He then followed up that Story post with another in which he wrote: “Rocket Man is incoming.”

Apparently, #EltonJohn has "one final date to announce"… 🤔💭🚀 pic.twitter.com/8Lb5C5erKH

— Glasto Fest Feed (@GlastoFestFeed) December 1, 2022

Rumours of John headlining the world-renowned UK festival were reignited earlier this year. Speculation mounted when a handful of Paris dates were rescheduled from June 2022 to June 2023.

The Paris dates, which were originally from June 17-18, 2022, will now happen on June 21, June 27 and June 28, 2023, leaving a perfect gap in his schedule for Glastonbury. The main part of the 2023 edition of the festival takes place from June 23-25, 2023, leaving him free throughout the Glastonbury weekend.

Currently, John is booked to end his ‘Farewell…’ tour with a show at Tele2 Arena in Stockholm, Sweden on July 8, 2023.

Some fans responded to the Glasto Feed Fest Twitter account today (December 1) to share their own thoughts about the possibility of John headlining. One suggested that “he’s going to be on the legends spot”, while another commented that he will be “Pyramid Headliner for sure” if confirmed for Glastonbury 2023.

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The BBC Glastonbury Twitter feed also added further fuel to the rumours by sharing the tweet: “We caught a stunning shot of @glastonbury on our webcam yesterday. Click the link below and hit ‘best shots’ to take a look…”

When viewers click on the link, a rocket can be seen in the sky above the Pyramid stage.

We caught a stunning shot of @glastonbury on our webcam yesterday 👀
 
Click the link below and hit ‘best shots’ to take a look…https://t.co/m3z17JEkST

— BBC Glastonbury (@bbcglasto) December 1, 2022

Speaking to NME last year for a Big Read cover feature around the release of his new collaborative album ‘The Lockdown Sessions’, John said that he was determined to finish his ‘Farewell…’ tour – and that it will also certainly be his last.

Elton John. Credit: Scott Dudelson via Getty Images

“It’s something I wanna finish,” he told NME. “I’m looking forward to doing it and going out on the high that we were on – we were an express train that hit the buffers. At the moment I finish supposedly in 2023, in the summer, by which time I’ll be 76 – and that’s it, baby.

“I can’t wait to do it and have a great time, and I can’t wait to finish and say, ‘No more – I’ve had enough.’”

Of his plans for the future, John added: “I will do records and I’ll do my radio show, but as far as schlepping and doing shows? I’ve had enough applause. I wanna be with my family. I wanna be with my boys.”

He added: “I’ll still be creative, but I don’t want to spend the rest of my life flying here, flying there. I can’t do any more than I’ve done now and save for the odd charity thing that may come up, that’s it for me.”

In other news, John has joined Coldplay’s Chris Martin to appear on Shania Twain’s ‘Come On Over’ 25th anniversary album.

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“It felt like there’s ways we could accentuate and highlight the melody and the emotion of that track without over egging it, while still sling in a string section and loads of lush Elton John piano all over it. And then, obviously, because he’d been so kind about us and he’d been calling me a little bit, we thought why not ask him?”

Smith said that John’s response to the collaboration offer was “abso-fucking-lutely”, adding: “I think he’d been for a Chairman of the Board meeting at Watford or something [prior to the recording], and then he came to us. It was bananas.

“It was wicked. I don’t think there’s anything more Yard Act than you directly addressing Elton John within a song he’s playing piano on. You know what I mean? The fact he went for it. I was like, “That’s amazing.” It was such an experience and he was just such a sound, sound person. He was brilliant.”

Last week (July 1), John offered his own view on the unlikely team-up: “From the first moment I heard Yard Act, I fell in love with James’ lyrics, and the way he’s delivered the song. Their sound is such a breath of fresh air. When James called and asked if I would come into the studio I instantly loved the idea. I started out as a session musician in the late ’60s and I absolutely loved it then.

“They’re a very special band, with a massive future ahead of them and I’m honoured they’ve let me be a part of their journey.”

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Yard Act were recently named in a new study as this summer’s most-booked new music act on the European festival circuit.

The annual study, which is conducted by the European talent exchange programme ESNS Exchange, sheds a light on “the most promising European emerging acts of the moment”.

Yard Act have come out on top of this year’s study, racking up 11 bookings at ESNS Exchange-affiliated festivals in 2022.

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The reissue features Bob Ludwig’s 2016 remaster of the main album, as well as 18 previously unreleased tracks, rare, restored material from the era, piano demos of the album, and the audio from John’s 1972 BBC Sounds For Saturday concert.

The box set, which is detailed further in the above video, also includes photos, an essay with interviews with those who helped make the album, memorabilia and artwork taken from the Rocket Archive.

You can see the tracklist for the super deluxe box set reissue of ‘Madman Across The Water’ below.

