Sir Elton John confirmed his plans to retire from touring to spend more time with his family this week. Speaking shortly after his surprise announcement, the 70-year-old singer revealed that it was all down to his two sons, Zachary and Elijah, whom he shares with husband David Furnish. He told Press Association: "Having had children and seeing how much joy they brought to us, I thought, 'Do you know what? I want to spend more time with them. I have to spend more time with them. I'm their father, David is their father. They give us so much joy. I don't want to miss too much.'"
© Photo: Getty ImagesElton shares two sons with husband David Furnish
Sir Elton is set to end his six-year Las Vegas residency in May 2018. He embarked on the sell-out Million Dollar Piano show, held at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, in September 2011. Elaborating further, the award-winning musician added: "It was a pretty easy decision, to be honest with you. I just never thought that fatherhood could bring me so much joy, and I came to fatherhood late in the day, but it's been one of the miracles of my life. It seems to me something happens in my life every now and then which propels me to a different stage. This is a different stage and it's probably the most wonderful stage."
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When asked about his fans and his legacy, Sir Elton replied: "I want people to be astounded when I come on stage, I want people to be astounded when I leave the stage. I want them to be entertained throughout the whole two hours ten minutes." He also revealed his plans for his final shows will include, saying: "There's going to be things I'm doing on stage that I've never done before. I just want them to have a capsule of my life, my success. Fifty years capsulated into two hours 15 minutes, ten minutes, and go away thinking, 'Wow. He gave us the best when he left.'"
