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Back in Black Tour

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Back in Black Tour
Tour by AC/DC
AC/DC performing in Leicester in 1980. From left to right: Brian Johnson, Malcolm Young, Angus Young, Phil Rudd and Cliff Williams
Full stage at De Montfort Hall in Leicester, 20 October 1980
Location
  • Europe
  • North America
  • Asia
  • Australia
Associated albumBack in Black
Start date29 June 1980 (1980-06-29)
End date28 February 1981 (1981-02-28)
Legs5
No. of shows143
AC/DC concert chronology

The Back in Black Tour was a concert tour by the Australian hard rock band AC/DC in support of their seventh studio album Back in Black, which was released on 25 July 1980.

Background

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AC/DC performing on 20 October 1980

This was AC/DC's first tour with new vocalist Brian Johnson, who replaced Bon Scott after the latter's death in February 1980, making his first appearance on stage on 29 June 1980 in Namur, Belgium.[1][2] The band transported their own one-ton "Hells Bell" on the road, which was lowered to the stage each night as the bell tolls of "Hells Bells" were heard. Johnson would finish it off with several hard hits, hammer in hand as the band commenced the show.[1]

During the North American and European legs, the band were supported by a number of different opening acts, including Humble Pie, Def Leppard, ZZ Top, Blackfoot, Gamma, Whitesnake and Maggie Bell.[1]

Reception

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The responses from the audience during the band's performances in the United Kingdom were described as near rabid with anticipation.[1]

Mike London from Billboard, however, had given the show he attended in New York a negative review - stating that while the band had established itself as a leader in heavy metal, the show lacked imagination and failed to live up to the band's sound, describing the stage theatrics as lifeless and overused. He noted that the fans attending the show had shown a general positive response, but later in the show grew tired of the poses and solos that Angus Young had given. Concluding his review, London stated his disappointment - saying that AC/DC's music deserved better treatment than what the band performed that night.[3]

Set list

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  1. "Hells Bells"
  2. "Shot Down in Flames"
  3. "Sin City" or "Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be"
  4. "Back in Black"
  5. "Bad Boy Boogie"
  6. "The Jack"
  7. "Highway to Hell"
  8. "What Do You Do for Money Honey"
  9. "High Voltage"
  10. "Shoot to Thrill" (played on occasions)
  11. "Givin' the Dog a Bone" (played on occasions)
  12. "Whole Lotta Rosie"
  13. "You Shook Me All Night Long"
  14. "Rocker" or "Problem Child" or "Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution" (played on occasions)
  15. "T.N.T." or "Shake a Leg" ("Shake a Leg" played once)
  16. "Let There Be Rock"