CD 1

CD 2

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CD 3

Elton John recently announced a number of new dates for his farewell North American tour. You can find tickets for his North American dates here, and UK tickets here.

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“For over 20 years, the Elton John AIDS Foundation has supported some of the most vulnerable people in Ukraine with access to HIV services and care, as part of our commitment to communities across Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

The ‘Rocket Man’ singer’s charity was established in 1992 and supports HIV prevention, education programs and support services for those living with HIV.

“We are heartbroken and appalled to see this conflict unfold and our hearts are with the people of Ukraine who do not deserve to live through this nightmare,” he continued. “During these devastating times, we stand for an end to the violence and suffering in Ukraine so that life-saving services and humanitarian aid can reach those desperately in need.”

A post shared by Elton John (@eltonjohn)

The actions of Putin, who has claimed that Russia does not intend to occupy Ukraine and that his country’s actions amount to a “special military operation”, have drawn widespread condemnation from across the globe.

Reactions to the situation in Ukraine from prominent figures in the worlds of music, entertainment and politics have been posted on social media, with the likes of Foals’ Yannis Philippakis, Bring Me The Horizon‘s Oli Sykes, Franz Ferdinand‘s Alex Kapranos, Yungblud, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Taika Waititi and Amanda Palmer all speaking out in support of Ukraine.

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Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks has penned an emotive post about the ongoing conflict saying “my heart is broken”, while Madonna voiced her support for Ukraine with a fanmade video set to a remix of her 2005 song ‘Sorry’.

Meanwhile, Russian rapper Oxxxymiron has cancelled a series of shows in Moscow and St. Petersburg in protest of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine, which has a population of 44million people, borders both Russia and the European Union. As the BBC reports, Russia has long resisted Ukraine’s move towards embracing European institutions like NATO and the EU.

Putin is now demanding guarantees from the West and Ukraine that it will not join NATO, a defensive alliance of 30 countries, and that Ukraine demilitarise and become a neutral state.

You can donate here to the Red Cross to help those affected by the conflict.

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John personally gave his blessing to the group for their cover in a “personal telephone call to frontman James Smith,” according to a press release.

You can listen to the cover here.

Elton John. Credit: Gregg Kemp

John has previously spoken of his admiration of Yard Act. Speaking to NME in last year’s Big Read, John said of the band’s style: “I can’t do it but I love it and I wonder how they do it.”

In this week’s NME Big Read with Yard Act, the group responded to John’s praise saying: “It was mind-blowing, I fucking love Elton John; I want to write some lyrics for him. I’m hoping we’ll bump into him at some point.

“We’re doing a live cover of ‘Tiny Dancer’ to get his attention to pique his interest. It could go completely wrong, but you’re better off giving something a go. People are so fucking precious and judgemental: do something rather than nothing; we’re all gonna be dead soon.”

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When asked if they’d like to do a collaboration, Smith replied:  “A hundred per cent! Can you imagine a band meeting where someone flagged they didn’t want to work with Elton John? They’d be booted instantly. I’d fucking love to work with him! We’d do a drive-in rock’n’roll song. I’d write some words for him to sing and then I’d join in on the chorus. It would be well good, like ‘Crocodile Rock Part Two’.”

The Leeds group also shared another new single from their upcoming new album, ‘Overload’, which is released this Friday (January 21). ‘Pour Another’ follows on from previously released singles, ‘Rich’, ‘Payday’ and the album’s title track.

Speaking about their latest track, Smith added: “‘Pour Another’ zooms in on the post-party conversations many hedonists will be all too familiar with.

“It leaves the impending doom of daily life in a world on fire at the door, at that point in the night when you don’t want to let go of the moment you’re in, when everything is perfect and everyone is your new best friend. Those moments fade, because nothing stays as it was. You’re woken with a bang and you have to face the truth.”

They’ll showcase the record on their 2022 UK headline tour, which kicks off next month (find ticket details here).

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“As such it has been necessary to once again review my Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour and make some difficult decisions. I hope you can appreciate that these decisions are not ones we have taken lightly, but with due consideration for the situation in each country and the safety of our fans and everyone involved with this amazing show.

“Based on the information we have received, venues in Germany will not be allowed to reopen to 100 per cent capacity in the near future, and as we have sold 100 per cent of the tickets to my show we have taken the decision to reschedule.”

The singer’s shows in the UK are still expected to take place from October this year, beginning at AO Arena in Manchester.

Last week, John responded to comments made by DaBaby during a recent live set, after the rapper drew criticism for controversial remarks he made surrounding homosexuality and HIV/AIDS.

“We’ve been shocked to read about the HIV misinformation and homophobic statements made at a recent DaBaby show,” John wrote. “This fuels stigma and discrimination and is the opposite of what our world needs to fight the AIDS epidemic.”

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“You can live a long and healthy life with HIV. Treatment is so advanced that with one pill a day, HIV can become undetectable in your body so you can’t pass it onto other people.”

