The This Way Up Tour was a concert tour mounted by the English singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel to promote his 1986 album So. The concert tour spanned 93 shows, starting on 7 November 1986 in Rochester, New York and concluding on 9 October 1987 in Athens, Greece. It was broken up into two legs, with the first lasting one month through the middle of December and the second commencing in June of 1987, which covered the continents of both North America and Europe.
Gabriel's touring band consisted of several musicians who had played on So, including Tony Levin, David Rhodes, and Manu Katché. The setlist comprised around half of So, with the remaining songs originating from earlier albums in Gabriel's discography. Youssou N'Dour served as the opening act throughout the duration of the tour.
Background
In June 1986, Gabriel performed at A Conspiracy of Hope, which was arranged to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Amnesty International.[1]Bono asked Gabriel to participate in the concerts and told him that his song "Biko" had "opened him up to Africa".[2] The Conspiracy of Hope concerts required Gabriel to reschedule his This Way Up Tour further back than he had originally planned.[3]
Gabriel embarked on the This Way Up Tour in November 1986 with a touring band consisting of Tony Levin, David Rhodes, Manu Katché, and David Sancious. The setlist consisted of songs from Gabriels So studio album along with several other songs from Gabriel's discography.[3] Whereas the audiences of several of his previous tours consisted of "denim guys and intellectuals." according to Rhodes, the This Way Up Tour marked a shift toward larger and younger crowds with a more equal gender balance.[4]
"San Jacinto" served as first song of the setlist for both the 1986 and 1987 legs of the tour and began with an extended polyrhythmic instrumental sequence.[1][5]Youssou N'Dour, who served as the tour's opening act with his band Super Étoile de Dakar, joined Gabriel onstage to sing "In Your Eyes".[1][6] Some members from N'Dour's band played horns on "Big Time".[7] Whereas the studio recording of "Don't Give Up" was sung as a duet with Kate Bush, Gabriel covered all of the vocals on the song during this concert tour.[8] The exception to this was when Bush sang the song with Gabriel during his concert on 28 June 1987 in Earl's Court, which marked the only time Bush ever performed the song live with him.[3][9]
Staging
For the show's illumination, four banks of light were installed onto a set of crane arms that maneuvered throughout the stage via a railed track.[10][7] During "San Jacinto", which served as the opening song of the set, the four moving crane arms would direct beams of light at Gabriel, in some cases a few inches away from his face.[6] On "Red Rain", the lights were calibrated to create the illusion of rain droplets falling.[10]
The lighting cranes were used extensively on both "No Self Control" and "Mercy Street".[1] On "No Self Control", the telescoping lighting arms would descend upon Gabriel "like pterodactyls scrutinizing their prey" according to Pete Bishop of The Pittsburgh Press.[11] These lights would then hover over Gabriel's body as he began the next song of the set, "Mercy Street".[12] "This is the Picture (Excellent Birds)", featured an extended introduction where Gabriel and members of his touring band would line up at the front of the stage while playing mobile instruments, with Katché playing a MIDI rhythm stick and Sancious using a portable remote keyboard. Gabriel would also introduce the members of the band during the introduction of this song.[5]
On "Big Time", the light fixtures were programmed to create what the Toronto Star described as "a massive display of white light" that "exploded and swirled around the arena."[13] Gabriel would conclude "Lay Your Hands On Me" while "bathed in white light" and perform a backwards fall into the audience where he would then crowd surf.[3][12] In certain cases, Gabriel would lose articles of clothing while crowd surfing. He would then return to the stage with new clothes and perform "Sledgehammer".[12]
When determining the show's choreography, Gabriel took inspiration from some of the movements and gestures found in the 1975 book Bodily Communication, written by the UK social psychologist Michael Argyle. One such example was the outward palm gesture that he employed during "In Your Eyes".[1]Music Week mentioned in the 4 July 1987 edition of the publication that Gabriel would be the using four Ibanez SDR1000+ effect units on the European leg of his tour.[14]
Recordings
A concert film for the tour, titled Live in Athens 1987, was released on DVD in 2013. Filmed at the Lycabettus Theatre on three of the five nights (October 5, 6, 9, 1987), the film was directed by Michael Chapman with Martin Scorsese serving as executive producer.[15] A live album of the film was released in 2020. Previously, audio of the recording was issued on a 25th anniversary edition of So, restored and mixed by Ben Findlay.[16][17] The film was sourced from over 150 reels of 35mm film and restored into high-definition.[17] Much of the film was included on Gabriel's POV (1990) concert film and restored for physical release.[16]
Set list
These setlists are not representative of every show during the first leg of the tour. During Gabriel's show in Rochester, New York, "Big Time" was positioned in the set after "Don't Give Up".[10] For other performances, including his tour stop in Buffalo, New York, "Big Time" instead preceded "Don't Give Up." For the same show, "I Don't Remember" was played after "Family Snapshot".[18] At certain shows, "Not One of Us", "Solsbury Hill" and Wallflower" were also played.[16] By 1987, "Solsbury Hill" and "Games Without Frontiers" were more consistently integrated into the setlist.[19][20]
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