The Ice on Fire Tour was a worldwide concert tour held by English musician and composer Elton John, in support of his 19th studio album Ice on Fire. The tour included three legs (in the UK, Europe and North America) and a total of 122 shows.

Ice on Fire Tour
Tour by Elton John
LocationEurope • North America
Associated albumIce on Fire
Start date14 November 1985 (1985-11-14)
End date15 October 1986 (1986-10-15)
Legs3
No. of shows122
Elton John concert chronology

Background

edit

John had decided he wanted to hit the road with his new band, made up of some of the musicians who had worked with him on the Ice on Fire album in January, as well as a new set of backing singers: Alan Carvell, Helena Springs and Shirley Lewis – making it the largest band John had ever taken on tour.

On 14 November 1985, the tour began in Dublin and continued across the British Isles, including nine nights in a row at Wembley Arena, before concluding on 11 January 1986, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. As usual, John would select a handful of songs from his most recent album for inclusion in the set; in this instance, "Shoot Down the Moon", "This Town" and the singles "Nikita" and "Wrap Her Up" — all from Ice on Fire. The tour would continue in three months' time, but with a different percussionist.[1]

Percussionist Jody Linscott replaced Ray Cooper on this second leg of the 1985–1986 World Tour, which began at the Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid on 1 March and continued through Europe before concluding on 26 April at the Vorst Nationaal in Brussels, Belgium.

After a four-month a break, during which John and the band recorded the Leather Jackets album, the North American leg of the world tour began at the Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan on 17 August and ended on 15 October with eight nights at Los Angeles' Universal Amphitheatre. One unique aspect to this tour was that John played acoustic guitar on stage (on Lesley Duncan's "Love Song"), something he had not done since 1976.

This part of the tour proved especially difficult for John, who unknowingly had developed potentially cancerous nodules on his vocal cords, and by the time he played his four-night run in New York City in mid-September, he was having a great deal of difficulty singing. John was ordered by his doctor not to speak while off-stage, and there was serious doubt as to whether or not he could finish this segment of the tour, let alone pull off the upcoming symphonic tour of Australia.

Setlists

edit

1985

edit
Standard Setlist
  1. "Highlander"
  2. "Tonight"
  3. "One Horse Town"
  4. "Better Off Dead"
  5. "Rocket Man"
  6. "Honky Cat"
  7. "Burn Down the Mission"
  8. "Someone Saved My Life Tonight"
  9. "The Bitch Is Back"
  10. "Song for You"/"Blue Eyes"/"I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues"
  11. "Restless"
  12. "Passengers"
  13. "Bennie and the Jets"
  14. "Sad Songs (Say So Much)"
  15. "Shoot Down the Moon"
  16. "This Town"
  17. "Nikita"
  18. "I'm Still Standing"
  19. "Your Song"
  20. "Wrap Her Up"
  21. "Candle in the Wind"
  22. "Kiss the Bride"
  23. "Can I Get a Witness"

1986

edit
Standard European Setlist
  1. "Highlander"
  2. "Tonight"
  3. "One Horse Town"
  4. "Better Off Dead"
  5. "Rocket Man"
  6. "Philadelphia Freedom"
  7. "Burn Down the Mission"
  8. "Someone Saved My Life Tonight"
  9. "The Bitch Is Back"
  10. "Song for You"/"Blue Eyes"/"I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues"
  11. "Paris"
  12. "Restless"
  13. "Bennie and the Jets"
  14. "Sad Songs (Say So Much)"
  15. "Cry to Heaven"
  16. "This Town"
  17. "Nikita"
  18. "I'm Still Standing"
  19. "Song for Guy"
  20. "Wrap Her Up"
  21. "Candle in the Wind"
  22. "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"
  23. "Your Song"
  24. "Can I Get a Witness"
Standard North American Setlist
  1. "Tonight"
  2. "One Horse Town"
  3. "Better Off Dead"
  4. "Rocket Man"
  5. "Philadelphia Freedom"
  6. "Burn Down the Mission"
  7. "Someone Saved My Life Tonight"
  8. "The Bitch Is Back"
  9. "Song for You"/"Blue Eyes"/"I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues"
  10. "Levon"
  11. "Paris"
  12. "Restless"
  13. "Bennie and the Jets"
  14. "Love Song"
  15. "Sad Songs (Say So Much)"
  16. "This Town"
  17. "I'm Still Standing"
  18. "Nikita"
  19. "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"
  20. "Candle in the Wind"
  21. "Daniel"
  22. "Your Song"
  23. ”Can I Get A Witness”