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“We’ve been talking to Lord Strasburger about it, and we’ve been talking to Lord Frost, but we didn’t really get anywhere with him. It’s a nightmare. To young people just starting a career, it’s crucifying.”

Musicians protesting against Brexit in 2019. CREDIT: Richard Baker/Getty Images

John continued: “The government are philistines. We’ve got used to governments – especially the British government – just telling us lies every day, and I don’t feel OK with that.

“Look what they did with the NHS. After all that those people did during Covid, they give them a 1% increase. I find that extraordinary. It makes me so angry. I’m 74 years of age and I just don’t get this unfairness and this ridiculous ability to lie through your teeth every fucking minute of the day.”

• READ MORE: Yard Act’s James Smith on post-Brexit touring: “It’s the smaller, independent musicians who suffer”

John also acknowledged that the changes will disproportionately affect smaller and independent musicians.

“People like me can afford to go to Europe because we can get people to fill in the forms and get visas done, but what makes me crazy is that the entertainment business brings in £111bn a year to this country and we were just tossed away. The fishing industry – which they still fucked up – brings in £1.4bn.

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“And I’m all for the fishermen, but we’re talking about more than a hundred billion pounds of difference here, and we weren’t even thought about! ‘Oh well, the arts: they don’t matter.’”

Earlier this week (June 23), it was announced that over 200 artists including Wolf Alice, IDLES, Poppy Ajudha, Radiohead and many other music industry bodies have come together for the new #LetTheMusicMove campaign – calling upon the UK government to urgently take action on post-Brexit touring issues.

Annie Lennox, Biffy Clyro, Anna Calvi, Skunk Anansie, Everything Everything, Bob Geldof, Editors, Mark Knopfler, Two Door Cinema Club, New Order, Rick Astley, Ghostpoet, Midge Ure, Glasvegas, Anna Meredith, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, Keane, The Chemical Brothers, Portishead’s Beth Gibbons, Blur’s David Rowntree, Gilles Peterson, Jack Garratt, Dave Okumu, Bill Ryder-Jones, Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason and many, many others have also signed up.

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John shared the post to his Instagram, revealing that he – alongside his partner and Rocket Entertainment CEO David Furnish, promoter Craig Stanley and Lord Paul Strasberger – met with Lord Frost “to spell out the damage the trade agreement he negotiated with Europe is doing to the UK’s music industry”.

“Despite this looming catastrophe, the government seems unable or unwilling to fix this gaping hole in their trade deal and defaults to blaming the EU rather than finding ways out of this mess,” he said.

A post shared by Elton John (@eltonjohn)

John described touring as “an essential part” of education for artists, but said it risked becoming prohibitive for artists under the current arrangement.

“The situation is already critical and touring musicians, crews and support staff are already losing their livelihood,” he said.

John went on to explain that he was not concerned with the risk for artists on a similar level to himself, who frequent arenas and stadiums.

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“We are lucky enough to have the support staff, finance and infrastructure to cut through the red tape that Lord Frost’s no deal has created,” he said.

Elton added: “During our meeting Lord Frost said trying to solve this issue is a long process.”

“Unfortunately, our industry doesn’t have time. It is dying now. The government have broken the promise they outlined in 2020 to protect musicians and other creative industries from the impact of Brexit on tours to Europe.”

Concluding his statement, Elton said the government risked ruining a “window of opportunity” that had been presented by the way in which the pandemic has halted touring.

“I call on the government to sort this mess out or we risk losing future generations of world-beating talent,” he said.

“This is about whether one of the UK’s most successful industries, worth £111bn a year, is allowed to prosper and contribute hugely to both our cultural and economic wealth, or crash and burn.”

Last weekend, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden was also criticised when he boasted that trade deals with Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein would allow seamless touring – with musicians pointing out that all three countries make up a small proportion of the continent.

Elsewhere, European festival promoters have said that they could be likely to book fewer UK acts as a result of Brexit, while figures from the UK music industry have expressed concern that the impact of the deal on musicians who might not be able to tour Europe could also potentially prevent them from acquiring a visa to play in the United States.

The government was also previously accused of treating the sector like “an afterthought” in Brexit negotiations compared to the £1.2billion fishing industry.

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The It’s A Sin TV show shone a light on the AIDS crisis of the 1980s’, with Alexander portraying Ritchie Tozer.

Hosted by comedian Jack Whitehall, this year’s BRIT Awards ceremony opened with Coldplay performing their new single ‘Higher Power’ from a pontoon on the River Thames. Dua Lipa, Arlo Parks, Headie One and more also took to the stage at The O2 Arena throughout the evening.

Winners include Haim (International Group), Arlo Parks (Breakthrough Artist), Dua Lipa (Female Solo Artist) and J Hus (Male Solo Artist).

Check back at NME.COM for all the latest news and interviews from the BRIT Awards 2021.

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