Ice on Fire Tour

{{Short description|1985–86 concert tour by Elton John}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}

{{Use British English|date=January 2012}}

{{Infobox concert

| concert_tour_name = Ice on Fire Tour

| album = Ice on Fire

| artist = Elton John

| location = Europe • North America

| start_date = {{start date|1985|11|14|df=y}}

| end_date = {{end date|1986|10|15|df=y}}

| number_of_legs = 3

| number_of_shows = 122

| last_tour = Breaking Hearts Tour
(1984)

| this_tour = Ice on Fire Tour
(1985–86)

| next_tour = Tour De Force
(1986)

}}

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.

Background

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.{{Cite web|url=http://www.eltonjohn.com/band/1985-1986/|title = The Band}}

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

=1985=

{{hidden

|headercss = background: #ccccff; font-size: 100%; width: 90%;

|header = Standard Setlist

|content =

  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=

{{hidden

|headercss = background: #ccccff; font-size: 100%; width: 90%;

|header = Standard European Setlist

|content =

  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"

}}

{{hidden

|headercss = background: #ccccff; font-size: 100%; width: 90%;

|header = Standard North American Setlist

|content =

  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

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

!width="150"|Date

!width="150"|City

!width="150"|Country

!width="275"|Venue

style="background:#ddd;"

| colspan="4"|Europe[http://www.songkick.com/concerts/904743-elton-john-at-rds-simmonscourt-arena] Songkick.com, Retrieved 29 August 2011[http://www.songkick.com/concerts/904748-elton-john-at-newport-centre/users?view=]{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Songkick.com, Retrieved 29 August 2011[http://www.sheffieldhistory.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=6136&st=120] sheffieldhistory.co.uk, Retrieved 29 August 2011[http://www.olympiapark.de/de/der-olympiapark/veranstaltungsorte/olympiahalle/] olympiapark.de, Retrieved 29 August 2011[http://www.eltonjohnfan.de/Konzertarchiv/Deutschlandkonzerte.htm] eltonjohnfan.de, Retrieved 29 August 2011