Tour dates

edit
Date City Country Venue
Europe[2][3][4][5][6]
14 November 1985 Dublin Ireland Royal Dublin Society
15 November 1985
16 November 1985
17 November 1985
20 November 1985 Newport Wales Newport Centre
21 November 1985
23 November 1985 Cornwall England St Austell Coliseum
24 November 1985
26 November 1985 Sheffield Sheffield City Hall
27 November 1985
28 November 1985 Edinburgh Scotland Edinburgh Playhouse
29 November 1985
1 December 1985 Manchester England Manchester Apollo
2 December 1985
3 December 1985
4 December 1985 Nottingham Nottingham Royal Concert Hall
5 December 1985
7 December 1985 Brighton The Brighton Centre
11 December 1985 London Wembley Arena
12 December 1985
13 December 1985
14 December 1985
15 December 1985
16 December 1985
17 December 1985
18 December 1985
19 December 1985
21 December 1985 Birmingham National Exhibition Centre
22 December 1985
23 December 1985
30 December 1985 Bournemouth Bournemouth International Centre
31 December 1985
3 January 1986 Glasgow Scotland Glasgow Centre
4 January 1986
5 January 1986 Newcastle England Newcastle City Hall
6 January 1986
7 January 1986
9 January 1986 Belfast Northern Ireland King's Hall
10 January 1986
11 January 1986
1 March 1986 Madrid Spain Palacio de Deportes
2 March 1986 San Sebastian Velódromo de Anoeta
4 March 1986 Barcelona Palau dels Esports de Barcelona
6 March 1986 Bordeaux France Patinoire de Mériadeck
7 March 1986 Toulouse Palais des Sports de Toulouse
8 March 1986
10 March 1986 Lyon Palais des Sports de Gerland
11 March 1986 Marseille Parc des Expositions
12 March 1986 Montpellier Zénith Sud
14 March 1986 Nantes Palais des Sports de Beaulieu
15 March 1986 Brest Parc de Penfeld
17 March 1986 Lille Palais des Sports Saint-Sauveur
18 March 1986 Paris Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy
19 March 1986
20 March 1986
21 March 1986
22 March 1986
23 March 1986 Lausanne Switzerland Palais de Beaulieu
25 March 1986 Basel St. Jakobshalle
26 March 1986 Zürich Hallenstadion
27 March 1986
29 March 1986 Munich West Germany Olympiahalle
30 March 1986
1 April 1986 West Berlin Deutschlandhalle
2 April 1986 Hanover Eilenriedehalle
3 April 1986 Frankfurt Festhalle Frankfurt
4 April 1986
5 April 1986 Dortmund Westfalenhallen
6 April 1986 Cologne Koln Sporthalle
8 April 1986 Ludwigshafen Friedrich-Ebert-Halle
9 April 1986
10 April 1986 Stuttgart Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle
12 April 1986 Hamburg Alsterdorfer Sporthalle
13 April 1986
14 April 1986
16 April 1986 Bremen Stadthalle
19 April 1986 (Postponed due to a bomb scare) Vienna Austria Wiener Stadthalle
20 April 1986 (Afternoon & Evening)
23 April 1986 Rotterdam Netherlands Rotterdam Ahoy Sportpaleis
24 April 1986
26 April 1986 Brussels Belgium Forest National
North America[7][8][9]
17 August 1986 Clarkston United States Pine Knob Music Theatre
18 August 1986
19 August 1986 Cuyahoga Falls Blossom Music Center
21 August 1986 Bonner Springs Sandstone Amphitheater
22 August 1986 Bloomington Met Center
23 August 1986 Hoffman Estates Poplar Creek Music Theater
26 August 1986 Toronto Canada CNE Grandstand
27 August 1986 Montréal Stade Parc Jarry
29 August 1986 Hartford United States Hartford Civic Center
30 August 1986 Saratoga Springs Saratoga Performing Arts Center
31 August 1986 Columbia Merriweather Post Pavilion
2 September 1986 Philadelphia The Spectrum
3 September 1986 Worcester The Centrum
5 September 1986
6 September 1986
7 September 1986 Providence Providence Civic Center
8 September 1986 Philadelphia The Spectrum
11 September 1986 New York City Madison Square Garden
12 September 1986
13 September 1986
14 September 1986
16 September 1986 Atlanta Omni Coliseum
19 September 1986 Pembroke Pines Hollywood Sportatorium
20 September 1986 Tallahassee Leon County Civic Center
21 September 1986 Tampa USF Sun Dome
23 September 1986 Antioch Starwood Amphitheatre
24 September 1986 Memphis Mid-South Coliseum
26 September 1986 Houston The Summit
27 September 1986 Dallas Reunion Arena
30 September 1986 Denver McNichols Sports Arena
1 October 1986 Salt Lake City Salt Palace
3 October 1986 Oakland Oakland Coliseum Arena
4 October 1986 Costa Mesa Pacific Amphitheatre
7 October 1986 Los Angeles Universal Amphitheatre
8 October 1986
10 October 1986
11 October 1986
12 October 1986
13 October 1986
14 October 1986
15 October 1986

