Midway through his last ever Hyde Park show, Elton John croons the track that first made him an icon. It’s a testament to his decades-long legacy that when he delves into the chorus of “Your Song”, many of the crowd raise real-life lighters; not, as it has become custom, phone torches.
This show – on the last leg of his epic, globe-spanning Yellow Brick Road tour – has been a long time coming, delayed by two years and a pandemic. Perhaps that’s why tonight, he takes the stage bang on time. The unmistakable first keys of “Bennie and the Jets” ring out at 7.50pm, catching revellers off-guard as they abandon all hope for a last-minute beer and flock to the stage. Dancing, of course, as they go. The song, about a pop star who is famous for her eccentric look – “electric boots, a mohair suit” – is an appropriate introduction for John, who sits by his piano dressed in a white tuxedo and his signature bedazzled frames. It’s the tamest outfit he’ll wear tonight.
