biggest concert tours 1980s

by Madison Marx, January 31, 2023 On Tour With Bon Jovi In The 1980s Mark Weiss toured the world with Bon Jovi in the 1980s. As a blend of pop, soul, rock, and hip-hop, the album showed how versatile Mone was in creating music. Shows played: 108 -- Matt Melis, 33. Nina Corcoran, 65. Picking out the best 80s rock bands is no easy task. Simon needed a new inspiration to take hold of him, and he found that muse in the traditional music of South Africa, which he would combine with pop to create Graceland, his best-selling album as a solo artist. December 3, 1980 Previous Dynasty Tour Next 10th Anniversary Tour The Unmasked Tour was a 1980 concert tour by the hard rock group KISS. Phish- Phish Destroys America (1997), Its hard to pick a single best Phish tour, especially if youre a die-hard fan. Year(s): 199495. From Led Zeppelin's U.S. debut to Jay Z and Kanye West's 'Watch the Throne' spectacle, and beyond, SST Records Producer Glen Spot Lockett Dead at 72, Glastonbury Co-Organizer Promises Female Headliners in 2024 After All-Male Top Billing This Year, There Were Sidemen. Year(s): 2013. From the reggae twists to the pop choruses, The Clash were changing the course of history, and the band illuminated it live on the stage. Though he's been touring ever since he was a preteen, Wonder's live shows have only gotten better with age, which explains why his recent Songs in the Key of Life Tour was so remarkable. Tour gross (adjusted for inflation): $820,194,986. Triumph 1985 Thunder World Tour Concert Rock 1980's Vintage T-shirt Condition: New with tags Last One Price: US $16.95 Buy It Now Add to cart Add to Watchlist Returns accepted Ships from United States Shipping: Standard Shipping. Year(s): 201213. Alice Cooper The Billion Dollar Babies Tour (1973-74), Alice Cooper (aka The Godfather of Shock Rock) has been offering fans a dark and macabre stage show since the beginning of the 70s, which included the climax of a villainous Cooper being executed by an electric chair. Cher is known for her extravagant concerts, with multiple costume changes, elaborate sets, dancers, and video montages. The 1980s brought the world some of the best music the 20th century had to offer. Avid Stones fans claim that this is the groups best tour, but its also one that almost didnt happen. Ask Stephen Stills and Neil Young, who have spent much of their Hall of Fame careers either playing in bands with each other or quitting them. He had toured extensively with both The Jackson 5 and The Jacksons, playing before royalty, debuting many of his most famous calling cards in concert (including his single glove, sequined jacket, and the moonwalk), and touring the songs off hit solo albums Off the Wall and Thriller with his siblings. Crazy, but thats how it goes. Live, the band played their greatest hits and every passage in between, nailing their sets. One of themost successful musical acts of the 1970s, The Eagles (originally composed of Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, and Randy Meisner) set out on their "Long Road Out of Eden tour in 2008. To borrow from Ms. Year(s): 1994, When Pink Floydplayed their final tour in 1994, only two of the bands founding members (Nick Mason and Richard Wright) took the stage. While earlier that year, they recorded a live set that would become Live at Leeds, it was the combination of these sounds -- the blues-rooted, riff-heavy early material with the more adventurous, cinematic, crescendo-filled material of a rock opera -- that nailed this tour down as a career peak. The bands Autobahn Tour configuration has gone down in history as their classic touring lineup. "The Farewell Tourwas no exception. So her sound engineer Martin Fisher used a wire clothes hanger to create a wireless headset microphone. There are a few guidelines and Shows played: 120 In fact, Waters had left the band by the time this Pink Floyd tour took place and wasreplaced by David Gilmour. Bob Dylan- Bob Dylan World Tour 1966 (1966), Not everyone was thrilled when Bob Dylan chose to go electric at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. Nina Corcoran, 11. With larger venues and gigs on the doc, the band amped up their live antics, playing into the role of frenetic antics and volume-heavy material. Nick Cave& the Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree Tour (2017-18), After the loss of his son in 2015, Nick Cave returned to the writing board to channel his devastation into Skeleton Tree, an aching record that's deeply personal because of both the details and the delivery from which he discusses it. Bruce Springsteen went on tour with the E Street Band in 2016 to mark the 35th anniversary of his 1980 EP "The River. There are a whopping 20 songs on the album, and Springsteenperformed it in its entirety at all North American tour stops. held between 1980 and 1996 at . Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: Wrecking Ball World Tour, #14. Nina Corcoran, 50. And who can blame him? Matt Melis, 56. Roger Waters, a founding member of Pink Floyd, embarked on a solo career in the mid-1980s. 8 Pink Floyd - 75,250 He was working on new graphics! performing arts Tour gross (adjusted for inflation): $674,547,559. Despite winning Album of the Year at the Grammys, Arcade Fire still performed with an exuberant, impassioned, almost amateaur energy that recalled their early years, the type of intense live delivery that suggested the band was leaving it all on the floor just for you, that very night, right before your eyes. