LOS ANGELES • You can bet your last dollar on Elton John stomping off the stage if you attempt to touch his piano while he is performing at his residency in Las Vegas.

Last Thursday, the Rocket Man did just that because a "rude" fan was interfering with the show, he said.

"A fan put his hands on the piano keys while I was playing and continued to do so even after I asked him to stop. He then proceeded to reach over the piano and try to take pictures, completely disrupting the performance.

"I bring fans on stage every evening when we play Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting. They have always been very courteous to the fact we are in the middle of playing a song live.

"This guy was rude, disruptive and had no care or respect for our show and so I let him know how I felt, then left the stage until they had removed him," the 70-year-old British entertainer said in a statement posted on Twitter.

He later returned to the stage, but the group of fans did not.

John announced earlier this week that he plans to "go out with a bang" with a global tour that will open on Sept 8 and last through 2021.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE