No artist imagines what their final moments onstage are going to be like. The idea of the travelling rock band is still one of the greatest lifestyles that most musicians can dream of, so having to think about hanging things up for the final time can get a lot more frightening once you’re faced with reality. While artists like David Bowie didn’t know these songs would be their bows, they did manage to go out on a high note every single time.
Granted, there’s a certain tragedy that comes with every one of their swan songs. For all of the great music that they’re creating onstage, looking back on pieces now feels like being visited by a ghost of the past half the time, as if people are walking in on something that they shouldn’t be viewing.
Then again, it’s hard to argue that many of the artists in question made the most of these performances. Whereas some may have been rough around the edges because of the toll that they had put on their bodies, hearing their resilience and determination to keep the audience entertained no matter what the cost is an inspiration for everyone looking to put everything they can into their craft.
Many of these musicians had probably played countless shows before they even stepped onstage these fateful nights, but when that spotlight caught them, no one else could touch them. So, in that respect, these weren’t just performers gracing the audience. They were musical angels bringing their audience one final miracle.
10 final performances from iconic artists:
10. ‘American Girl’ – Tom Petty
In the world of classic rock, Tom Petty seemed to be the next best thing to carry on the original sound of the 1960s. Despite debuting in the late 1970s, there was a certain kinship he had with the rock and roll troubadours of old, and he was more than happy to act as the wise sage of music for the foreseeable future. While he ended things in the heartland, it’s only fitting that his career ended where it began.
When performing what would become his final concert, Petty worked his way through ‘American Girl’ with the rest of the Heartbreakers, giving it that one last push of adrenaline that people still heard back in the wake of the punk movement. A few new backup singers had been hired to fill out the sound, but when listening to it live, it was still that ragtag group of punks that started everything back in Gainsville, Florida.
Despite Petty singing his lungs out, his heart would give out less than a month after the show lights dimmed, ultimately passing away from cardiac arrest. For someone who was unknowingly staring death in the face, he did manage to give everyone that one little piece of sunshine to remember him by.
9. ‘Penetration’ – Miles Davis
The entirety of Miles Davis’ career had been about making something that no one had ever heard. He was born and bred in the jazz tradition, but just because he could play the same bebop lines repeatedly didn’t mean that he had to. He had already reinvented himself on albums like Kind of Blue and Bitches Brew, and by his final song, he was also paying attention to some of the new dynamos on the scene.
Rather than play the usual standards or spend the last half of the set improvising, his decision to interpret Prince’s song ‘Penetration’ was an inspired choice. ‘The Purple One’ was still the pinup star that everyone knew, but hearing Davis perform this deep cut is actually a refreshing take on what his normal blend of fusion music sounded like to the average Prince fan.
It seemed that Prince would return the favour by following in Davis’s footsteps as well, working the crowd with jazzy ventures on records like The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale and The Rainbow Children. Then again, with someone as off-the-wall as Davis could be at times, no one was expecting the last phrases to have such a seductive backbeat behind them.
8. ‘Be Tender With Me Baby’ – Tina Turner
For the remainder of her life, fans would have to deal with Tina Turner stepping away from the limelight. She didn’t owe the audience a damn thing anymore, and her final string of concerts in 2009 saw the true Queen of Rock and Roll go out on top as one of the premier performers from the glory days of the genre. After years of bringing as much force as she possibly could to her craft, though, leaving things off on ‘Be Tender With Me Baby’ felt like she was collectively bringing us back down to Earth.
While her main setlist concluded with a version of ‘Proud Mary,’ going with this soft-hearted ballad was actually a lot more poignant once people knew the context. The entire song deals with a woman having to say goodbye to her lover due to some unforeseen circumstance, so her cries for him to be gentle with her could easily be her wish to the audience as she bows out for good.
Then again, ‘The Queen’ didn’t need to worry about anyone getting in the way of her private life. She had given more than her everything years before she even recorded ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’, and once that final standing ovation happened, there’s a good chance that she was happy to have her audience alongside her as she faded away gracefully.
7. ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ – Elvis Presley
Of course, no one can discuss the Queen of Rock and Roll without bringing up The King as well. Then again, in the waning moments of his career, Elvis Presley has never been depicted in the greatest light, usually visualised with a sandwich in his hand and ballooning from his sex symbol size from his prime. Before his heart finally gave out at Graceland, it was only fitting that all those devoted female fans got to hear him say ‘I love you’ one last time.
Looking through Presley’s performance, he doesn’t forget to pull out the crowdpleasers, tearing through songs like ‘Hound Dog’ and paying tribute to fellow trailblazers like Ray Charles and Chuck Berry. Considering his physical and mental state, though, ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ was still one of his greatest calling cards, no matter what his health was like.
Sure, he may not have been the same doe-eyed cherub that fans saw in the 1950s, but in his place was an equally earnest man pleading that his audience would love him in return. And considering the massive influx of mourners showing up to Graceland upon hearing of Presley’s passing, ‘The King’ didn’t have to worry about his legacy being lost. If anything, the reign was only getting started.
6. ‘Mama Said’ – Amy Winehouse
The entire story of Amy Winehouse’s career reads like a tragedy straight out of old Hollywood these days. She had the potential to be one of the greatest singers in the industry, and yet the amount of adulation that came to her all at once was far too much for her to take for much longer. While her last official show was already incredibly sombre, her last official appearance with Dionne Bromfield saw her bring back that retro soul all over again.
Despite being one of the biggest pop stars in the world, her version of ‘Mama Said’ by the Shirelles was actually a lot more poignant than most people probably thought. For Winehouse, this was going to be a walk in the park, especially considering her history of reworking tunes with her own sophisticated sheen. The girl group tune did have its charm, but that’s only looking at the forest for the trees.
