Elton John Announces Book Chronicling 'Farewell Yellow Brick Road' Tour

Elton John is revisiting his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour with a book chronicling the 330-show journey that began in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 2018 and ended in Stockholm, Sweden five years later. Elton John's Farewell Yellow Brick Road: Memories of My Life On tour lands in stores on September 24th.

“It's been a beautiful journey creating this book and remembering the people and places that formed an incredible chapter in my life,” John wrote on Instagram. “As well as the stories and memories, not just from this tour but from my whole career.” A press release added that the book will offer “a rare glimpse into Elton's personal archive of never-before-seen posters, sketches and photographs and postcards” along with a foreword by David Furnish, his husband John and the tour's creative director . Hyperion Avenue will publish the career-spanning book.

John announced the tour in January 2018 at a press conference in New York hosted by CNN's Anderson Cooper. “I'm not going to tour and travel the world,” he said. “My priorities have changed. I have small children. That doesn't mean I won't still be creative. But I won't travel anymore…I don't want to go out with a whimper. I want to go out with a bang… It's going to be the most productive, fantastic show I've ever done.”

The tour stuck heavily to the set it played in Allentown on opening night, which focused on big hits like “Tiny Dancer,” “Your Song,” Candle In The Wind, “I'm Still Standing” and “Crocodile Rock”. ” It made room for a handful of deep cuts like “Indian Sunset”, “Believe” and “Burn Down The Mission”. The show was forced to go off the road for nearly two years between 2020 and 2022 due to the pandemic. By the time he resumed, John's Dua Lipa collaboration “Cold Heart” – which featured many of his old songs – had become his biggest hit in decades. Added to the encore set.

The last show in Stockholm, Sweden was an emotional night. “I've had the most wonderful career, beyond belief,” he told the crowd before wrapping up the tour with “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.” “Fifty years of pure joy playing music. How lucky am I? But I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you if it wasn't for you. You bought the singles, the CDs, the albums, the tapes… Most importantly, you bought the tickets for the shows. You know how much I love playing live. It was my soul to play for you. You were absolutely wonderful.”

The book is not the only piece of recent nostalgia for Giannis. In 2022, he announced that the official documentary Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: The Final Performances Elton John and the Years That Make His Legend, will have a limited theatrical release before heading to Disney+, though no official release date has been set.

When John inducted Bernie Taupin into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame late last year, he revealed that they had just completed an album together in Los Angeles. “It will blow the shit out of you,” he said. “And it's absolutely wonderful, and it's full of youth and it's full of vibrancy. It's a great place to be after 56 years together.”