The Ballbreaker World Tour was a concert tour played by the Australian hard rock band AC/DC, in support of their thirteenth studio album Ballbreaker, which was released on 26 September 1995. This tour had 5 legs around the world lasting 11 months starting on 12 January 1996 in Greensboro, North Carolina finishing on 30 November 1996 in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Background This was Phil Rudd's first tour with the group since he rejoined in 1994. The band started the tour in North America, followed by a European leg and an Australian leg at the end of the tour. The band also performed in South America, playing to audiences of 65,000 in Brazil, Chile and Argentina.
A video was played at the beginning of each concert featuring Beavis and Butt-head. Each concert began with a large wrecking ball dropping down from a 38-foot crane and 'destroying' part of the stage which was a cement wall behind the drum riser, forming a gap in the stage, from which the band would emerge to open the show with "Back in Black". The sound system for the tour carried more than 50,000 watts. Each show would conclude with "For Those About to Rock", which featured six working cannons.
The Wildhearts supported on the second European and third US legs. "It turned from majesty to comedy to tragedy all in one month," shuddered mainstay Ginger. "We got there [the US] and took full advantage of the welcome that America affords a young band, which is as much drugs and alcohol as we could get our hands on – and then, inevitably, we started fighting with each other… I love AC/DC. They turn up, do their job and go. You tour for years and years and you don't do that by hanging out and partying all the time… We managed five dates."
Reception Brian Gnatt from the Michigan Daily, gave the Detroit performance a positive review. He opened his review, stating that despite the band's ages, they had a lot of untapped energy as they did 22 years ago. Gnatt praised the sound, stating that the guitar licks were as fresh as the day they were recorded as well as Brian Johnson's vocals - stating that they sounded good as ever despite the weakness of his voice on the Ballbreaker album. Also praising the performance of the band, Gnatt stated that it outshone all of the antics on stage, while also stating that Angus Young looked to be having fun while performing to screaming fans.
Dale Martin from the Victoria Advocate had also given the band's performance a positive review. He opened his review, noting that the band thrives on simplicity and is a constant in the music world. The audience at the show as more subdued and expressed many approval, with the audience singing "You Shook Me All Night Long" until they lost their voices. Martin noted on the setlist changes in which the band performed all phases of their career. When Angus Young began his guitar solo, Martin said it lasted forever and that he was all over the place until he disappeared and reappeared on top of a burly security guard. He concluded his review, stating that fans at the end of the show were in awe and probably a little deaf, with sound reading decibels coming in at 129.
Opening acts The Poor The Wildhearts Joe Satriani Sepultura
Tour dates + List of 1996 concerts Date (1996) City Country Venue 12 January Greensboro United States Greensboro Coliseum 13 January Charlotte Charlotte Coliseum 15 January Columbia Carolina Coliseum 17 January Memphis Pyramid Arena 18 January Birmingham BJCC Arena 20 January St. Petersburg Thunderdome 21 January Miami Miami Arena 22 January Daytona Beach Ocean Center 23 January Atlanta The Omni 25 January Houston The Summit 26 January Austin Frank Erwin Center 27 January San Antonio Alamodome 3 February Oakland Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 4 February San Jose San Jose Arena 5 February Sacramento ARCO Arena 7 February Portland Rose Garden Arena 8 February Vancouver Canada General Motors Place 9 February 10 February Tacoma United States Tacoma Dome 12 February San Diego San Diego Sports Arena 13 February Anaheim Arrowhead Pond 14 February Phoenix America West Arena 16 February Mexico City Mexico Palacio de los Deportes 17 February 21 February Inglewood United States Great Western Forum 2 March Minneapolis Target Center 3 March Rockford Rockford MetroCentre 5 March Milwaukee Bradley Center 7 March Indianapolis Market Square Arena 8 March Evansville Roberts Municipal Stadium 9 March Chicago United Center 11 March Louisville Freedom Hall 13 March Landover USAir Arena 14 March Philadelphia CoreStates Spectrum 15 March New York City Madison Square Garden 17 March East Rutherford Continental Airlines Arena 18 March Portland Cumberland County Civic Center 19 March Boston FleetCenter 21 March Montreal Canada Montreal Forum 22 March Toronto SkyDome 24 March Fairborn United States Ervin J. Nutter Center 25 March Pittsburgh Civic Arena 27 March Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills 28 March 30 March Cleveland Gund Arena 31 March 1 April St. Louis Kiel Center 2 April Kansas City Kemper Arena 4 April Dallas Reunion Arena 20 April Oslo Norway Oslo Spektrum 21 April Stockholm Sweden Globen Arena 23 April Helsinki Finland Helsinki Ice Hall 25 April Copenhagen Denmark Forum Copenhagen 26 April Gothenburg Sweden Scandinavium 29 April Kiel Germany Ostseehalle 30 April Berlin