40th Anniversary of the Rocket Man was a concert tour by Elton John in Oceania, Asia, North America, South America and Europe, celebrating the 40th anniversary of his top 20 hit single "Rocket Man".
Background 40 years earlier, in April 1972, "Rocket Man" was released around the world. To celebrate the landmark anniversary of its release, John took celebrations globally for a world tour, returning to Australia for his record 42nd Sydney Entertainment Centre show, plus a special run of shows, some in parts of Australia he had never played in.
John added a second concert at the newly constructed Perth Arena on 10 November, opening the arena. George Michael had originally been scheduled to open the arena, but pulled out and John took his place.
Both the 2012 Greatest Hits Live tour and the 2012 legs of the 40th Anniversary of the Rocket Man tour made it onto Billboards "Top 25 Tours of 2012" at No. 19 with 36 shows, 28 of which were sell-outs. John performed to 240,381 people, making $32,920,986 (£20,946,700). On 22 March 2013 John's South American tour topped that week's Billboard Hot Tours. While in Brazil, he had played to 52,492 people and made $6,332,640. One of the Brazilian concerts, in Belo Horizonte, was sold out, the only sold out date of the tour.
Controversies John drew incredibly harsh criticism during his concert in Beijing when he dedicated the show to dissident artist Ai Weiwei. A state-owned newspaper accused the veteran British singer of being 'disrespectful' and said his actions could lead to a ban on other Western performers putting on shows in China. At the end of the show, John stunned his audience when he said he was dedicating the show to Weiwei. He said he was there to give tribute to Weiwei's 'honour and talent'. The Global Times, a paper run by the ruling Communist Parties, The People's Daily, said in an editorial: "John's unexpected action was disrespectful to the audience and the contract that he signed with the Chinese side, he forcibly added political content to the concert, which should have been nothing more than an entertaining performance. John's action will also make the relevant agencies further hesitate in the future when they invite foreign artists. John himself is a senior entertainment figure, but has raised difficulties for future arts exchanges between China and other countries."
It was later revealed that as a result of John's comments at his concert in Beijing that Chinese authorities were considering tightening concert rules so that only artists with University degrees could perform in the country. This would rule out any return to China for John. He was also questioned by Chinese authorities after the concert regarding his remarks.
Conservative campaigners demanded that John should cancel his concert in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Although John's scheduled performance went ahead at the Genting Arena of Stars, he faced fierce opposition from Muslim activists who object to openly gay performers performing in Malaysia as homosexual activities are illegal in the country. John faced down similar protests when he performed his first ever concert in Malaysia at the same venue just a year before.
Opening acts 2Cellos (12 November – 4 December 2012) Schmidt (14–18 November 2012, Melbourne) Pnau (16 November 2012, Sydney)
Set list This set list is representative of the first show in Perth. It does not represent all dates throughout the tour. "The Bitch Is Back" "Bennie and the Jets" "Grey Seal" "Levon" "Tiny Dancer" "Believe" "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" "Philadelphia Freedom" "Candle in the Wind" "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" "Rocket Man" "Hey Ahab" "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" "Honky Cat" "Sad Songs" "Sacrifice" "Daniel" "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" "Are You Ready for Love" "I'm Still Standing" "Crocodile Rock" "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" "Your Song" "Circle of Life"
Tour dates DateCityCountryVenueOceania10 November 2012PerthAustraliaPerth Arena12 November 201214 November 2012CanberraCanberra Stadium15 November 2012SydneySydney Entertainment Centre16 November 201218 November 2012MelbourneRod Laver Arena20 November 2012LauncestonLaunceston SilverdomeAsiaSources for Asia:23 November 2012ShanghaiChinaMercedes-Benz Arena25 November 2012BeijingMasterCard Center27 November 2012SeoulSouth KoreaOlympic Gymnastics Arena29 November 2012Kuala LumpurMalaysiaGenting Arena of Stars1 December 2012MacauCotaiArena4 December 2012Hong KongHong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre6 December 2012GuangzhouChinaGuangzhou International Sports Arena8 December 2012Quezon CityPhilippinesSmart