Despite turning 75, legendary musician Stevie Wonder continues to perform with passion and purpose. His recent UK tour, which concluded earlier this month, received widespread acclaim. Critics praised his energy and enthusiasm, describing the shows as a “joyous celebration” of his decades-spanning music career.
While many of his peers — like The Eagles and Billy Joel — are scaling back their touring schedules, Wonder says retirement isn’t in his plans. Speaking to the BBC’s Sidetracked podcast, the Motown icon explained that his creativity still flows freely.
“As long as I’m breathing and my heart is beating, there’s more to contribute,” he said. “I can’t turn off the gift I’ve been given — it’s something that keeps coming through me.”
He added that creativity is lifelong: “Artists don’t stop creating. If you can still imagine, you can still make something.”
Wonder also revealed he’s continuing work on a long-anticipated album titled Through The Eyes Of Wonder, a concept he introduced back in 2008. The project is expected to explore his experience of the world as a blind individual. If completed, it would mark his first studio album since 2005’s A Time To Love and add to a remarkable recording career that began when he was just 11 years old.
The conversation took place a day before Wonder headlined London’s Hyde Park at the BST Festival, where he delivered a two-and-a-half hour set filled with classics like Superstition, Isn’t She Lovely, and You Are the Sunshine of My Life.
Many of those songs came from the 1970s — a golden era in which Wonder won three consecutive Grammy Awards for Album of the Year, thanks to Innervisions, Fulfillingness’ First Finale, and Songs in the Key of Life.
He told host Annie Macmanus that he never grows tired of performing them. “Songs are like your children — they stay with you. They reflect something deep inside, and performing them is like taking a fresh breath,” he said.
Addressing Rumors and Reflecting on Purpose
At a recent concert in Cardiff, Wonder took a moment to address a persistent conspiracy theory claiming he’s not actually blind. “There have always been whispers that I can see,” he joked, before confirming, “I became blind shortly after birth.”
Rather than view it as a limitation, Wonder called his blindness a “gift,” saying it has helped him “see” the world through truth and clarity.
In his podcast interview, he emphasized his belief in music as a tool for hope and justice — values that have shaped his activism over the years. Wonder has long used his platform to champion civil rights and was instrumental in the effort to establish Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a U.S. national holiday.
Politically active to this day, he supported Kamala Harris during her run for vice president. He also warned that the U.S. is in danger of regressing. “There are people trying to take us backwards,” he said. “But history shows that people eventually wake up.”
To those who try to undo progress, Wonder had a message: “Just remember — God is watching.”
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