F1 concert: Despite losing eyesight, Elton John set aside health woes to deliver the hits
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
British pop icon Elton John closed off the Singapore Grand Prix with a rollicking set at the Padang.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
Follow topic:
Formula One Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2025
Elton John
Padang Stage, Marina Bay Street Circuit
Oct 5
The Smashing Pumpkins
Wharf Stage, Marina Bay Street Circuit
Oct 5
English pop music icon Elton John’s health woes have been in the news the past year. So, when he was seen being physically assisted onstage to the piano at his F1 concert, it was a little concerning.
The 78-year-old was the headlining act on the third and final night of the Singapore Grand Prix. He took the stage at 10.20pm on Oct 5, soon after fellow Briton, Mercedes driver George Russell, was crowned champion of the night race
But once John started singing and playing the piano, it was all systems go as he delivered an engaging and entertaining 90-minute set chock-full of hits from the past 55 years.
His vocals were still rich and expressive, and his piano-playing impeccable, with his deft fingers flying across the keys with ease.
Ever the showman, he acknowledged the rapturous response from the crowd after every song, standing up to bask in the applause and whip up excitement among his fans.
In a social media post on Oct 7, John thanked the “incredible” 70,000-strong audience, his biggest since his final tour, Farewell Yellow Brick Road, ended in 2023. He wrote: “Singapore, you were electric! What a feeling being with you.”
Elton John’s set included hits from the 1970s to the 2020s.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
In December 2024, John revealed he had lost vision completely in his right eye
John also underwent hip and knee replacements, and postponed his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour dates in 2021 after a fall.
The music star’s Singapore show was one of the few that he had played so far in 2025, including a private concert in Italy in June and a gig in San Diego, in the US, in May.
Dressed in a striking yellow suit and sporting blue glasses, the septuagenarian kicked off the set with a lively rendition of glam rock classic Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting (1973), with some of the “Saturday” chants in the chorus changed to “Sunday” to reflect the Sunday night show.
His vocals sounded strongest on piano ballads such as his first global hit released back in 1970, Your Song (“That’s your song, Singapore,” he said). During a rollicking rendition of Crocodile Rock (1973), he let the audience take over the tune’s famous “na na na” chorus.
John closed off his set with his most recent hit, the 2021 disco-pop track Cold Heart (Pnau Remix), which mixes elements of his past anthems such as Rocket Man (1972) and Sacrifice (1989). British pop star Dua Lipa, who sings on the recorded version of the remix, made a cameo in the video projected on the stage’s giant LED backdrop while the track played.
Elton John had the crowd singing along to hits such as Crocodile Rock and Cold Heart.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
But John also played the full version of Rocket Man, an emotionally charged performance with an extended instrumental, spinning magic on the piano while background visuals on-screen showed off the vastness of space.
Clearly a fan of F1, he congratulated Russell on winning the race, and dedicated Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me (1974) to British racing legend Jackie Stewart, who also attended the Singapore Grand Prix.
American alternative rock veterans The Smashing Pumpkins, who played at the Wharf Stage earlier at 6.15pm, are also big race fans despite their “goth dad” image, frontman Billy Corgan told the audience.
“It’s awesome to be here at this F1 event,” the 58-year-old singer, dressed in his trademark black flowing robe, said.
With only an hour of stage time, the quintet wasted no time in filling it up with most of the 1990s guitar-driven anthems that propelled them to be one of the decade’s most prominent alternative rock bands.
Fans sang along to The Smashing Pumpkins’ signatures, from crushing and heavy songs such as Bullet With Butterfly Wings and Zero (both 1995) to tender and emotional fare like Disarm (1993) and Tonight, Tonight (1995).
As a reminder that the prolific group have never stopped putting out new releases over the years, they also threw in more recent fare from Aghori Mhori Mei, their 13th and most recent album released in 2024.
Their set, which took place at the same time as Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi’s show at the Padang stage, was marked by rain, but inclement weather deterred neither the band nor the audience.
And while it was their third concert in Singapore, it was the first to feature The Smashing Pumpkins’ three founding members: vocalist Corgan, guitarist James Iha, 57 and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, 61.
Corgan was the only original member at their last Singapore gig in 2010, while Chamberlin did not perform at their first show here in 1996.
Boosting the line-up on guitars was Kiki Wong, former member of Asian-American all-female rock band Nylon Pink. The 36-year-old, who beat over 10,000 applications to join the band as the touring guitarist in 2024, boasted a theatrical on-stage presence marked by flashy guitar work.
On bass was Jack Bates, the 36-year-old son of Peter Hook, bassist and co-founder of iconic English bands Joy Division and New Order.