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Against Me! Whitney Houston - The Moment of Truth World Tour (1987-88), Only a few voices like Whitney Houstons come along each generation. Year(s): 201013. Lady Gaga- Born This Way Ball (2012-13), Billed as an electro-metal pop-opera with openers like Zedd and The Darkness tacked on, Lady Gagas Born This Way Ball was set to be a spectacle even before she hit the road. In 20162017, their tour "A Head Full of Dreams became one of the top-grossing tours of all time, showing just how big an influence the group has had on the music scene. 9 Backstreet Boys - 73,337 The Backstreet Boys were at the height of their popularity when they drew over 73,000 fans into the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on February 19, 2000. These days, shes very much a pop artist, and her sixth studio album, "Reputation, proves it. No matter how big the crowds would get or how elaborate the stage setups would one day become, theres still something utterly mesmerizing about the band, as captured forever in their Red Rocks performance on that tour. Their "Black Ice World Tour was significant for beingthe last full tour of longtime vocalist Brian Johnson. Nina Corcoran, 75. For starters, it was the tour that gave us Live at Montreux, her first-ever concert film, capturing how powerful her delivery is onstage for anyone to see. Not only did the tour break the record for the highest-grossing tour, but the bands Oct. 25, 2009date at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, also holds therecord for the highest attendance at a single concert with over 97,000 people. His 2021 cover headline was "The Great Return. Nina Corcoran, 77. St. Vincent- Fear the Future Tour (2017-18), What do you do when youre one of the greatest guitarists of all time? It would also be his last tour, as he would pass away from Melanoma only a few months after finishing the slate. Tour gross (adjusted for inflation): $526,158,550 While both bands put on legendary shows when healthy and present, that didnt happen nearly enough across the 26 dates. The band turned into nine-piece rock band-turned-funk group, amping the stakes up to the point where everyone would get out of their seats to dance along -- at shows and in movie theaters, when some of the last tour dates were filmed to create the concert documentary Stop Making Sense. Shows played: 51 Year(s): 2012. But in 1985, that all changed when Guns N Roses hit the stage. The magic of a free-to-download album, dazzling hanging light strips, one of the most iconic Bonnaroo performances of all time, and new material that they worked out live onstage all felt surreal. Various Artists -Lollapalooza(1992), While Lollapalooza might draw thousands of people to Chicago each year, the original idea was that the traveling alternative festival would be rolling through a town near you. by Will, December 15, 2014 Most nights of the tour opened with their classic hit "Message in a Bottle, but the August 2008 show began withCreams "Sunshine of Your Lovea moving tribute to the band who had played their own final show at MSG years prior. The tour also spawned the groupsonly live album"Live in Buenos Aires, recorded at the final show. Nine Inch Nails- Fragility (1999-00), Trent Reznor has been the most prominent face of industrial rock since the early 1990s. On the bands fifth and last studio album, The Police showed their skills not just as musicians, but as a trio of outstanding musicians who could find the best possible way to fuse their ideas together. Well, it knocked Springsteens Born in the U.S.A. out of the No. Year(s): 2014present. "USA for Africa," as the U.S. ensemble was known, featured Jackson, Richie, Geldof, Harry Belafonte, Bob Dylan, Cyndi Lauper, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder, and many. For close to a decade, and through several of their other tours, the "Voodoo Lounge tour was the Rolling Stones top-grossing tour. The legendary tour, of course, gets best remembered for a single storm-shortened night in Central Park. . It was a perfect combo of alt-rock come-ups with gusto-filled leaders that only seems more dreamy with age. But when The Cure hit the States in support of Disintegration, it was an entirely different ordeal. Year(s): 198789. Nina Corcoran, 74. And live, he could flaunt that wide range of material while flaunting why he is, more than anything else, a born performer. Tour gross (adjusted for inflation): $320,710,513 buy tickets Yet, despite all of this, it's considered to be the band's best tour because they were peaking in popularity, the album's intense themes translated well live, and the hype that surrounded them lived up to the live version. The most famous instance came between songs at a concert in Manchester. Shows played: 197 Do they have fees? Proving that we often dont know a good thing til its gone, The Polices reunion tour grossed more than any of their heyday tours. They brought the squawkish guys in Beastie Boys on tour in support of Raising Hell, only to bring them out again for Together Forever, a tour that showed not only that rap deserved to blow up, but that young rappers did, too. concert hall In 2010, it finally glowed bright enough for everyone to notice. Total tour attendance: 2.67 million And while his fans have had many opportunities to see him play his old hits since then and even perform face-to-face with Elton John dozens of times, footage from the Innocent Man Tour makes us long for, or at least look back fondly on, the days when rock and roll was, well, still rock and roll to Billy Joel. