Sir Elton John denies he’s retiring after announcing farewell world tour
Elton John penned an open letter to the Putin (Ian Gavan/Getty Images for Harlequins)
Sir Elton John might be 71, but he says the idea of taking full retirement is still not on the cards.
The I’m Still Standing singer announced one final world tour earlier this year – revealing he will travel the globe for just three more years as a thank you to fans.
Now he says he will continue to write new music and perform, but it will all be on home turf in Britain.
Sir Elton John (Photo TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)
Speaking to OK! Magazine he said: “It sounds so boring to me. I’m simply stopping all the travel.
“If we didn’t have children, I’d continue travelling.
“It’s not about me, I can’t be self-focused. I have a family who need me – my husband [David Furnish], my boys,” he continued.
“I have responsibilities that means I have to pull back. They come first, before anything and anyone else.”
Sir Elton John (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images)
The outspoken LGBT rights advocate said he still intends to to record albums, write music, produce movies and write musicals, and may “never retire”.
“Every year I’d do a couple of hundred flights and it’s starting to take it out of me.
“I had a health scare last year, it was quite serious,” he said, admitting that the health shock “played into his decision’ to step back from touring.
Sir Elton John, Elijah Joseph Daniel Furnish-John, Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John and David Furnish (Getty)
“I’m fine now but it played into the decision. My body isn’t invincible, I have to respect it and treat it more kindly, and chopping out those air miles can’t hurt.”
The star previously confessed he was “very, very close to death” while on tour in South America last year.
He was forced to cancel a series of nine live shows after contracting a virus that could have killed him.
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Speaking to The Sun Sir Elton explained: “I was very unlucky. I got a clean bill of health in March just after my birthday.
“I went to South America, had a wonderful tour with James Taylor. Came back from Chille, felt bad on the plane, got home on a Tuesday night.
“I was in intensive care on Thursday and stayed there for two nights.”
He then confessed: “I was very, very close to death. I didn’t know that.”
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“I was very fortunate, I had a great team of doctors. It took me seven weeks to get back to normal.
“I had tubes coming out of every – and that’s a wake up call.”
Opening up about his two sons, who he adopted with husband David Furnish, he added: “You know, you think about your own mortality. And you think, ‘God, I want to spend more time with my boys.'”
Sir Elton’s farewell tour will be spread over a whopping three years – taking in 300 performances around the globe.