Box office score data

edit
Venue City Tickets sold / available Gross revenue (1986)
Pine Knob Music Center Clarkston, Michigan 48,000 / 48,000 (100%) $674,520
Poplar Creek Music Theater Hoffman Estates 24,161 / 24,161 (100%) $326,000
National Exhibition Grandstand Toronto 24,298 / 24,298 (100%) $448,275
The Spectrum Philadelphia 34,222 / 34,222 (100%) $562,367
Civic Center Providence 13,120 / 13,120 (100%) $229,600
Centrum Worcester 36,831 / 36,831 (100%) $613,368
The Omni Atlanta 14,449 / 14,449 (100%) $252,858
Leon County Civic Center Tallahassee 10,768 / 10,768 (100%) $175,395
Sun Dome Tampa 10,492 / 10,800 (97%) $173,188
Mid-South Coliseum Memphis 9,625 / 12,000 (80%) $149,188
The Summit Houston 13,740 / 13,740 (100%) $240,450
Reunion Arena Dallas 14,753 / 14,753 (100%) $258,178
McNichols Sports Arena Denver 13,845 / 18,365 (75%) $237,334
Alameda County Coliseum Oakland 13,745 / 13,745 (100%) $240,538
Pacific Amphitheater Costa Mesa 17,872 / 18,764 (95%) $273,489
TOTAL 299,921 / 308,016 (97%) $4,854,748

Personnel

edit
  • Elton John – lead vocals, piano, acoustic guitar on "Love Song"
  • Davey Johnstone – lead guitar, backing vocals
  • David Paton – bass guitar
  • Fred Mandel – keyboards, rhythm guitar
  • Charlie Morgan – drums
  • Ray Cooper – percussion (UK leg)
  • Jody Linscott – percussion (Europe and North American legs)
  • Alan Carvell – backing vocals
  • Helena Springs – backing vocals
  • Shirley Lewis – backing vocals
  • Onward International Horn Section[10]

References

edit
  1. ^ "The Band".
  2. ^ [1] Songkick.com, Retrieved 29 August 2011
  3. ^ [2][permanent dead link] Songkick.com, Retrieved 29 August 2011
  4. ^ [3] sheffieldhistory.co.uk, Retrieved 29 August 2011
  5. ^ [4] olympiapark.de, Retrieved 29 August 2011
  6. ^ [5] eltonjohnfan.de, Retrieved 29 August 2011
  7. ^ [6] toledotalk.com, Retrieved 29 August 2011
  8. ^ [7] Songkick.com, Retrieved 29 August 2011
  9. ^ [8] seeing-stars.com, Retrieved 29 August 2011
  10. ^ "The Band".
edit

  Quotations related to Ice on Fire Tour at Wikiquote