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Elton John may have a reputation for being a diva… but when it comes to putting on a show, he can also be the consummate professional.
He is currently on his worldwide, three-year farewell tour. He’s been performing over recent weeks in Australia. He played a gig on Friday night at Rochford Wines at Yarra Valley in Victoria.
However, things took a turn for the worse when a heavy storm descended.
The region had been enjoying hot temperatures throughout the day – hitting around 100F. When Elton took the stage, he acknowledged this, saying “It’s fucking hot.” This prompted cheers from the crowd.
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Australia has been plagued by a particularly hot summer over recent weeks, prompting the worst bushfires in living memory.
Related: Elton John donates $1million to help fight Australia’s bushfires
The weather later broke, with initial light rain prompting cheers from a crowd desperate to cool down.
However, the weather quickly worsened. Heavy rain blew across the stage, lashing the pianist and singer, who’d just launched into his 1973 track, “Funeral For A Friend”.
Three assistants came on stage to try and offer some shielding to Elton, but it was quickly realized that the concert couldn’t continue. Elton was helped off stage.
Around fifteen minutes later, an announcement was made that the rest of the show could not go ahead due to damage to equipment.
A statement released later said, “Unfortunately due to tonight’s short but heavy downpour that occurred 95 minutes into Elton John’s set resulting in damage to musical instruments and monitors on stage, the show could not continue.”
Elton’s husband, David Furnish, posted footage of the incident to his Instagram, with heavy rain clearly bouncing off Elton’s piano.
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“To say Elton is a trooper is an understatement,” Furnish said. “This storm literally came out of nowhere and stopped his show dead in its tracks. Thanks to our wonderful crew for getting him offstage to safety.”
Chrisk
Ha. That’s kind of cool.
Kieran
Dramatic footage would be if his wet rug had blown off.