Given how many times Sir Elton John has announced his retirement from touring – the first almost half a century ago – diehard fans may be forgiven for thinking Glastonbury may not be his final encore.
But the comeback king of British music, now 76, has insisted that Sunday’s sequin-studded swansong really will be his last UK show – and that the bitch, unlike the song, will not be back.
Fans had camped out for 17 hours in scorching heat for a front-row view of the history-making concert, which was expected to draw a near-record crowd of more than 100,000 people to the Pyramid stage.
Thomas Lewis, 22, had bought a replica of Elton’s famous silver sequined 1970s baseball jumpsuit from Amazon for the occasion. By 10am, he had secured a prime spot at the front barriers, a position he was determined to keep for the rest of the day.
“I’m a massive fan. I’ve grown up with his music because my parents always had him on and I’ve never seen him before,” he said.
Thousands had staked a place at the front of the stage by midday, armed with sun cream, sequins and, crucially, tablets to suppress any bowel movements that might cost them their prime spot.
“We’ve both taken an Imodium so we don’t need to go to the toilet,” said Kerry Robinson, 53, who had planted her camping chairs and cool bag at the front of the stage by 11am – 10 hours before Elton was due on stage. “If we do need the toilet we’ll go in a relay,” she said.
Robinson said she and her husband, Dean Robinson, 60, were prepared to brave sunburn and even starvation to see the sun go down on the Rocket Man: “I’m a bit apprehensive because of the weather but we’ve got sun cream, hats, drinks, cool bag. I’d rather hydrate and starve.”
Elton had promised fans an entirely new show at Worthy Farm that would feature four surprise A-list guests, rumoured to include Britney Spears, Dua Lipa and Harry Styles.
Rumours swirled around the site that Britney Spears had been spotted at Bristol airport. The American singer collaborated with Elton last year on a remixed Tiny Dancer. She fuelled speculation on Friday with an Instagram post of artwork of a McDonald’s meal next to a jar of roses, captioned with three union jack flags.
Sir Paul McCartney, who headlined the Pyramid stage last year, had also been rumoured to feature as he was spotted at the side of the stage for fellow rockers the Pretenders and Foo Fighters. He surprised fans when he turned up at the famous Glastonbury sign on Saturday.
Alejandro Torres had travelled 5,590 miles from Bogotá, Colombia, just to see Elton’s UK farewell. “I knew I had to be here,” he said. “I want to hear Bennie and the Jets, Candle in the Wind, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road – songs I’ve been hearing since I was a little kid but, like, in my face.”
Elton’s first – and presumably last – Glastonbury show has provided a boost for the site’s biggest vintage retailers, which by Saturday had sold out of £10 feather boas, while cowboy hats, novelty glasses and £60 sparkly jackets were also in demand.
“We’ve been selling lots of glittery stuff. We sold out of feather boas. I think sales have increased [because of Elton]. When you’ve got a star like that they get more excited – I think we’re on the way up this year,” said Mira Baldwin, 18, at Glastonbury’s biggest craft trader, Loud Elephant.
Sadie Yukon, 56, a stylist at Jack & Danny’s vintage store near the Pyramid stage, said glittery jackets and novelty tailcoats had flown off the shelves as fans were “sparkling up for Elton”.
However, she said there was a noticeable decline in Glastonbury-goers dressing up in recent years – a sign, she said, of the festival’s changing demographics: “People aren’t dressing up as much as they used to but Elton has definitely driven people back to doing that.
“The last couple of years the demographic has definitely changed. It feels more middle class. It’s less of the hippy vibe, more young people with money. People didn’t used to give a shit [what they wore] but people tend to be more conscious now.”