Elton John's Farewell Yellow Brick Road world tour becomes highest-grossing tour of all time
Elton John's Farewell Yellow Brick Road world tour has just broken an all-time record.
Highly-publicised as Elton's last ever tour before his retirement from live performing on the road, Farewell Yellow Brick Road has been hitting dates across the globe since 2018, and has now officially become the highest-grossing tour in history.
As reported by Billboard, the tour has now pulled in $817.9 million (£664.4million), overtaking the previous record holder, Ed Sheeran's blockbuster Divide Tour in support of his third album of the same name, which grossed $776.4million (£630.5million), replacing U2's 360 Tour as the highest-grossing tour of all time.
But Elton is not done yet, and he'll be finishing off his storied touring career in style, with his last-ever live show set to be his headline performance at this year's Glastonbury Festival on June 25, 2023.
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MORE: Elton John's Official Charts history in full
This comes after Elton has performed a daring commercial comeback gaining no less than three Number 1 singles in the space of a year - Cold Heart with Dua Lipa, Merry Christmas with Ed Sheeran and Sausage Rolls for Everyone with LadBaby and Sheeran.
This take's Elton's all-time Number 1 total in the UK to an astounding 10 - the same count as Calvin Harris and Eminem.
Last year also saw Elton enter the Official Charts record books, as the first artist to score a Top 10 hit in six consecutive decades.
Elton is also the holder of perhaps the most illustrious record in UK chart history - with 1997 single Candle In The Wind/Something About The Way You Look Tonight still the best-selling single in Official Charts history.
Elton John’s ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ UK and Ireland tour dates 2023
2023
April
Sunday 2 – The O2, London
Tuesday 4 – The O2, London
Wednesday 5 – The O2, London
Saturday 8 – The O2, London
Sunday 9 – The O2, London
Wednesday 12 – The O2, London
Thursday 13 – The O2, London
Sunday 16 – The O2, London
Monday 17 – The O2, London
Wednesday 19 – Resorts World Arena, Birmingham
Saturday 22 – M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool
Sunday 23 – M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool
MAY
Tuesday 30 – The O2, London – NEW SHOW
Wednesday 31 – AO Arena, Manchester
JUNE
Friday 2 – AO Arena, Manchester
Saturday 3 – AO Arena, Manchester
Tuesday 6 – First Direct Arena, Leeds
Thursday 8 – Utilita Arena, Birmingham
Saturday 10 – Utilita Arena, Birmingham
Sunday 11 – Utilita Arena, Birmingham
Tuesday 13 – P&J Live, Aberdeen
Thursday 15 – P&J Live, Aberdeen
Saturday 17 – The SSE Hydro, Glasgow
Sunday 18 – The SSE Hydro, Glasgow
Sunday 25 - Glastonbury (
Article Image: I ZORSTAN/DYDPPA/Shutterstock
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PK
Philip King
Wait this tour has been going 5 years?
Keep a tour going long enough it's bound to break records eventually especially as Ed's was just over 2 years.
Bengy
Last year also saw Elton enter the Official Charts record books, as the first artist to score a Top 10 hit in six consecutive decades.
No he wasn't. Cliff Richard was the first artist.
He had Top Ten hits in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and the 00s.
Velvet Android
Thank you, somebody had to say it. Alas it appears we're destined to do this forever more whenever OCC bring this patently incorrect factoid up.
As I recall, they inexplicably don't credit Cliff's career-opening Top Ten hits in the '50s because they're credited to 'Cliff Richard and the Drifters' or (after his backing band changed their name) 'Cliff Richard and the Shadows' – ignoring the fact that he's always been regarded as the lead artist and the Shadows were just backing him, i.e. these were 'solo' hits in all but name.
But then, it shouldn't matter even if they're regarding these as 'collaborations' (which, in the generally-used sense, they're not) – because, obviously, they ought to count either way, and because Elton himself only qualifies by this route. ALL his Top 10s in the 2020s have been in collaboration: that's Cold Heart, Merry Christmas, Sausage Rolls For Everyone (FFS) and Hold Me Closer. So if Cliff's first decade is disqualified on those grounds, so is Elton's sixth. One way or the other, it clearly makes no sense.
de Sascha
Legend!