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Elton John has long been one of the foremost showmen in all of classic rock. He wrapped up his touring days with his “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour, though he promised fans he’d return to the stage at some point, just not as part of a tour. His catalog of songs, electric personality, and flashy outfits made for great theater, but one of John’s worst concerts included a little too much action, and he cut the show short.

One of Elton John’s worst concerts stopped early when crickets swarmed the stage

After decades as one of the biggest acts in show business, Elton John has seen and done it all. Or if not all, then definitely more than most.

He survived years of excessive substance use, which was nearly a miracle. Sir Elton was one of the few musicians knighted by Queen Elizabeth II before she died. (Paul McCartney was another). John collaborated with some of the biggest artists ever: John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, George Michael, Rod Stewart, The Who, and Tina Turner, to name a few. John watched as Lennon became physically sick before a 1974 concert.

A curveball came during a 1993 concert.

“Crocodile Rock” goes down as one of Elton’s signature songs. During a 1993 show in Melbourne, Australia, it was crickets instead of the native reptilians that caused a problem. A thick swarm blew into the “Candle in the Wind” singer’s concert. The insects crawled all over John, including his hair and mouth, his equipment, and the backup singers, the Independent reported (via Reuters). 

Things got so bad the “Benny and the Jets” singer wasn’t still standing but instead flying from the stage to find cover. They might not have been midnight creepers or high flying birds, but the infestation forced John to cut his concert short by 30 minutes. The consummate showman had to let the sun go down on that show. Fortunately for his fans, Elton took it one day at a time and returned to the stage for a swarm-free concert the next night, according to Mental Floss.

John stopped other concerts, too

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A cloud of crickets made a particular show one of John’s worst concerts (certainly one of the most memorable and creepy). He is no stranger to halting performances, though.

During his highly-lucrative Las Vegas residencies, the pianist stormed off the stage and called out a disruptive fan who hampered his performance, per Entertainment Tonight. John tearfully walked off the stage in early 2020 when pneumonia made his voice give out. The singer stopped one of the concerts of his farewell tour short to give a shout-out to a blind boy in the concert, Leeds Live reported.

And before we let anyone think we’re being too hard on Elton for stopping one of his worst concerts, we have to point out other artists who interrupted or stopped their shows:

  • Bob Dylan told off audiences several times in his career, including during a 2019 show to tell fans to get off their phones. 
  • Led Zeppelin’s first and only performance in Italy ended when the band walked off the stage 30 minutes into the show as riot police fired tear gas at concert-goers.
  • Several people died during Travis Scott’s performance at his 2021 Astroworld Festival. He paused the show several times amid the commotion, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the tragedy. 

John had several memorable moments on stage during his touring career, from rowdy fans to a sick John Lennon. Still, a swarm of crickets cutting a concert short had to be one of his more memorable experiences.

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