Elton John was forced to cut his Auckland, New Zealand concert short Sunday after being struck with a bout of “walking pneumonia.”
Midway through the singer’s set at Mount Smart Stadium, John abruptly left the stage, but returned a few minutes later for two more songs before telling the crowd, “I’ve just completely lost my voice. I can’t sing. I’ve got to go. I’m sorry,” the BBC reports.
The singer was then escorted from the stage and given a standing ovation by the audience, Sky News noted. John had warned the sold-out crowd earlier in the evening that he had been struck with “walking pneumonia,” a mild form of the illness.
“I want to thank everyone who attended the #EltonFarewellTour gig in Auckland tonight,” John later wrote on social media. “I was diagnosed with walking pneumonia earlier today, but I was determined to give you the best show humanly possible. I played and sang my heart out, until my voice could sing no more. I’m disappointed, deeply upset and sorry. I gave it all I had.”
Depending on his recovery, John has two more Auckland gigs scheduled for his farewell tour on February 18th and February 20th. The Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour will then jump to Australia for six gigs before returning to North America on March 26th.
