You know you’re approaching retirement age when the music you love most was inevitably created before the year 2000. (With a few honourable exceptions of course!)
Nostalgia is definitely big in music, probably due to the accessibility of decades of hits at the swipe of a screen. For those of us who grew up buying vinyl 45s (remember them?) and albums from WHSmith or HMV, and then graduated to cassette Walkmans, portable(ish) CD players and iPods, the music we loved has very much travelled with us as we’ve aged.
Now it’s all there on streaming services, which produce ‘music of the decade’ compilations that you can adapt and curate to your own preferences, and access almost literally anywhere.
What’s more amazing perhaps is that a considerable number of musicians who created those iconic sounds are still out there touring, long after passing pension age!
Out on the road – again
Former Beatles Paul McCartney (age 82) toured in 2024 and this year is making a new album. Bandmate Ringo Starr (age 84) heads out on the road on June 12th this year with his All Starr Band. Starr says he tours because he loves it:
“I absolutely love playing live and I love this band. It’s been so great playing with these guys … So here we go again, and we look forward to seeing you on the road this Spring.”
Bob Dylan (age 84) is out on the road with his own “Rough and Rowdy Ways” tour and appearances with the Outlaw Music Festival. Joining him for the Outlaw gigs is country legend Willie Nelson (age 92). Nelson takes to the stage again after some recent health issues:
“I take pretty good care of myself. And I feel like I’m in pretty good shape physically. Your lungs are the biggest muscle you have. So it’s healthy for me to sing.”
Bruce Springsteen (age 75) has no intention of giving up performing, as he explained on The Graham Norton Show:
“You’ve never seen a hearse with luggage on top, so that will be it for me, … I am going to keep going until it’s over“.
For heavy rock fans, Alice Cooper (age 77) is out on the road in 2025 in a tour that includes Brazil, Germany, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria and the UK, followed by a US tour that last from mid-August to end of October. And he has no plans to retire either:
“The word retirement is not in my vocabulary. I have never felt better in my life. I have never done better shows than the ones I’m doing now. My band is unbelievable.”
Legendary Brummie rock star Ozzy Osbourne (age 76) is bowing out with a final reunion concert with band Black Sabbath for the “Back to the Beginning” concert at Villa Park on 5th July. Osbourne says he’s getting fit after years away from live performance:
“I’m in heavy training for this Aston Villa thing. This will be seven years (since playing a concert), and so I’ve been through all this surgery … It’s endurance training. The first thing to go when you’re laid up is your stamina, so I’m doing two sets of three-minute walks a day and weight training. I’ve got to get going, you know. I’m waking up my body.”
Sting (aka Gordon Sumner, aged 73) is also out on tour in 2025, currently finishing shows in Germany before coming to the UK for selected shows including the Isle of Wight Festival. When asked about retirement in 2021, Sting replied:
“You’re asking a fish what it’s going to be like without water. I can’t imagine life without working onstage. I love it … (But) it’s getting more and more difficult to find venues older than me, so the Acropolis fits that bill since it’s about 3,000 years old.”
No plans to retire yet?
Want to keep doing the job you love? No problem. But no retirement planning in place? That could be a problem! Talking about your retirement with me now can help you put in place the financial and life planning you need for when you finally want to bow out. (And avoid any need to do a “One more to pay the taxman” tour!)
To book your free initial 30 mins Discovery session:
