Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson admits retirement is “on the distant horizon” but rules out farewell tour
In a new exclusive interview with Far Out, Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson has ruled out the prospect of a farewell tour while discussing the possibility of his future retirement.
In recent years, the farewell tour has become a phenomenon with artists of a certain vintage. Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour lasted five years before he eventually retired from touring, and the Eagles are now in the fourth year of their farewell tour.
However, as much as Anderson is aware that he’s not immortal and that one day his career will come to an end, he has no interest in packaging up his last goodbye as a farewell tour.
After forming Jethro Tull in the 1960s, the band are still going strong today with plans to tour Europe and the United Kingdom extensively in 2026, which Anderson hopes to continue doing until he’s no longer physically capable.
He explained of his stance on retirement in the music industry to Far Out, “Luckily, in the world of art and entertainment, we frequently are able to die with our boots on in the sense that we are not going to have retirement forced upon us like a British Airways 777 pilot or an astronaut, or a racing driver. I mean, there comes a point when, you know, you’re going to be told ‘Hang up your hat, it’s over’, but luckily in terms of what I do that doesn’t happen.”
Nevertheless, he knows that day is edging closer, adding, “It would seem in a way a bit churlish to pack it in now, but I still have to be realistic. The end, whilst it’s not in sight, it is a glimmer on the distant horizon that is going to come ever closer.”
However, Anderson has no plans to reveal to fans before he takes to the stage for the final time, explaining, “And when it does get sufficiently close to me to have to make the announcement ‘This is Jethro Tull – The final tour’ then I won’t, because I don’t believe in announcing such things.”
He elaborated, “I think there is a time when you simply just won’t be noticeable there anymore, when the tour dates page on the Jethro Tull website will just be blank. That’s going to happen.”
Anderson is unable to put a date on the expiry date of his career, admitting, “It all depends on physical and mental health, and whether or not Mr Putin decides to go nuclear.”
Whether it’ll be their last tour is currently uncertain, but the UK leg of Jethro Tull’s upcoming run is set to begin in April. It will see the band perform at historic theatres such as the Palladium in London, Sheffield City Hall, the Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool, the Symphony Hall in Birmingham, and Usher Hall in Edinburgh.
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