Lovetown Tour
Encyclopedia
The Lovetown Tour was a concert tour by the Irish
rock
band U2
, which took place in late 1989 and early 1990.
had missed, all the while avoiding the United States
entirely.
The tour's opening night was on 21 September 1989 at the Entertainment Centre
in Perth
, Australia
. The first leg took place over the next 10 weeks in Australia, New Zealand
, and Japan
. A brief second leg hit four countries in Europe
for four weeks, ending on 10 January 1990 at the Sport Paleis Ahoy
in Rotterdam
, Netherlands
. Of the tour's 47 concerts, 23 were played in Australia.
variety of any U2 tour, including the use of six separate songs to open concerts, which is still U2's record amount of concert openers for one tour. The tour featured the most different original U2 songs of any tour in the 1980s, though it did not have as many total different songs as the Joshua Tree Tour, which featured a large number of cover songs.
B. B. King
toured with the band and played the first set each night. At the end of U2's set, King and his band joined them for a short encore.
The tour was plagued by troubles with Bono
's voice due to both excessive use and illness - he stated in concert that he caught "some pretty psychedelic germs" in Australia and that they were "having their Annual General Meeting" in his throat. These vocal troubles meant three Sydney
concerts had to be postponed. Later, severe troubles meant a concert in Amsterdam
had to prematurely conclude; two other Amsterdam shows were cancelled and replaced by four shows in Rotterdam
, causing the tour to spill over into 1990 instead of ending on New Year's Eve
at Dublin's Point Depot as planned. However, when Bono's voice was not troubling him, he had an impressive singing range, with the falsetto later mastered starting to seriously appear, but without sacrificing the powerful depth of his lower singing range.
As with all U2 tours from 1983 on, the stage and lighting design was done by Willie Williams
. The tour name, possibly a contraction of the Rattle and Hum song "When Love Comes to Town
", was the first not to be named for the band's then-current album; , all of their subsequent tours have also had different names from any album.
and BBC
radio around the world, giving many fans their only taste of the tour; it was widely bootlegged
and ultimately officially released in digital form in 2004 as Live from the Point Depot
. It was during the 30 December Dublin show the night before, however, that Bono, apparently dissatisfied with the band's stagnation, famously said:
This foreshadowed the abrupt directional changes the band would take in the 1990s, beginning with Achtung Baby
and the Zoo TV Tour
.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
, which took place in late 1989 and early 1990.
Itinerary
It was limited in scope, but did try to reach places that their 1987 Joshua Tree TourJoshua Tree Tour
The Joshua Tree Tour was a concert tour by the Irish rock band U2, which took place during 1987, in support of their album The Joshua Tree. The tour was depicted by the video and live album Live from Paris.-Itinerary:...
had missed, all the while avoiding the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
entirely.
The tour's opening night was on 21 September 1989 at the Entertainment Centre
Perth Entertainment Centre
Perth Entertainment Centre is a former indoor arena and cinema complex, located in Wellington Street, in the city centre of Perth, Western Australia.-History:...
in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The first leg took place over the next 10 weeks in Australia, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. A brief second leg hit four countries in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
for four weeks, ending on 10 January 1990 at the Sport Paleis Ahoy
Ahoy' Rotterdam
Ahoy Rotterdam is an indoor sporting arena in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The capacity of the arena is 15,000.-History:...
in Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. Of the tour's 47 concerts, 23 were played in Australia.
The show
The Lovetown Tour is famed among fans as it had the greatest set listSet list
A set list, or setlist, is a document that lists the songs that a band or musical artist intends to play, or has played, during a specific concert performance...
variety of any U2 tour, including the use of six separate songs to open concerts, which is still U2's record amount of concert openers for one tour. The tour featured the most different original U2 songs of any tour in the 1980s, though it did not have as many total different songs as the Joshua Tree Tour, which featured a large number of cover songs.
B. B. King
B. B. King
Riley B. King , known by the stage name B.B. King, is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter.Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No.3 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. According to Edward M...
toured with the band and played the first set each night. At the end of U2's set, King and his band joined them for a short encore.
The tour was plagued by troubles with Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
's voice due to both excessive use and illness - he stated in concert that he caught "some pretty psychedelic germs" in Australia and that they were "having their Annual General Meeting" in his throat. These vocal troubles meant three Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
concerts had to be postponed. Later, severe troubles meant a concert in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
had to prematurely conclude; two other Amsterdam shows were cancelled and replaced by four shows in Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
, causing the tour to spill over into 1990 instead of ending on New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
at Dublin's Point Depot as planned. However, when Bono's voice was not troubling him, he had an impressive singing range, with the falsetto later mastered starting to seriously appear, but without sacrificing the powerful depth of his lower singing range.
