Reg Strikes Back Tour

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Reg Strikes Back Tour
Tour by Elton John
Associated album Reg Strikes Back
Start date9 September 1988
End date10 June 1989
Legs3
No. of shows87 in total
Elton John concert chronology

Elton John started the Reg Strikes Back tour in promotion of the album with the same name. [1] It was his self-proclaimed comeback album, and his way of fighting back against bad press. It started on 9 September 1988 [2] and ended on 10 June 1989. [3]

Tour

After taking over a year off (to recover from throat surgery, address personal issues and record Reg Strikes Back in London), John returned to the stage with a new rhythm section. He wanted more of an R&B sound to his material, so drummer Jonathan Moffett and bassist Romeo Williams, along with backing singers Marlena Jeter, Natalie Jackson and Alex Brown, were added to the band. Guitarist Davey Johnstone, now also in the role of music director, had assembled the new band, a task that he continues to do. [4]

The band’s first show was at an AIDS benefit at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, where they played a 14-song set that featured the never-released John/Taupin composition, Love Is Worth Waiting For. The US tour then began on 9 September at the Miami Arena in Miami, Florida and concluded on 22 October at New York’s Madison Square Garden. [4]

After recording the Sleeping With The Past album in Denmark, the band (now with backing vocalist Mortonette Jenkins instead of Alex Brown) resumed their tour on 20 March 1989 at La Halle Tony Garnier in Lyon, France and played across Eastern Europe and the UK, concluding on 10 June 1989 at the RDS Arena in Dublin. [4]

Tour dates

DateCityCountryVenueTickets sold / availableRevenue
North America
9 September 1988 Miami United States Miami Arena [5] 25,913 / 25,913$550,651
10 September 1988 [6]
11 September 1988 Tampa USF Sun Dome
13 September 1988 Columbia Merriweather Post Pavilion 16,325 / 16,325$306,570
14 September 1988 Cuyahoga Falls Blossom Music Center
16 September 1988 Hoffman Estates Poplar Creek Music Theater 50,119 / 50,119$930,331
17 September 1988
18 September 1988 Milwaukee Marcus Amphitheater 18,857 / 24,000
20 September 1988 Greenwood Village Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre
23 September 1988Los Angeles Hollywood Bowl [7]
24 September 1988
25 September 1988
27 September 1988 Costa Mesa Pacific Amphitheatre
30 September 1988 Dallas Starplex Amphitheater
1 October 1988 Houston The Summit 13,483 / 13,483$312,954
4 October 1988 Philadelphia The Spectrum 30,876 / 30,876$669,468
5 October 1988
7 October 1988 Hartford Hartford Civic Center
8 October 1988 Worcester The Centrum
9 October 1988
10 October 1988
12 October 1988 Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills 67,691 / 67,691$1,523,048
13 October 1988
14 October 1988
15 October 1988
17 October 1988New York City Madison Square Garden 96,750 / 96,750$2,250,580
18 October 1988 [8]
20 October 1988
21 October 1988
22 October 1988
Asia with Eric Clapton
31 October 1988 Nagoya Japan Rainbow Hall 11,255 / 11,255$528,985
2 November 1988Tokyo Tokyo Dome 53,972 / 53,972$2,536,684
4 November 1988 Nippon Budokan 13,741 / 13,741$645,827
5 November 1988 Osaka Osaka Stadium 31,985 / 31,985$1,503,295
Europe [9]
20 March 1989 Lyon France Halle Tony Garnier
23 March 1989Paris Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy
24 March 1989
25 March 1989
26 March 1989 [10]
27 March 1989
29 March 1989 Brussels Belgium Forest National
30 March 1989
1 April 1989 Düsseldorf Germany Philipshalle
2 April 1989 Kiel Ostseehalle
4 April 1989Berlin Deutschlandhalle
6 April 1989 Hamburg Alsterdorfer Sporthalle
7 April 1989 Copenhagen Denmark Brøndby Hall
9 April 1989 Stockholm Sweden Globe Arena
10 April 1989 Oslo NorwayDrammenshallen
12 April 1989 Essen Germany Grugahalle
13 April 1989 Cologne Cologne Sporthalle
14 April 1989 Frankfurt Festhalle Frankfurt
15 April 1989
17 April 1989 Saarbrücken Saarlandhalle
19 April 1989 Lausanne Switzerland Patinoire de Malley
21 April 1989 Zaragoza SpainPabellón Municipal de Deportes
22 April 1989 San Sebastian Velódromo de Anoeta
23 April 1989 Madrid Palacio de Deportes
25 April 1989 Barcelona Palau dels Esports de Barcelona
26 April 1989 Verona Italy Verona Arena
27 April 1989 Milan Palatrussardi
28 April 1989Rome Palaeur
1 May 1989 Vienna Austria Wiener Stadthalle
2 May 1989
3 May 1989 Zürich Switzerland Hallenstadion
5 May 1989
6 May 1989
8 May 1989 Stuttgart Germany Schleyerhalle
17 May 1989 Birmingham England National Exhibition Centre
18 May 1989
19 May 1989
21 May 1989London Wembley Arena
22 May 1989
23 May 1989
24 May 1989
25 May 1989
27 May 1989
28 May 1989
29 May 1989
30 May 1989
1 June 1989 Edinburgh Scotland Edinburgh Playhouse
2 June 1989
5 June 1989 Belfast Northern Ireland King's Hall
6 June 1989
8 June 1989 Dublin Ireland RDS Stadium
9 June 1989
10 June 1989

Setlist

  1. Sixty Years On
  2. I Need You to Turn To
  3. The King Must Die
  4. Burn Down the Mission
  5. Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word
  6. Have Mercy on the Criminal
  7. Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
  8. Tiny Dancer
  9. The Ballad of Danny Bailey
  10. I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues
  11. Philadelphia Freedom
  12. The Bitch Is Back
  13. Sad Songs (Say So Much)
  14. Goodbye Marlon Brando
  15. A Word in Spanish
  16. Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters
  17. Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters (Part Two)
  18. Nikita
  19. Daniel
  20. Rocket Man
  21. I Don't Wanna Go on with You Like That
  22. Candle in the Wind
  23. Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting
  24. Your Song
  25. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
  26. I'm Still Standing
  27. Song for Guy

Tour band

Related Research Articles

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References

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  2. eltonography.com, Retrieved 29 August 2011
  3. eltonography.com, Retrieved 4 September 2011
  4. 1 2 3 "The Band". Elton John.
  5. articles.sun-sentinel.com, Retrieved 29 August 2011
  6. articles.sun-sentinel.com, Retrieved 29 August 2011
  7. seeing-stars.com, Retrieved 29 August 2011
  8. guitars101.com, Retrieved 29 August 2011
  9. en.allexperts.com, Retrieved 29 August 2011
  10. songkick.com, Retrieved 29 August 2011