A version of this story about “Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium” first appeared in the variety/talk section of the comedy series theme from TheWrap Awards Magazine.
Elton John’s mammoth farewell tour has spanned five years with COVID interruptions, but peaked last November with three shows at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, his last US shows. The last of these became the first live broadcast on Disney+, “Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium”. The rock icon spoke about the show along with David Furnish, John’s partner and executive producer of the special through Rocket Entertainment.
Obviously, Elton, you have many decades of experience making a concert satisfying for a live audience. Does it change things when you also have an audience to consider?
Elton John: Well, I’ve never done this kind of thing before. I’ve done stuff in concert that’s been on TV, but this is global broadcast, so it’s a whole different pot of fish. It took a lot of planning, 10 weeks of planning. To be honest with you, I left everything up to David and the people at Disney who were putting it together. My job was to go on stage and do three nights at Dodger Stadium and enjoy it. He just had to ignore the cameras and do the best he normally could. And it was very easy. I didn’t look at the cameras, I looked at the audience. It was the culmination of all American shows, and it was so much fun that I didn’t really notice a thing. I mean, if I can’t put on a show like that after playing since I was 17, then I shouldn’t be in business.
David, 10 weeks doesn’t seem like a long preparation time for something on this scale.
David provide: It was an incredibly tight timeline. And it really comes down to the experience of the people we work with. I mean, we partnered first with Disney+ and with Fulwell Productions, who have a great track record in live events. And then a wonderfully talented director like Paul Dugdale, who is a master at capturing the proper spirit of a live performance. We are also blessed that Elton’s team has been with us for many, many years, and they are the heroes behind the scenes.
It wasn’t just the live stream, which was daunting in itself. We were shooting a companion documentary at the same time, which we are going to present next year. And we also had three guest artists that Elton doesn’t normally have on the show. So there were a lot of moving parts in place.
John: We were very lucky with the weather. That was another factor. I mean, the only thing you can’t control is the rain. If it had rained, it would have been a different story. It’s not a very different story, but from an audience point of view, it was just wonderful that it was a lovely evening. And I have to say that what got me going through the whole thing was the crowd dressing up, putting [on] the wardrobe and the glasses and having a great time celebrating my entire career in one night. We were all of us having a big party. That was the entire intention when I started doing this tour, and it’s gotten absolutely better and better as it’s gone on. As the ending approaches, it becomes more emotional and fun.
Was it important to both of you that it was live instead of recording it to broadcast later?
furnish: It was really important because everything Elton does as a performer, and everything he does with his band, is always 100% live. No click track with Elton’s band. We watched the Super Bowl at one point, and the reason we decided to stay away from it is because the Super Bowl show elements don’t allow you to do it live. They want certain instruments pre-recorded, and then you play live alongside them. I always say that I worry less about Elton when he’s on stage. There is nothing that he hasn’t encountered in his 50+ years as a performer that he hasn’t been able to handle and that his band hasn’t been able to handle. So going 100% live just felt like the magical right thing to do. And it felt more like an event, too. Going live to 150 million people felt like an opportunity too good to pass up.
Elton, on stage that night, was there anything that didn’t go as you expected, that you found yourself adjusting as you went along?
John: You are welcome. The three guest artists, Kiki Dee, Brandi Carlile and Dua Lipa, were brilliant. We don’t rehearse with them a lot because they are so professional that we don’t need to rehearse with them a lot. And the gods were with us that night with the weather and nothing going wrong. I just had the best time. I don’t like looking at myself, the faces I make when I sing, I’m like, oh my gosh, drop that, but looking at this, it was clear I was having the best time and the band was having a great time.
David, behind the scenes, did you have to adjust to something? Or did it go well for you too?
furnish: It was unbelievably smooth. We had two nights to plan and build. So, in terms of camera placement, we actually had a dolly on stage the first night so we could get a different angle on Elton that we couldn’t do during the live stream, but we could put on the show later. . in. But we did get a chance to go through everything with the track list, albeit without the collaborators. It was an opportunity to work things out and understand how to deliver the best and most exciting version that really captures the spirit of what was happening inside the venue and on the set. And as Elton said, the stars just aligned. We were very lucky. Nothing happened behind the scenes.
I would love to tell you a great story of [laughing] a drone falling from the sky or something. But then again, it was meticulously planned on a tight schedule and everything went according to plan. Which is boring to write about, but on the other hand, it speaks to the level of everyone who came together to work on the show.
John: When I looked over my shoulder towards the end of the show, I saw Joni Mitchell standing up and dancing. [Laughs] And that was probably one of the best moments of my career. Because of what she’s been through and the fact that we’ve become friends and she was there dancing, I thought, it doesn’t get any better than that.
furnish: The other thing is that we are very protective of our children in terms of the exposure we give them in the media. We don’t want anything placed on them that pressures them as they get older and decide who they want to be and how they want to live their lives. But Elton sat down with them and had a conversation and said, “You know, you guys are the reason I’m going off the road and I want the audience to see how happy I am with you guys.” So he asked if they could go on stage. They’re not used to doing that, and I was really impressed with how they rose to the occasion. One son calmed down and explained a little more than the other, but when they got over the bump, and it only took about 30 seconds, he sent a message to the whole world on many levels.
I think it showed what an incredibly happy place Elton and I and our family are at right now. I also think it sends a message to the world of unity and happy families in all shapes, sizes and configurations. Some disturbing things have happened in the world in certain states regarding LGBT rights and visibility in families and children and education, and nothing sends a message of positivity like a happy family just standing on a stage and saying: “Here we are”. .” Just like any other family, albeit a family that has a bit of rock and roll going on and is celebrating a big moment in a parent’s life and in my life. That was very special.
I was worried that he might have a little “I can’t go on, I’m scared” thing. They both took a deep breath and continued with big smiles. They were very relaxed and they did it brilliantly.
Watching him from the audience the first night, I didn’t see any signs of nervousness.
John: Yes. It’s quite unusual, because when I’m home, I don’t bring Elton home. I’m just dad. And I think this was the icing on the cake for them. The wonderful thing about this live broadcast is that years from now, you’ll be able to look at it and say, “Oh, we were there. There’s my dad and there’s my dad, and we were there.” Isn’t it great to have a memory of that?
Read more of the comedy series issue here.
