Elton John sat down at a piano in London on Monday night and played for just 600 people. The 79-year-old opened the new Apple Music Hall at Battersea Power Station with a solo set that ran about an hour. According to Billboard, it was his first performance in the United Kingdom in more than three years. His last came at Glastonbury in June 2023, near the close of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour.
There was no band and no spectacle, only the songs. Billboard reports that he opened with ‘Your Song’ and played 12 numbers in all. The set included ‘Tiny Dancer,’ ‘Rocket Man,’ ‘Bennie And The Jets’ and ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ before he closed with ‘Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me.’ NME reports that the show was streamed live on Apple Music and projected onto the outside of the power station, so fans without a ticket could watch from the street.
Elton John Returns To A British Stage
The evening carried extra weight because of what he has faced lately. He has spoken openly about losing much of his eyesight, and DYR reported in May that the vision loss changed the way he writes songs. None of that kept him from the keys on Monday. Born on March 25, 1947, he has been playing ‘Your Song’ for audiences since 1970. The room at Battersea was small by his standards, but the catalogue he brought with him was as big as ever.