Tour dates

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List of concerts, showing date, city, country and venue[4]
Date City Country Venue
Warm-up[5]
29 June 1980 Namur Belgium Palais des Expositions
30 June 1980 Antwerp Borgerhout-Zaal Cine Roma
1 July 1980 Deinze Brielpoort
2 July 1980 Arlon Hall Polyvalent
3 July 1980 Breda Netherlands Het Turfschip
5 July 1980 Wateringen Velo Sporthal
Leg 1 — North America[5][6]
13 July 1980 Edmonton Canada Northlands Coliseum
14 July 1980 Calgary Max Bell Arena
16 July 1980 Vancouver Pacific Coliseum
19 July 1980 Winnipeg Winnipeg Arena
20 July 1980 Thunder Bay Fort William Gardens
22 July 1980 Ottawa Ottawa Civic Center
23 July 1980 Montreal Montreal Forum
25 July 1980 London London Gardens
26 July 1980 Kitchener Kitchener Memorial Auditorium
27 July 1980 Sudbury Sudbury Community Arena
28 July 1980 Toronto Maple Leaf Gardens
30 July 1980 Erie United States Erie County Fieldhouse
31 July 1980 Philadelphia The Spectrum
1 August 1980 New York City Palladium
3 August 1980 Landover Capital Centre
6 August 1980 Norfolk The Scope
7 August 1980 Roanoke Roanoke Civic Center
8 August 1980 Charlotte Charlotte Coliseum
9 August 1980 Fayetteville Cumberland County Arena
10 August 1980 Greensboro Greensboro Coliseum
12 August 1980 Atlanta Fox Theatre
13 August 1980 Knoxville James White Civic Coliseum
15 August 1980 Johnson City Freedom Hall Civic Center
16 August 1980 Cincinnati Riverfront Coliseum
17 August 1980 Toledo Toledo Speedway
18 August 1980 Dayton Hara Arena
19 August 1980 Lexington Rupp Arena
20 August 1980 Nashville Nashville Municipal Auditorium
22 August 1980 Lakeland Lakeland Civic Center
23 August 1980 West Palm Beach West Palm Beach Auditorium
24 August 1980 Jacksonville Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum
26 August 1980 Houston Sam Houston Coliseum
27 August 1980[a] Agora
29 August 1980[b] San Antonio San Antonio Convention Center
30 August 1980 Dallas Dallas Convention Center
31 August 1980 Amarillo Amarillo Civic Center
1 September 1980 El Paso El Paso County Coliseum
4 September 1980 Long Beach Long Beach Arena
5 September 1980 Daly City Cow Palace
6 September 1980 Oakland Oakland Auditorium
7 September 1980[c] San Bernardino Orange Pavilion
10 September 1980 Lincoln Pershing Auditorium
11 September 1980 Bloomington Met Center
13 September 1980 Milwaukee Milwaukee Auditorium
14 September 1980 Madison Dane County Coliseum
16 September 1980 Normal Horton Fieldhouse
18 September 1980 St. Louis Kiel Opera House
19 September 1980 Cedar Rapids Five Seasons Center
20 September 1980 Rosemont Rosemont Horizon
21 September 1980 Fort Wayne Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
24 September 1980 Indianapolis Market Square Arena
25 September 1980 Louisville Louisville Gardens
26 September 1980 Kalamazoo Wings Stadium
27 September 1980 Detroit Cobo Arena
29 September 1980 Columbus St. John Arena
30 September 1980 Pittsburgh Stanley Theatre
1 October 1980[d] Cleveland Public Hall
3 October 1980 Rochester War Memorial Auditorium
4 October 1980 Buffalo Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
5 October 1980 Syracuse Onondaga War Memorial Auditorium
7 October 1980 Allentown Stabler Arena
8 October 1980 Uniondale Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
9 October 1980 Springfield Springfield Civic Center
10 October 1980 Boston Orpheum Theatre
11 October 1980
Leg 2 — Europe[5]
19 October 1980 Bristol England Colston Hall
20 October 1980 Leicester De Montfort Hall
21 October 1980
22 October 1980 Birmingham Birmingham Odeon
23 October 1980
25 October 1980 Manchester Apollo Theatre
26 October 1980
27 October 1980 Sheffield Sheffield City Hall
28 October 1980
29 October 1980 Hanley Victoria Hall
31 October 1980 Newcastle Mayfair Ballroom
1 November 1980 Glasgow Scotland Apollo Theatre
2 November 1980
4 November 1980 Newcastle England City Hall
5 November 1980
6 November 1980 Queensferry Deeside Leisure Center
7 November 1980 Southampton Gaumont
8 November 1980
10 November 1980 London Hammersmith Odeon
11 November 1980
12 November 1980
14 November 1980 Apollo Victoria Theatre
15 November 1980
16 November 1980
20 November 1980 Stockholm Sweden Göta Lejon
22 November 1980 Oslo Norway Chateau Neuf
24 November 1980 Kiel West Germany Ostseehalle
25 November 1980 Köln Sporthalle
26 November 1980 Hanover Eilenriedehalle
27 November 1980 West Berlin Deutschlandhalle
29 November 1980 Paris France Le Bourget
30 November 1980
2 December 1980 Nürnberg West Germany Messezentrum
3 December 1980 Heidelberg Rhein-Neckar-Halle
4 December 1980 Essen Grugahalle
5 December 1980 Bremen Stadthalle
7 December 1980 Frankfurt Festhalle
8 December 1980 Boblingen Sporthalle Böblingen
9 December 1980 Saarbrücken Saarlandhalle
10 December 1980 Hamburg Messehallen
11 December 1980
13 December 1980 Strasbourg France Hall Rhenus
14 December 1980 Zürich Switzerland Hallenstadion
16 December 1980 Ravensburg West Germany Oberschwabenhalle
17 December 1980 Munich Olympiahalle
19 December 1980 Lyon France Palais des Sports
20 December 1980 Lille Foire Expo Internationale
Leg 3 — Europe
8 January 1981 Metz France Parc Expo
9 January 1981 Besançon Palais des Sports
10 January 1981 Grenoble Alpexpo
11 January 1981 Nice Trinite Stade Municipal
13 January 1981 Avignon Parc Exposition de Chateaublanc
15 January 1981 Barcelona Spain Palacio Municipal Deportes
17 January 1981 Madrid Pabellon de Deportivo del Real Madrid
18 January 1981[e] San Sebastián Velodromo Anoeta de San Sebastian
19 January 1981 Toulouse France Hall Expo
20 January 1981 Pau Foire Expo Hall F
22 January 1981 Le Mans La Rotonde
23 January 1981 Brest Parc de Penfeld
24 January 1981 Caen Hall Expo
25 January 1981 Brussels Belgium Forest National
Leg 4 — Japan[5]
1 February 1981 Osaka Japan Expo Hall
2 February 1981 Nagoya Shi Kokaido Hall
4 February 1981 Tokyo Nihon Seinenkan
5 February 1981
Leg 5 — Australia[5]
13 February 1981 Perth Australia Perth Entertainment Centre
17 February 1981 Adelaide Memorial Drive
23 February 1981[f] Sydney Sydney Showground
24 February 1981 Brisbane Festival Hall
25 February 1981
27 February 1981 Melbourne Sidney Myer Music Bowl
28 February 1981

