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| Official portrait for the 2023 Australian tour |
A message from the promotors:
“Presented by Chugg Entertainment, Frontier Touring and AEG Presents, Elton John is returning to Australia! Delivering on his promise, Elton is coming back in January 2023 to perform ‘encore’ shows in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane as part of his multi-year Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour.
After two years of COVID interruptions, Elton is finally back on stage. He embarked on the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour back in September 2018, comprising of more than 300 shows across five continents. Hailed by fans and critics worldwide, his performances have left audiences completely spellbound. Each show is truly a monumental celebration of the incredible 50-year career of the most successful performing male solo artist of all time”.
Elton John has so far completed concerts at AAMI Park, Melbourne (Jan 13 and 14).
He is scheduled to perform at Allianz Stadium, Sydney on January 17 and 18, with his final concert in Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium, January 21.
Tony Magee continues: Since 1978, I’ve seen Elton John live five times. The ’78 show was at Festival Hall in Melbourne. I was 19 years old.
The first half featured Elton alone at the piano singing and playing many of his greatest hits up to that time.
Curiously, there was a giant clam shell also on stage, positioned to the left of the piano. Seriously, it was the size of a medium sized room.
As the second half of the show commenced, with Elton seated at the piano, the clam shell slowly opened. Inside was percussionist Ray Cooper, with all his instruments and the two musicians played the second set together.
It was a fantastic concert and also one of the most unusual I’ve ever attended, by anybody.
Then in 1996, my agent Coralie Wood, also a publicist, gave me a ticket to see Elton at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, this time with the full band.
When I say “the full band”, I mean Nigel Olsson on drums, Davey Johnstone on guitar, Ray Cooper on percussion, Bob Burch on bass and one or two other musicians.
Elton has had three different bass players over the years, the current one being Matt Bissonette.
In the early days it was Dee Murray (1946 - 1992) and then Bob Birch (1956 - 2012). 1n 1995 Bob was badly injured in a car accident in which he was hit by a pick-up truck while walking the streets of Montreal, breaking both his legs as well as severely damaging his back and spine.
But within six months he was back on tour with Elton which he continued to do for the next seventeen years.
Bob never fully recovered from his injuries both physically and mentally and was always in constant pain. On August 15, 2012, he died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in his Los Angeles home, aged 56.
Elton performed at the Bruce Stadium in Canberra on Nov 14, 2012. I and my family as well as my good friend Alex Olivier all went along and we had great seats close to the stage. It was a brilliant show.
Then on 5th December 2015 Elton and the band, this time with new bass player Matt Bissonette who joined The Elton John Band in 2012 (replacing Bob Burch), performed at Hope Estate Winery in the Hunter Valley. Alex and I drove up and attended the concert with his parents Jane and Tony. Once again the concert was awesome!
And my final outing with Elton was in Coffs Harbour on Feb 26, 2020. My friend Geoff Boyd owned two Cessna 172 planes. Alex and I hired one and Alex, who is a skilled pilot (and also a talented pianist) flew us up there. We were joined by his boyfriend at the time Jack McCann.
The Coffs experience was meticulously organised and Elton and the band were stunning. I think the city was overwhelmed at the prospect of hosting someone of the magnitude of Sir Elton John. They pulled out all the stops. Continuous bus shuttle services from multiple locations to and from the venue. The accomodation facilities all had bus stop maps waiting for guests as they checked in.
We were lucky to have caught the Coffs Harbour concert because just after he finished it, COVID struck and the second half of his final world tour was cancelled. He’d already completed 173 concerts around the world and had about the same number to go.
But as the current promoters have stated, "Elton is back in 2023 and determined to finish that final world tour”.
And now alas, I will not be able to travel to Sydney to see Elton perform at Allianz Stadium on January 18, due to me being hospitalised for the last three weeks. I’m due for discharge tomorrow (January 16), but I need a couple of weeks at home to fully recuperate. So no travelling.
But I’ll be thinking of what I’m missing and wishing I was there.
See my review on this website of Elton’s Coffs Harbour Concert, entitled “Elton John in Best Voice Ever At Coffs Harbour” . (click on link)
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