14 November 1985

|rowspan="4"|Dublin

|rowspan="4"|Ireland

|rowspan="4"|Royal Dublin Society

15 November 1985
16 November 1985
17 November 1985
20 November 1985

|rowspan="2"|Newport

|rowspan="2"|Wales

|rowspan="2"|Newport Centre

21 November 1985
23 November 1985

|rowspan="2"|Cornwall

|rowspan="4"|England

|rowspan="2"|St Austell Coliseum

24 November 1985
26 November 1985

|rowspan="2"|Sheffield

|rowspan="2"|Sheffield City Hall

27 November 1985
28 November 1985

|rowspan="2"|Edinburgh

|rowspan="2"|Scotland

|rowspan="2"|Edinburgh Playhouse

29 November 1985
1 December 1985

|rowspan="3"|Manchester

|rowspan="20"|England

|rowspan="3"|Manchester Apollo

2 December 1985
3 December 1985
4 December 1985

|rowspan="2"|Nottingham

|rowspan="2"|Nottingham Royal Concert Hall

5 December 1985
7 December 1985

|Brighton

|The Brighton Centre

11 December 1985

|rowspan="9"|London

|rowspan="9"|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

|rowspan="3"|Birmingham

|rowspan="3"|National Exhibition Centre

22 December 1985
23 December 1985
30 December 1985

|rowspan="2"|Bournemouth

|rowspan="2"|Bournemouth International Centre

31 December 1985
3 January 1986

|rowspan="2"|Glasgow

|rowspan="2"|Scotland

|rowspan="2"|Glasgow Centre

4 January 1986
5 January 1986

|rowspan="3"|Newcastle

|rowspan="3"|England

|rowspan="3"|Newcastle City Hall

6 January 1986
7 January 1986
9 January 1986

|rowspan="3"|Belfast

|rowspan="3"|Northern Ireland

|rowspan="3"|King's Hall

10 January 1986
11 January 1986
1 March 1986

|Madrid

|rowspan="3"|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

|rowspan="14"|France

|Patinoire de Mériadeck

7 March 1986

|rowspan="2"|Toulouse

|rowspan="2"|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

|rowspan="5"|Paris

|rowspan="5"|Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy

19 March 1986
20 March 1986
21 March 1986
22 March 1986
23 March 1986

|Lausanne

|rowspan="4"|Switzerland

|Palais de Beaulieu

25 March 1986

|Basel

|St. Jakobshalle

26 March 1986

|rowspan="2"|Zürich

|rowspan="2"|Hallenstadion

27 March 1986
29 March 1986

|rowspan="2"|Munich

|rowspan="15"|West Germany

|rowspan="2"|Olympiahalle

30 March 1986
1 April 1986

|West Berlin

|Deutschlandhalle

2 April 1986

|Hanover

|Eilenriedehalle

3 April 1986

|rowspan="2"|Frankfurt

|rowspan="2"|Festhalle Frankfurt

4 April 1986
5 April 1986

|Dortmund

|Westfalenhallen

6 April 1986

|Cologne

|Koln Sporthalle

8 April 1986

|rowspan="2"|Ludwigshafen

|rowspan="2"|Friedrich-Ebert-Halle

9 April 1986
10 April 1986

|Stuttgart

|Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle

12 April 1986

|rowspan="3"|Hamburg

|rowspan="3"|Alsterdorfer Sporthalle

13 April 1986
14 April 1986
16 April 1986

|Bremen

|Stadthalle

19 April 1986 (Postponed due to a bomb scare)

|rowspan="2"|Vienna

|rowspan="2"|Austria

|rowspan="2"|Wiener Stadthalle

20 April 1986 (Afternoon & Evening)
23 April 1986

|rowspan="2"|Rotterdam

|rowspan="2"|Netherlands

|rowspan="2"|Rotterdam Ahoy Sportpaleis

24 April 1986
26 April 1986

|Brussels

|Belgium

|Forest National

style="background:#ddd;"

| colspan="4"|North America[http://www.toledotalk.com/cgi-bin/tt.pl/article/53532] toledotalk.com, Retrieved 29 August 2011[http://www.songkick.com/venues/98049-jarry-park] Songkick.com, Retrieved 29 August 2011[http://www.seeing-stars.com/onstage/hollywoodbowl.shtml] seeing-stars.com, Retrieved 29 August 2011

17 August 1986

|rowspan="2"|Clarkston

|rowspan="7"|United States

|rowspan="2"|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

25 August 1986

|Clarkston

|Pine Knob Music Theatre

26 August 1986

|Toronto

|rowspan="2"|Canada

|CNE Grandstand

27 August 1986

|Montréal

|Stade Parc Jarry

29 August 1986

|Hartford

|rowspan="35"|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

|rowspan="3"|Worcester

|rowspan="3"|The Centrum

5 September 1986
6 September 1986
7 September 1986

|Providence

|Providence Civic Center

8 September 1986

|Philadelphia

|The Spectrum

11 September 1986

|rowspan="4"|New York City

|rowspan="4"|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

|rowspan="8"|Los Angeles

|rowspan="8"|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=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

!style="width:200px;"|Venue

!style="width:125px;"|City

!style="width:180px;"|Tickets sold / available

!style="width:125px;"|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

style="background:#ddd;"

|colspan="2"|TOTAL

|299,921 / 308,016 (97%)

|$4,854,748

Personnel

  • 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, drums (Europe and North American legs)
  • Alan Carvell – backing vocals
  • Gordon Neville - backing vocals (Europe and North American legs)
  • Helena Springs – backing vocals (UK leg)
  • Shirley Lewis – backing vocals
  • Onward International Horn Section{{Cite web|url=http://www.eltonjohn.com/band/1986a/|title=The Band}}

References

{{reflist}}