At his final concert in Toronto on Thursday night, singer Elton John paid tribute to and hailed Queen Elizabeth II. He said he was inspired by the Queen and said he was sad that she had passed away.
“She led the country through some of our greatest and darkest moments with grace and decency and genuine caring,” John said.
“I’m 75 and she’s been with me all my life and I feel very sad that she won’t be with me anymore, but I’m glad she’s at peace,” he said. “I’m glad she’s at rest and she deserves it. She worked bloody hard.”
Following these words, the singer-songwriter then sang his 1974 track “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.”
The Queen passed away at her Scottish residence of Balmoral on Thursday, aged 96.
John was knighted by the queen in 1998, a year after the death of his friend Princess Diana. Prince Charles also anointed the musician and charity patron as a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour last year.
John’s concert was the second of two nights at Toronto’s Rogers Centre. The concert was part of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, which is being touted as his farewell tour.
