny and the Jets’ rings out he enters the arena dressed in sequinned tails.

For more that 50 years Elton has invented and re-invented himself and has been a true chameleon of the music world. Such an illustrious career there are a lot of hits to get through over the almost three hour show.

Popular numbers ‘ Tiny Dancer’, ” Rocket Man ( I think its going to be a long long time)’ ‘ Sad Songs ( Say So Much); and ‘I’m still standing’ get the crowd up and dancing while we are treated to replays of Elton’s life and a walk down memory lane, the open sky the perfect backdrop.

An especially touching moment for the duration of ‘ Candle in the Wind’ as rare footage of icon Marilyn Monroe flickers in black and white on the screen, candid moments captured that are an insight into the troubled beauties life. For those old enough to remember, the song also is a reminder of Princess Diana and the rendition sung at her funeral 25 years ago.

Elton has always been an exciting performer to watch and with such a versatile catalogue of music in his repertoire there really is something for everyone. He engages the crowd with witty stories, tales of getting clean, jokes and banter that endear him to the already enthusiastic crowd, Elton is equally as grateful, thanking the crowd for their five decades of support. He punctuates this by getting up to raise his arms at the end of each song and its as though he wishes he could embrace everyone.

As the evening draws to a close and the sun has set on the beautiful landscape, Elton concludes the evening with ‘ Your Song’ and ‘ Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’. As the final bars fade out Elton disappears into a galaxy of stars and off into the night. As the crowd slowly files out its clear that Elton will be missed.

Farewell Yellow Brick Road and farewell Sir Elton John.

Words by Amanda Lee Starkey

You may also like