As with all U2 tours from 1983 on, the stage and lighting design was done by Willie Williams
Willie Williams (lighting designer)
Willie Williams is a video director, stage and lighting designer for concerts, theatre, & multimedia projects...
. The tour name, possibly a contraction of the Rattle and Hum song "When Love Comes to Town
When Love Comes to Town
"When Love Comes to Town" is the 12th song on U2's 1988 album, Rattle and Hum, where it was recorded at the historic Sun Studio in Memphis TN as a duet between U2 and B.B. King...
", was the first not to be named for the band's then-current album; , all of their subsequent tours have also had different names from any album.
"Dream it all up again"
The 31 December 1989, Dublin concert was broadcast on RTERTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
and BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
radio around the world, giving many fans their only taste of the tour; it was widely bootlegged
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
and ultimately officially released in digital form in 2004 as Live from the Point Depot
Live from the Point Depot
Love: Live from the Point Depot is a digital live album by U2 released through the iTunes Music Store on November 23, 2004 as part of the digital box set, "The Complete U2." The show was recorded during U2's Lovetown Tour on New Year's Eve 1989 at the Point Depot in Dublin...
. It was during the 30 December Dublin show the night before, however, that Bono, apparently dissatisfied with the band's stagnation, famously said:
- "I was explaining to people the other night, but I might've got it a bit wrong – this is just the end of something for U2. And that's what we're playing these concerts – and we're throwing a party for ourselves and you. It's no big deal, it's just – we have to go away and ... and dream it all up again."
This foreshadowed the abrupt directional changes the band would take in the 1990s, beginning with Achtung Baby
Achtung Baby
Achtung Baby is the seventh studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 19 November 1991 on Island Records. Stung by the criticism of their 1988 release Rattle and Hum, U2 shifted their musical direction to incorporate alternative...
and the Zoo TV Tour
Zoo TV Tour
The Zoo TV Tour was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Staged in support of their 1991 album Achtung Baby, the tour visited arenas and stadiums from 1992 through 1993...
.
Tour dates
| Date | City | Country | Venue | Opening Act(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leg 1: Oceania and Asia | ||||
| 21 September 1989 | Perth Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000.... |
Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
Perth Entertainment Centre Perth Entertainment Centre Perth Entertainment Centre is a former indoor arena and cinema complex, located in Wellington Street, in the city centre of Perth, Western Australia.-History:... |
Weddings Parties Anything Weddings Parties Anything Weddings Parties Anything were an Australian folk rock band formed in 1984 in Melbourne and continuing until 1998. Their name came from The Clash song and musicologist Billy Pinnell described their first album as the best Australian rock debut since Skyhooks' Living in the '70s.-Formation and... B.B. King |
| 22 September 1989 | ||||
| 23 September 1989 | ||||
| 27 September 1989 | Sydney Sydney Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people... |
Sydney Entertainment Centre Sydney Entertainment Centre The Sydney Entertainment Centre is a multi-purpose venue, located in Haymarket, Sydney, Australia. It opened in May 1983, to replace Sydney Stadium, which had been demolished to make way for a new railway. The centre is currently owned by the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, which administers... |
||
| 28 September 1989 | ||||
| 29 September 1989 | ||||
| 2 October 1989 | Brisbane Brisbane Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of... |
Brisbane Entertainment Centre Brisbane Entertainment Centre The Brisbane Entertainment Centre is a centre, located in Boondall, a Brisbane City suburb, in Queensland, Australia.The arena has an assortment of seating plans, which facilitate the comfort of its users, subject to performance. Specific seating plans usually are allocated, depending on the... |
||
| 3 October 1989 | ||||
| 4 October 1989 | ||||
| 7 October 1989 | Melbourne Melbourne Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater... |
National Tennis Centre Rod Laver Arena Rod Laver Arena is a tennis stadium that is part of the Melbourne Park complex located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and has been the main venue for the Australian Open in tennis since 1988, replacing the ageing Kooyong Stadium... |
||
| 8 October 1989 | ||||
| 9 October 1989 | ||||
| 12 October 1989 | ||||
| 13 October 1989 | ||||
| 14 October 1989 | ||||
| 16 October 1989 | ||||
| 20 October 1989 | Sydney Sydney Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people... |
