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Elton John has apologised to fans after ending a gig in Auckland, New Zealand early this evening (February 16) due to a diagnosis of walking pneumonia.
The icon was playing a show on his farewell tour at the Mount Smart Stadium, and before the end of the show, he began to lose his voice and was seen visibly crying on stage.
- Read more: Elton John wins Best Book at NME Awards 2020
John was then escorted from the stage, which you can see in his Instagram post issuing the statement and apology below, while being given a standing ovation from fans.
“I want to thank everyone who attended tonight’s gig in Auckland,” the message begins. “I was diagnosed with walking pneumonia earlier today, but I was determined to give you the best show humanly possible. I played and sang my heart out, until my voice could sing no more.”
The message concludes: “I’m disappointed, deeply upset and sorry. I gave it all I had. Thank-you so much for your extraordinary support and all the love you showed me during tonight’s performance. I am eternally grateful. Love, Elton xx”
@bengibsonphotoElton John’s farewell tour began in 2018 and runs through this year before finishing in 2021. UK dates on the ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ tour will come at the end of 2020.
Reviewing the opening show in New York, NME said it was a “reflective and stunning tribute to a great artist’s career” containing “a cross-section of a great artist’s career; a collection of some of his favourites from his six decades in the business.”
Elton John won Best Book for Me at the NME Awards 2020 in London this week, triumphing over over Brett Anderson’s Afternoons With The Blinds Drawn, Debbie Harry’s Face It: A Memoir, the Prince book The Beautiful Ones and Tegan & Sara’s High School. See the full list of winners here.
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