With a career spanning over five decades, few artists ever create a legacy as strong and iconic as that of Elton John. Consequently, it was no great surprise he performed a knock-out Saturday night show to 11,000 adoring Geordies inside Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena.

Despite being 69, Sir Elton has bags of energy when gracing the stage. The fact he played out a 24 song set list, which lasted over 2 hours and omitted any supporting acts, perfectly embodies this. As the lights dimmed, the booming melodies of ‘Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding’ kicked off the musical extravaganza, quickly followed up by the ever popular ‘Bennie and the Jets’ and ‘I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues’.

With such a formidable back catalogue, the hits just kept on rolling off his piano keys. The jazzy ‘Philadelphia Freedom’ emphasised the diverse capabilities of his accompanying band, whilst ‘Rocket Man’ produced probably the biggest singalong of the evening, only to be followed by the wonderful ‘Tiny Dancer’. ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ was somewhat disappointing, as the iconic high pitch vocals throughout the song could not be recreated, but this can be forgiven for a man who is almost 70.

The performance then took a contemporary turn for three songs, all from John’s 2016 album ‘Wonderful Crazy Night’: surprisingly good when executed live, despite being a disappointment on record. After a string of further classics, the night reached its climax with an encore that saw Diana’s adopted ‘Candle In The Wind’ met by a multitude of phone torches being swayed through the air, whilst ‘Crocodile Rock’ proved to be the grand finale and sent the crowd into rapturous applause.

It’s safe to say my night on Tyneside was money well spent; there’s much life left in the ageing legend yet!

Josh Savage

[image: supajam.com]