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. Thanks to streaming services and the preference of audiences for singles,album sales are down overall, but it's clear fans are still willing to pay to see their favorite artists in person. In many ways, the Highway to Hell Tour can be seen as Bon, on his last tour, handing the mic to Brian to continue down that satanic highway. The 50 Greatest Concerts of the Last 50 Years From Led Zeppelin's U.S. debut to Jay Z and Kanye West's 'Watch the Throne' spectacle, and beyond By Christopher R. Weingarten, David Browne, Jon. However, his reign of onstage terror didnt sink to its bloodiest depths until The Billion Dollar Babies Tour a couple years later. LCD Soundsystem- This Is Happening Tour (2010), Dance music had a major glow-up moment in the 2000s, and the label DFA Records had a big hand in creating it. The chance to see Hendrix in smaller clubs already playing with his teeth and, yes, lighting his guitar on fire (often to the consternation of security) months before Americans got to see it overseas feels like the ultimate sneak preview. Do they have fees? Kate Bush was adamant about dancing as she sang, using movements that were broad and wide, the type that would get you tangled in a cord should you try. While on vacation with his wife in Fiji,Keith Richards took a hard fall out of a coconut tree and suffered a major concussion. Matt Melis, Without The Clash, punk may have struggled to stop taking itself so seriously, especially when it comes to commercial fame. Tour gross (adjusted for inflation): $421,181,298 & Rakim, Doug E. Fresh and the Get Fresh Crew, and Public Enemy. Shows played: 110 30 day returns. . My, my. And thats precisely what she did. But when scouring through live bootlegs from back then, the 1997 fall tour stands out because of how energized the jam band sounds -- and when it comes to Phish shows, its the energy in the air that can turn an already memorable performance into one that feels like magic. In 2013, he embarked on his solo"Out There! tour, during which he played 91 gigs, sang a total of 3,631 songs (an average of 40 a show)including 13 that hed never performed beforeanddrank zero glasses of water while on stage. Bookmark Quiz Bookmark Quiz Bookmark. In fact, when his band left after a shortened set, they received a chorus of boos. Hence, the tour got its unforgettable nickname: Phish Destroys America. Shows played: 159 Un concert guichets ferms est donn le 5 dcembre 1983 l' Olympia. Shows played: 132 For a handful of the dates, labelmates Hot Chip served as openers. And there to flesh things out even more was a star-studded list of openers like Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, R.E.M., and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Please sign up now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust. Bill Wyman walked away from the band, saying that he was tired of touring and would no longer continue playing with the group. Those who saw it had no idea they were seeing My Bloody Valentine on their last tour ever, as the band chose not to play again until reuniting over 16 years later in 2008. He can be reached at [emailprotected]. The experience turned into a masterclass for the future Fab Four, with Penniman teaching them his songs and showing a young Paul McCartney how to sing like him. If youre going to get people grooving to your work, you better up the funk, and Phish turned that knob way the hell up. Check out SoundMojo to discover tomorrow's. So, not only did Pennimans comeback remind his fans that he had once shaped rock and roll, but he directly influenced the two most popular bands of the 60s. We cant say for certain. Perhaps no tour better defined Elton John than his 1974 North American Tour. Songs that began quietly grew into a dark, rumbling experience, with Cave descending into the crowd as if he and the crowd became one. Luckily, theres plenty of footage of Marleys final performances and message, including a sold-out stadium show thats still considered to be the largest concert in Italian history. Matt Levy covers the entertainment industry live, writing about upcoming concerts, festivals, shows and events. Osbourne wasnt in the healthiest state at the time, but who could resist being the proverbial flying rodent on the wall as Ozzy legendarily bit a dead bat thrown onstage (and had to subsequently get rabies shots) or went outlaw by donning his wifes nightgown, getting smashed, and pissing on The Alamo? On his first solo concert tour in five years, Kanye went hard amping up his own personality, mythos, and talent with a stage design that felt like a medieval quest for a self-declared deity. By 1995, she was touring what would become one of the biggest records of the decade, Jagged Little Pill, with the likes of fellow alt-rock stalwarts Our Lady Peace and future luminaries Radiohead opening. Her kick-off shows in London sold out in record time, the Japanese military was brought in to control the 25,000 fans who greeted her at an airport, and she played to record crowds in numerous countries and cities. tour dates The tour thrilled millions, sent Prince even higher into the stratosphere, and pissed off Tipper Gore.