![]() ![]() So when we announced the tour, I thought, ‘Well, I hope it goes well,’ but we were not expecting to have the result that we did. I’ve been omnipresent on the touring circuit. I’ve always been on tour, whether it’s with my band, an orchestra, on my own, or with Ray Cooper. They come and go, and when they come back, it’s huge. I’m not like the Rolling Stone, who go away for five years, or Metallica or Bruce Springsteen. But I never dreamed… You know, I’ve tour a lot. The idea of going out on top was such a big thing with me. “So the reason I wanted to stop, obviously, is because I want to spend the time with my children and with David. Life is full of surprises, and sometimes they’re not good surprises. I want to see my kids get married, but you never know. And that’s one of the reasons I wanted to stop, because, you know, that’s not much time. And it suddenly hits you - your mortality hits you. “But 75 - I felt, ’75, it’s nothing!’ And then you get birthday cards like ‘Happy 75th birthday,’ and you think: 15 years is 90. Things are dropping off at an alarming rate,” he quipped. “I mean, I have the energy of a 20-year-old, basically. “I’m very young at heart,” he told the packed house. John didn’t shy away from addressing how his performing abilities would be likely to drop off if he continued on the road indefinitely for years to come, or even the ultimate ticking clock. It’s all about my children at home, David and me - and my work takes care of itself, if I take care of it.” And that’s because my priorities have changed, my lifestyle has changed. I’m 76 years old next week, and I told David and I told my sons, it’s taken me all this time, but I’ve never been as happy. And isn’t life amazing? … I’m at a different stage in my life. So it was a wonderful thing to come back there, and this is where I am now. “Rewinding back to the ‘70s, my concerts when I was so unhappy and so ill,” he reminded the audience, “I was mentally fatigued… I’d taken an overdose two days before. But he mentioned how not everything about those first concerts was something to celebrate. The three-night stand at Dodger Stadium - the last of which went out as the livestream - was meant in part as a testament to his 1975 stand at the same venue, which are remembered as his most iconic appearances. It “was so important to leave on a really high note, giving the best that you possibly can for the people that have supported you day in and day for years and years and years. I didn’t want to go out when I was going down like that,” he said, swooping his hand in a downward motion. … And really wanted that to be the thing. “I have to say, I’m 75” - about to turn 76 next week - “and honestly, I’ve never played and sang so well in my life, for so long. “I’m so critical of myself,” John said, by way of saying that he is not an easy mark when it comes to the self-esteem he was expressing about his farewell tour. (Going out in the U.S., that is his multi-year touring swan song still has one last pass to go through Europe, starting later in March and currently set to wrap in Europe in early July.) John did not offer his own campaign pitch, but did speak at length before the packed house about the special specifically and his long goodbye as a touring artist generally, describing the feeling of triumph in going out on a high at Dodger Stadium. ![]()
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