The Louder Than Concorde Tour was a concert tour by English musician and composer Elton John, in support of his 10th studio album Rock of the Westies. the tour included two legs (United Kingdom and North America) and a total of 62 shows.
Tour
John and his band recorded the Blue Moves album (and No. 1 hit single "Don't Go Breaking My Heart") in Toronto in March 1976, and began touring the UK on 29 April in Leeds. This leg of the tour, which included a midnight show in Glasgow, ended on 4 June in Cardiff. On 29 June 1976 in Landover, Maryland, the eastern half of the US got the newly named "Louder Than Concorde (But Not Quite As Pretty)" tour, a testament to the onslaught John and his ferocious band were delivering to a country in the midst of its Bicentennial celebration.
On 4 July 1976, John played Schaefer Stadium near Boston. Billie Jean King sang backing vocals and John slipped "Holiday Inn" in to the 20-song set list, a unique event on this tour. Part-way through this leg of the tour, Ray Cooper fell ill and was forced to miss roughly a dozen shows. Ever the punsmith, John declared that the missing percussionist was "Ray Cooper-ating from surgery."
The tour concluded in mid-August with a record-breaking seven sold-out nights at Madison Square Garden. For these shows, John and the band shared the stage with the New York Community Choir and performed encores with Kiki Dee, Alice Cooper and Divine. As this week was winding down, John notified the band that he was taking a break from touring and the group soon disbanded.
Tour dates
DateCityCountryVenue Europe 29 April 1976 Leeds England Leeds Grand30 April 19761 May 1976ManchesterManchester Bellevue2 May 1976PrestonPreston Guildhall3 May 1976LiverpoolLiverpool Empire4 May 19765 May 1976LeicesterDe Montfort Hall6 May 1976HanleyVictoria Hall7 May 1976WolverhamptonWolverhampton Civic Hall9 May 1976CroydonFarfield Hall11 May 1976LondonEarls Court12 May 197613 May 197614 May 1976WatfordBaileys16 May 1976BirminghamBirmingham Odeon17 May 197618 May 1976SheffieldSheffield City Hall20 May 1976NewcastleNewcastle City Hall21 May 1976EdinburghScotlandUsher Hall22 May 1976DundeeCaird Hall24 May 1976GlasgowApollo Theatre25 May 197627 May 1976CoventryEnglandNew Theatre28 May 197629 May 1976SouthamptonGaumont Theatre30 May 1976TauntonTaunton Odeon31 May 1976BristolBristol Hippodrome1 June 19763 June 1976CardiffCardiff Capitol4 June 1976North America29 June 1976LandoverUnited StatesCapital Centre30 June 19761 July 19764 July 1976FoxboroughSchaefer Stadium6 July 1976PhiladelphiaThe Spectrum7 July 19768 July 197611 July 1976PontiacPontiac Silverdome13 July 1976GreensboroGreensboro Coliseum14 July 1976CharlotteCharlotte Coliseum16 July 1976AtlantaOmni Coliseum18 July 1976TuscaloosaMemorial Coliseum20 July 1976LouisvilleFreedom Hall21 July 1976IndianapolisMarket Square Arena24 July 1976Saint PaulSaint Paul Civic Center26 July 1976ChicagoChicago Stadium27 July 197628 July 197629 July 19761 August 1976RichfieldRichfield Coliseum2 August 19763 August 1976CincinnatiRiverfront Coliseum7 August 1976BuffaloRich Stadium10 August 1976New York CityMadison Square Garden11 August 197612 August 197613 August 197615 August 197616 August 197617 August 1976
Set list Grow Some Funk of Your Own Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Island Girl Rocket Man Hercules Bennie and the Jets Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding Love Song (Lesley Duncan cover) Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (The Beatles cover) Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me Empty Sky Someone Saved My Life Tonight Don't Go Breaking My Heart I've Got the Music in Me (Kiki Dee cover) Philadelphia Freedom We All Fall in Love Sometimes Curtains Tell Me When the Whistle Blows Encore: Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting Your Song Pinball Wizard (The Who cover)
Personnel Elton John – lead vocals, piano Davey Johnstone – lead guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals Caleb Quaye – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Kenny Passarelli – bass guitar, backing vocals Roger Pope – drums James Newton Howard – keyboards, electric piano, synthesizer Ray Cooper – percussion Cindy Bullens – backing vocals Jon Joyce – backing vocals Ken Gold – backing vocals
References
External links
Information Site with Tour Dates