Elton John’s hands bang on the piano chords at the start of Bennie and the Jets, the opening number of this valedictory set. Staccato and emphatic, the notes underline John’s first calling as a piano man, one elevated by the wider cultural moment of the early 1970s into a larger-than-life public figure.
Known for so much beyond his songs – from moving the dial on the public perception of HIV/Aids, to successfully suing the Sun for libel, to being Eminem’s unlikely AA sponsor – John is now on the very final leg of a farewell tour that, he promises, is genuinely his last. Tonight, his hands are often displayed on the big screens during a two-plus hour show heavy on fan service, racing dextrously up and down the keys while the singer often glances round the audience, grinning. Every song ends with Elton standing up, just a little stiffly post-hip surgery, to acknowledge his fans.
