The Greatest Hits Tour was a concert tour by

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

. The tour started in February 2011 in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...

, Canada and has visited the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australasia. The tour placed ninth on

Pollstar ''Pollstar'' is a trade publication for the concert and live music industry. The publication was purchased by Oak View Group, a venue consultancy founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff, in July 2017. History and profile Founded in 1981 in Fre ...

's "Top 50 Worldwide Tours (Mid-Year)", earning over $40 million with 57 shows.

Background

The first edition of the tour took place in 2011 in Victoria, British Columbia. The tour then moved on through the United States with two of the concerts taking place in Hawaii. The North American leg of the tour came to a close with five concerts in Canada. Elton played a total of twelve concerts in Canada over the course of the 2011 tour. The tour moved onto Europe after the United States leg. The tour began in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, Wales. Due to high demand for tickets a second concert was added. The summer European leg of the tour came to a close in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, England with a performance at Magic Summer Live. Elton and the band returned to Europe in November for six concerts in mainly taking place in Eastern Europe. This included Elton's first concert in

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

, which was originally planned to take place in July 2011 but was rescheduled. Shortly after the European leg, Elton and the band will briefly performed in Asia. Both of them were his debut performances in those countries. He will in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

and

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

for the first time. Elton and the band then traveled to Australasia. Elton performed his first concert in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, New Zealand. Also this was the first concert that took place at the venue. Elton and the band will then go on to perform their 15th tour of Australia in November and December 2011. The tour was extended once again into 2012. The first concert of the 2012 was announced on 28 September 2011 via eltonjohn.com. The concert will take place at B2net Stadium in

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

. More European shows in Germany were announced on 9 November 2011. It was announced via eltonjohn.com on 26 October 2011: "Elton and the band will return to Honolulu's Blaisdell Arena on Friday, January 6, 2012, at 8pm, performing their Greatest Hits Live concert." A second date at the venue was announced due to high ticket demand. It was announced on eltonjohn.com on 7 November 2011 that Elton would perform his first ever concert in Peru on 1 February 2012. Elton was supposed to perform a concert at the

Sentul International Convention Center Sentul International Convention Center or the SICC is a commercial conference hall in the residential area of Sentul City, Babakan Madang, Bogor Regency, West Java, right on the side of the Jagorawi highway. Initially the building was known as B ...

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

on 18 November 2011 but the concert was postponed until Elton's 2012 Asian tour

Opening acts

2Cellos 2CELLOS (stylized 2CΞLLOS) were a Croatian cellist duo, consisting of classically trained cellists Luka Šulić and Stjepan Hauser. Signed to Sony Masterworks since 2011, they released six albums. They played instrumental arrangements of well ...

(Europe, North America, Australia) (selected dates) *

Tim Bendzko Tim Bendzko (born 9 April 1985) is a German singer-songwriter. He achieved nationwide recognition with his song "Nur noch kurz die Welt retten" and becoming the winner on the Bundesvision Song Contest. Career Bendzko grew up in the Köpenick r ...

(Germany 2011) *

Ed Drewett Edward James Drewett (born 1 April 1988) is a British singer and songwriter who is best known for his contributions and collaborations with acts such as One Direction, Little Mix, Jonas Blue, The Wanted, Olly Murs and SG Lewis. Early life Drew ...

(Shrewsburg, Northampton & Hove) *NEeMA (Lucca) *Sofi Hellborg, Sing the Truth (Pori, Finland) *Katie Thomson (Dunedin, New Zealand) *Kara Gordon (Dunedin, New Zealand) *Hokitika (Dunedin, New Zealand) *

Eran James Eran James (born 27 March 1989) is a singer-songwriter from Melbourne. He has released two studio albums that have reached the ARIA top 100. Music career James first performed as an eight-year-old. He signed his first record deal as a thirteen ...

(Hunter Valley, Australia & Adelaide, Australia) *Tallia Storm (Falkirk)

Set list

This setlist is representative of the show in Lima. It does not represent all concerts throughout the tour. #" Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)" #"

I'm Still Standing "I'm Still Standing" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, from John's 1983 album ''Too Low for Zero''. It was the second single released from the album in the UK, and the first single released in the Un ...

" #" Levon" #"Madman Across the Water" #"Holiday Inn" #"

Tiny Dancer "Tiny Dancer" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was originally released on John's 1971 album ''Madman Across the Water,'' and was later released as a single in 1972. It was ...

" #" Philadelphia Freedom" #"

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road ''Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'' is the seventh studio album by English singer-songwriter Elton John, first released on 5 October 1973 as a double LP. The album has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and is widely regarded as John's magnum ...