Sydney Entertainment Centre Sydney Entertainment Centre The Sydney Entertainment Centre is a multi-purpose venue, located in Haymarket, Sydney, Australia. It opened in May 1983, to replace Sydney Stadium, which had been demolished to make way for a new railway. The centre is currently owned by the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, which administers... |
||
| 21 October 1989 | ||||
| 27 October 1989 | Adelaide Adelaide Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million... |
Memorial Drive Park Memorial Drive Park Memorial Drive Park, more generally referred to as "Memorial Drive", is a tennis venue, located adjacent to the Adelaide Oval, in the park lands surrounding the centre of Adelaide, South Australia... |
||
| 28 October 1989 | ||||
| 4 November 1989 | Christchurch Christchurch Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of... |
New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga... |
Lancaster Park | B.B. King |
| 8 November 1989 | Wellington Wellington Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range... |
Athletic Park | ||
| 10 November 1989 | Auckland Auckland The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world... |
Western Springs Stadium Western Springs Stadium Western Springs Stadium is an entertainment venue in Auckland, New Zealand, that consists of a natural amphitheatre. During the winter it is used for club rugby union matches and over summer it is used for speedway. It is also occasionally used for large music concerts and festivals.Western Springs... |
||
| 11 November 1989 | ||||
| 17 November 1989 | Sydney Sydney Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people... |
Australia | Sydney Entertainment Centre Sydney Entertainment Centre The Sydney Entertainment Centre is a multi-purpose venue, located in Haymarket, Sydney, Australia. It opened in May 1983, to replace Sydney Stadium, which had been demolished to make way for a new railway. The centre is currently owned by the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, which administers... |
Weddings Parties Anything B.B. King |
| 18 November 1989 | ||||
| 19 November 1989 | ||||
| 23 November 1989 | Yokohama Yokohama is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu... |
Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
Yokohama Arena Yokohama Arena is an indoor sporting arena located in Yokohama, Japan. The capacity of the arena is 17,000 and was opened in 1989. The arena was modeled after US sports venue Madison Square Garden in New York City. It is a five minute walk from the closest subway station, Shin-Yokohama Station on the JR/Yokohama... |
|
| 25 November 1989 | Tokyo Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... |
Tokyo Dome Tokyo Dome Tokyo Dome is a 55,000-seat baseball stadium located in Bunkyo Ward of Tokyo, Japan.The stadium opened for business on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of the Velodrome which was next door to the site of the predecessor ballpark, Kōrakuen Stadium... |
||
| 26 November 1989 | ||||
| 28 November 1989 | Osaka Osaka is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe... |
Osaka-jō Hall Osaka-jo Hall , or Osaka Castle Hall, is a multi-purpose arena, in the Kyōbashi area, of Osaka, Japan. The hall opened in 1983 and can seat up to 16,000 people... |
||
| 29 November 1989 | ||||
| 1 December 1989 | ||||
| Leg 2: Europe | ||||
| 11 December 1989 | Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... |
France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... |
Palais Omnisports Bercy Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy Opened in 1984, Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, often abbreviated as POPB or Bercy, is an indoor sports arena on boulevard de Bercy located in the 12th arrondissement of Paris... |
B.B. King |
| 12 December 1989 | ||||
| 14 December 1989 | Dortmund Dortmund Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union.... |
West Germany West Germany West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990.... |
Westfalenhalle Westfalenhalle Westfalenhallen are three multi-purpose venues, located in Dortmund, Germany. The original building was opened in 1925, but was destroyed during World War II. New halls were built, the Große Westfalenhalle opened in 1952. The capacity of the arena is 16,500... |
|
| 15 December 1989 | ||||
| 16 December 1989 | ||||
| 18 December 1989 | Amsterdam Amsterdam Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population... |
Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... |
RAI Europe Hal Amsterdam RAI Exhibition and Convention Centre The Amsterdam RAI Exhibition and Convention Centre , or RAI for short, is a complex of conference and exhibition halls in the Zuidas business district of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The complex gives its name to the nearby Amsterdam RAI railway station... |
|
| 26 December 1989 | Dublin | Ireland Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth... |
Point Depot | |
| 27 December 1989 | ||||
| 30 December 1989 | ||||
| 31 December 1989 | ||||
| 5 January 1990 | Rotterdam Rotterdam Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre... |
Netherlands | Ahoy | |
| 6 January 1990 | ||||
| 9 January 1990 | ||||
| 10 January 1990 | ||||