Underneath the surface, Winehouse was slowly losing her battle with alcoholism, and when she was found unresponsive following this show, hearing lyrics about heartache and chapel bells tolling for everyone but her struck a far more morbid note. Her voice was going to be echoed for generations to come, but at that exact moment, ‘Mama Said’ was the desperate cry from a fallen angel wanting to make the pain go away, if only for a little bit.
5. ‘We Are the Champions’ – Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury knew that he was living with a death sentence years before he passed away. His AIDs diagnosis may have sent shockwaves through the rock community upon his announcement hours before his passing, but he had been struggling with his health issues for years before making it public. And while fans like to remember ‘The Show Must Go On’ as the moment that Mercury made his studio curtain call, his performance of ‘We Are the Champions’ paints everything in a different light.
Compared to many artists on this list who made poetic exits or finished where they started, Queen’s gig at Knebworth for their final concerts made all the sense in the world. After all, a royal band needed a royal venue, and seeing that field sway along to ‘We Are the Champions’ has as much poignance and depth as the version that they delivered at Live Aid just a year prior.
And even though Mercury probably knew in the back of his head that his touring days were over, death did not claim him. If anything, the afterlife should be blessed to have Mercury as part of its heavenly choir, and if he’s still singing on the other side, here’s hoping that he’s donning the same crown that he wore during his last concert.
4. ‘Everlong’ – Taylor Hawkins
Taylor Hawkins always felt like the soul behind Foo Fighters ever since he joined. Whereas Dave Grohl was the brains of the operation who played every note on the first record, Hawkins was the beating heart that kept everything forceful up until he passed away in 2022. As the night fell onto the Lollapalooza Festival in Argentina for what would be his last show, hearing him put everything into ‘Everlong’ was among the greatest feats of endurance that anyone could have endured.
Because for anyone looking to play ‘Everlong’ at full speed, don’t say that nobody warned you. The entire track has relentless energy for a ballad, and yet Hawkins looked like he was hardly breaking a sweat, looking like a feral animal being let out of its cage for a few minutes when he went for those iconic fills during the chorus.
And while Josh Freese is doing his best to honour his memory every time he gets onstage with Foo Fighters, it’s understood that Hawkins is there in spirit every time Grohl counts off the tune. Because, looking back at the footage, for a brief second, it really does feel like time stops and things will be able to feel that real forever.
3. ‘Changes’ – David Bowie
Most celebrities living with a disease as strong as cancer could study David Bowie’s final moments to the letter. He had been diagnosed with a terminal disease, and yet the last years of his life featured him recording albums like The Next Day and Blackstar as if there wasn’t a care in the world. Once his last album was released days before his death, people couldn’t help but reflect on him performing one of his greatest creations once again.
Bowie was nothing if not a great showman, and when playing his last proper concert, he was joined by Alicia Keys onstage to perform his staple, ‘Changes’. Once the first chorus rang out, though, Bowie seemed to take on a different demeanour, almost as if he knew that this version of the tune would be his last.
And while ‘The Starman’ may have strummed the last chords that he would ever play to an audience, he never really went away. His earthly body is gone, but somewhere in the cosmos, something tells me that he is out looking for new lands and creating music that most of us can’t even fathom. Still alive and still changing after all these years.
2. ‘Heart Shaped Box’ – Kurt Cobain
For as harsh as Nirvana’s In Utero tour got, no one could have assumed where Kurt Cobain was heading. Sure, many artists have complained about the strain that the touring life puts on them, but the spokesman for grunge was more content to treat his stomach ailments rather than have to deal with a bunch of kids gathered in a field just to hear the guitar riff to ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’. While most other entries here were triumphs, there’s an ominous feeling listening back to Cobain’s run-through of ‘Heart Shaped Box’.
It would make sense for Nirvana to close with what was their biggest hit that night, but the entire concert was already marred in controversy. Cobain had been dopesick on the road, and even when the band went on, their show had frequent electrical problems, which resulted in the discordant version of ‘Heart Shaped Box’ that they ended up with.
By the time Cobain walked out, it was clear everyone needed a break, but his failed stint in rehab and eventual death by his own hand was nowhere near the worst-case scenario people were thinking of. So now, when looking back on the feral sounds of Cobain’s guitar on ‘Heart Shaped Box’, it sounds like a worrying omen of what was to come once he returned to the US.
1. ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ – John Lennon
Up until the last days of his life, John Lennon had sworn off any kind of live concerts. He had already grown tired of them during his days with The Beatles, and he wasn’t about to subject himself to being a dancing puppet for the masses once he got his freedom and somewhat anonymity in New York City. He did get back onstage based on a dare from Elton John, though, and when he was given a superhero’s welcome at Madison Square Garden, he decided to throw things back to 1963 all over again.
Being true to his word to appear with John onstage after ‘Whatever Gets You Thru the Night’ hit number one, Lennon came out to perform his signature hit before announcing a song from ‘an old fiance of mine called Paul’. Considering that the Beatles had started to mend their relationships at this point, hearing Lennon channel his inner 20-year-old singing ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ is everything the crowd could have asked for, and then some.
And from there, Lennon lived the rest of his life on his own terms, bowing out for years to raise his son Sean before eventually returning to the studio for Double Fantasy before his tragic murder. There’s a lot of sadness that still coats Lennon’s passing, but given how enthusiastic he was about his old mate, who knows whether the Fab Four could have come together one last time had he lived to see the rest of the 1980s.