Araneta Coliseum10 December 2012TaipeiTaiwanNangang Exhibition Hall13 December 2012BangkokThailandIMPACT Arena15 December 2012SingaporeSingapore Indoor StadiumSouth AmericaSources for South America:26 February 2013FortalezaBrazilEstádio Governador Plácido Castelo27 February 2013São PauloJockey Club de São Paulo28 February 2013Viña del MarChileQuinta Vergara Amphitheater2 March 2013Buenos AiresArgentinaEstadio José Amalfitani4 March 2013MontevideoUruguayEstadio Gran Parque Central5 March 2013Porto AlegreBrazilEstádio do São José6 March 2013AsunciónParaguayYacht y Golf Club Paraguayo8 March 2013BrasíliaBrazilCentro de Convenções Internacional9 March 2013Belo HorizonteMineirão Stadium10 March 2013RecifeChevrolet HallNorth AmericaSources for North America:16 March 2013MemphisUnited StatesFedExForum20 March 2013MaconMacon Centreplex22 March 2013MontgomeryGarrett Coliseum23 March 2013ChattanoogaMcKenzie Arena28 March 2013HoustonToyota Center29 March 2013Baton RougeBaton Rouge River Center30 March 2013BiloxiMississippi Coast Coliseum3 April 2013DaytonNutter Center5 April 2013NashvilleBridgestone Arena6 April 2013Winston-SalemLawrence Joel Veterans Memorial ColiseumEuropeSources for Europe:17 June 2013MurtenSwitzerlandPantschau Murtensee18 June 2013ViennaAustriaWiener Stadthalle19 June 2013SalzburgSalzburgarena21 June 2013CaenFranceZénith de Caen22 June 2013Skive FjordDenmarkRosenlund Parken23 June 2013CorkIrelandThe Docklands29 June 2013TallinnEstoniaTallinn Song Festival Grounds3 July 2013St. Malô du BoisFrancePoupet Open Air Theatre 4 September 2013LeedsEnglandLeeds Arena5 September 2013BerlinGermanyWaldbühne7 September 2013MagdeburgDomplatz8 September 2013Isle of WightEnglandRobin Hill Country Park12 September 2013LondonThe Roundhouse
Festivals and other miscellaneous performances This concert was part of "Festival de Viña del Mar 2013" This concert was part of "Stars of Sounds Open Air Murten 2013" This concert was part of "Live at the Marquee" This concert was part of "Festival de Poupet" This concert was part of "Bestival" This concert was part of "iTunes Festival" This concert was solo concert.
Cancellations and rescheduled shows 18 November 2011BogorSentul International Convention CenterMoved to Mata Elang International Stadium, never rescheduled.18 November 2012MackayVirgin Australia StadiumCancelled. Replaced with Melbourne concert.29 November 2012BusanBusan Exhibition and Convention CenterCancelled. Replaced by Kuala Lumpur concert.12 March 2013QuitoUnconfirmed VenueCancelled.15 March 2013BirminghamBJCC ArenaCancelled.15 June 2013MurtenStars of Sounds Open Air FestivalRescheduled to 17 June 2013 due to band illness.5 July 2013HalleGerry Weber StadionRescheduled to 6 July 2014.6 July 2013MainzNordmole ZollhafenRescheduled to 19 July 2014.7 July 2013HeilbronnFrankenstadion HeilbronnCancelled.9 July 2013BaroloPiazza ColbertCancelled.11 July 2013DresdenTheaterplatz vor der SemperoperPostponed to 11 July 2014.12 July 2013LondonBarclaycard's British Summer Time FestivalCancelled.13 July 2013YekaterinburgYekaterinburg Sports PalaceCancelled. 14 July 2013KrasnodarKrasnodar Basket-HallCancelled.17 July 2013LörrachStimmen-FestivalRescheduled to 23 July 2014.19 July 2013CarhaixVieilles Charrues FestivalCancelled.20 July 2013CalellaFestival Jardins de Cap RoigCancelled.21 July 2013RegensburgSchloss St. EmmeramCancelled.23 July 2013CarcassonneFestival de CarcassonneCancelled.24 July 2013Monte CarloSporting Monte-CarloCancelled.
Box office score data VenueCityTickets sold / available Gross revenuePerth ArenaPerth21,782 / 21,782 (100%)$3,919,890Canberra StadiumCanberra10,430 / 11,320 (92%)$1,718,940Entertainment CentreSydney18,056 / 18,056 (100%)$3,059,390Sources for SEC boxscore:Rod Laver ArenaMelbourne9,231 / 11,412 (81%)$1,584,640SilverdomeLaunceston5,142 / 5,981 (86%)$940,104Jockey ClubSão Paulo10,195 / 12,000 (85%)$2,662,790Estadio ZequinhaPorto Alegre11,294 / 13,500 (84%)$1,712,440Centro de ConvencoesBrasília5,862 / 6,900 (85%)$1,104,140Estadio do MineiraoBelo Horizonte32,176 / 32,176 (100%)$2,405,660Chevrolet HallRecife3,160 / 4,600 (69%)$1,110,400Bridgestone ArenaNashville14,896 / 14,896 (100%)$1,177,534Total142,224 / 152,623 (93%)$21,395,928
Tour band Elton John – piano, vocals Davey Johnstone – guitar, banjo, backing vocals Matt Bissonette – bass guitar, backing vocals Kim Bullard – keyboards John Mahon – percussion, backing vocals Nigel Olsson – drums, backing vocals Lisa Stone – backing vocals Rose Stone – backing vocals Tata Vega – backing vocals Jean Witherspoon – backing vocals Sources:
During the 2012 Asian tour the 2Cellos left the Elton John Band to pursue other projects following the release of their album In2ition.
External links Elton John's official website
References