Deutschlandhalle 1 May Leipzig Messehalle 3 May Utrecht Netherlands Prins Van Oranjehal 4 May Frankfurt Germany Festhalle Frankfurt 5 May 7 May Dortmund Westfalenhalle 8 May 10 May Stuttgart Schleyerhalle 11 May Zürich Switzerland Hallenstadion 12 May Geneva Geneva Arena 14 May Bolzano Italy PalaOnda 15 May Bologna PalaDozza 16 May Rome PalaLottomatica 17 May Milan Filaforum 19 May Vienna Austria Wiener Stadthalle 21 May Mannheim Germany Maimarkthalle 22 May 23 May Liévin France Stade Couvert Régional 24 May Paris Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy 25 May 27 May Munich Germany Olympiahalle 28 May 29 May Prague Czech Republic Prague Sports Hall 1 June Glasgow Scotland SECC Arena 2 June Aberdeen AECC Arena 3 June Newcastle upon Tyne England Newcastle Arena 17 June Birmingham NEC Arena 19 June Manchester MEN Arena 21 June London Wembley Arena 22 June 26 June Dublin Ireland Point Theatre 28 June Ghent Belgium Flanders Expo 29 June Nancy France Zénith de Nancy 30 June Lyon Halle Tony Garnier 2 July Barcelona Spain Palau Sant Jordi 3 July 6 July Lisbon Portugal Estádio do Restelo 9 July Madrid Spain Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas 10 July 11 July 13 July Bordeaux France Parc des Expositions 1 August Wantagh United States Jones Beach Amphitheater 2 August Hartford Meadows Music Theater 3 August Buffalo Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 6 August Winnipeg Canada Winnipeg Arena 8 August Edmonton Northlands Coliseum 10 August Calgary Olympic Saddledome 12 August Seattle United States KeyArena 13 August Portland Rose Garden Arena 15 August Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre 16 August Paradise Thomas & Mack Center 17 August Irvine Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre 19 August Denver McNichols Sports Arena 21 August St. Louis Riverport Amphitheater 22 August Oklahoma City Myriad Convention Center 24 August New Orleans Lakefront Arena 26 August Murfreesboro Murphy Center 27 August Lexington Rupp Arena 28 August Knoxville Thompson–Boling Arena 30 August West Palm Beach Coral Sky Amphitheater 31 August Jacksonville Jacksonville Coliseum 1 September North Charleston North Charleston Coliseum 3 September Winston-Salem Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum 6 September Philadelphia CoreStates Spectrum 7 September Albany Knickerbocker Arena 8 September Worcester Worcester Centrum 10 September Charleston Charleston Civic Center 12 September Cincinnati Riverbend Music Center 13 September Columbus Polaris Amphitheater 14 September Tinley Park New World Music Theater 11 October Curitiba Brazil Pedreira Paulo Leminski 12 October São Paulo Estádio do Pacaembu 18 October Buenos Aires Argentina River Plate Stadium 19 October 22 October Santiago Chile Velódromo Estadio Nacional 2 November Perth Australia Burswood Dome 5 November Adelaide Adelaide Entertainment Centre 7 November Melbourne Centre Court 8 November 9 November 11 November Brisbane Brisbane Entertainment Centre 13 November Sydney Sydney Entertainment Centre 14 November 15 November 17 November 18 November Brisbane Brisbane Entertainment Centre 21 November Darwin Marrara Oval 24 November Cairns Cairns Showgrounds 27 November Auckland New Zealand Ericsson Stadium 30 November Christchurch Queen Elizabeth II Park
Cancelled dates + List of cancelled dates, showing date, city, country, venue and reason of cancellation Date (1996) City Country Venue Reason 22 March Quebec City Canada Colisée de Québec rowspan="3" 18 June Birmingham England NEC Arena 10 September College Park United States Bryce Jordan Centre
Box office score data + List of box office score data with date, city, venue, attendance, gross, references Date(1996) City Venue Attendance Gross 12 January Greensboro, United States Coliseum 15,899 $375,487 13 January Charlotte, United States Coliseum 15,870 $387,982 17 January Memphis, United States The Pyramid 16,463 $356,992 18 January Birmingham, United States BJCC Arena 10,005 / 10,704 $245,123 20 January St. Petersburg, United States Thunderdome 12,583 / 15,000 $293,974 23 January Atlanta, United States Omni Arena 12,994 $331,347 25 January Houston, United States Summit 13,433 $315,975 27 January San Antonio, United States Alamodome 15,237 $361,482 7 February Portland, United States Rose Garden 15,626 / 17,000 $355,740 10 February Tacoma, United States Dome 19,397 $443,469 13 February Anaheim, United States Arrowhead Pond 10,503 / 11,400 $241,742 14 February Phoenix, United States America West Arena 12,737 $314,109 16–17 February Mexico City, Mexico Sports Palace 29,304 / 31,218 $595,105 2 March Minneapolis, United States Target Center 15,010 $367,745 9 March Chicago, United States United Center 15,725 $393,125 11 March Louisville, United States Freedom Hall 16,404 $390,138 15 March New York City, United States Madison Square Garden 13,656 $461,770 19 March Boston, United States FleetCenter 15,033 $428,441 27–28 March Auburn Hills, United States Palace 32,887 $822,175 30–31 March Cleveland, United States Gund Arena 35,082 $860,430 4 April Dallas, United States Reunion Arena 15,671 $352,515
Personnel Brian Johnson – lead vocals Angus Young – lead guitar Malcolm Young – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Cliff Williams – bass, backing vocals Phil Rudd – drums
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