" #"

Candle in the Wind "Candle in the Wind" is a threnody written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was originally written in 1973, in honour of Marilyn Monroe, who had died 11 years earlier. In 1997, John perfor ...

" #" Rocket Man" #"

I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" is a song by English musician Elton John, with music by John and Davey Johnstone and lyrics by Bernie Taupin. It is the first single from John's 17th studio album ''Too Low for Zero''. In the United ...

" #"Hey Ahab" #"Gone to Shiloh" #"Monkey Suit" #"

Sacrifice Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...

" #"

Honky Cat "Honky Cat" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was used as the opening track for John's fifth studio album, ''Honky Château'', released in 1972. "Honky Cat" was also relea ...

" #"

Daniel Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...

" #"

Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin. It was recorded by Elton John and released in 1976, both as a single and as part of the ''Blue Moves'' album. It was John's seco ...

" #"

Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" is a song written by English musician Elton John and his lyricist Bernie Taupin. It was originally recorded by John for his eighth studio album, '' Caribou'' (1974), and was released as a single that peaked a ...

" #"

The Bitch Is Back "The Bitch Is Back" is a rock song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was the second single released from John's 1974 album ''Caribou'', and reached number 1 in Canada (his sixth in th ...

" #"

Are You Ready for Love "Are You Ready for Love" is a song recorded by English musician Elton John in 1977 and first released in the UK in 1979 as the first single from the EP '' The Thom Bell Sessions''. It was written by Leroy Bell, Thom Bell and Casey James, an ...

" #"

Bennie and the Jets "Bennie and the Jets" (also titled "Benny & the Jets") is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. The song first appeared on the ''Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'' album in 1973. "Bennie and ...

" #"

Crocodile Rock "Crocodile Rock" is a song written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, and recorded in summer 1972 at the Château d'Hérouville studio in France (it was listed as "Strawberry Studios" in the album's credits), where John and his team had previou ...

" ;Encore #

Your Song "Your Song" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was John's first international Top 10 chart single. "Your Song" was first released by American rock band Three Dog Night in M ...

" #

Nikita Nikita may refer to: * Nikita (given name) * Nikita, Crimea, a town in Crimea * Nikita the Tanner, a character in East Slavic folklore Film and television *''Little Nikita'', a 1988 film * ''La Femme Nikita'' (film), also known as ''Nikita'', a 19 ...

Tour dates

* *Denotes an Elton John solo concert ;Festivals and other miscellaneous performances ;Cancellations and rescheduled shows

Box office score data

Tour band

– piano, vocals *

Davey Johnstone David William Logan Johnstone (born 6 May 1951) is a British rock guitarist and vocalist, best known for his long-time collaboration with Elton John as a member of the Elton John Band. Career Johnstone's first work was with Noel Murphy in 1 ...

– guitar,

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

, backing vocals *

Bob Birch Robert Wayne "Bob" Birch (July 14, 1956 – August 15, 2012) was an American musician. He was primarily a session musician and sideman to a variety of notable artists. Early life At an early age, Birch was inspired to pursue music by his f ...

– bass guitar, backing vocals * Matt Bissonette – bass guitar, backing vocals (11–21 September 2012) *

Kim Bullard Kim Bullard is an American keyboardist, songwriter, record producer, and film composer. He has been making music since the 1970s and has performed extensively as a keyboard player with musical acts such as Elton John and Crosby, Stills, & Nash. ...

– keyboards *John Mahon – percussion, backing vocals *

Nigel Olsson Nigel Olsson (born 10 February 1949) is an English rock drummer and singer best known for his long-time affiliation with Elton John. A dynamic drummer and backing vocalist, Olsson helped establish the Elton John sound as a member of the Elton J ...

– drums, backing vocals *

Stjepan Hauser Stjepan Hauser (; born 15 June 1986), known professionally as HAUSER, is a Croatian cellist. He is a member of 2CELLOS, along with Luka Šulić. Early life and musical training Hauser was born in Pula, Croatia, into a musical family, where h ...

– cello * Luka Sulic – cello *Lisa Stone – backing vocals *Rose Stone – backing vocals *

Tata Vega Tata or TATA may refer to: Places * Jamshedpur, a city in Jharkhand, India also known as Tatanagar or Tata * Tata, Hungary, a town in Hungary * Tata Islands, a pair of small islands off the coast of New Zealand * Tata, Morocco, a city in Tata ...

– backing vocals * Jean Witherspoon – backing vocals

External links

Elton John's official website

References

{{Elton John Elton John concert tours 2011 concert tours 2012 concert tours