Cancelled dates

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List of cancelled dates, showing date, city, country, venue and reason for cancellation
Date
(1980)
City Country Venue Reason
6 July Nijmegen Netherlands De Vereeniging Low ticket sales (120 sold)
16 August Thornville United States Legend Valley
27 August Lafayette Le Centre Civique
19 November Copenhagen Denmark Odd Fellow Palæet Stage set did not fit

Box office score data

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List of box office score data with date, city, venue, attendance, gross, references
Date
(1980)
City Venue Attendance Gross Ref(s)
14 July Calgary, Canada Max Bell Arena 3,426 $33,072 [7]
16 July Vancouver, Canada Pacific Coliseum 8,197 $73,773
20 July Thunder Bay, Canada Fort William Gardens 4,249 $34,929
28 July Toronto, Canada Maple Leaf Gardens 8,500 $80,750 [3]
1 August New York City, United States Palladium 3,385 $30,400
13 August Knoxville, United States Coliseum 6,886 $54,170 [8]
15 August Johnson City, United States Freedom Hall 6,146 $48,959
6 September Oakland, United States Auditorium 6,500 $62,350 [9]
10 September Lincoln, United States Pershing Auditorium 4,529 $35,343 [10]
13 September Milwaukee, United States Auditorium 6,000 $51,493
14 September Madison, United States Dane County Coliseum 10,100 $80,701
18 September St. Louis, United States Kiel Opera House 3,519 $30,367 [11]
27 September Detroit, United States Cobo Arena 11,137 $107,843 [12]
30 September Pittsburgh, United States Stanley Theatre 3,742 $32,002 [13]
3 October Rochester, United States War Memorial Auditorium 10,200 $76,331
10–11 October Boston, United States Orpheum Theatre 5,600 $51,059 [14]

Personnel

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Notes

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  1. ^ This concert was an unannounced club gig.
  2. ^ Originally scheduled for 28 August 1980.
  3. ^ Originally scheduled for 3 September 1980.
  4. ^ Originally scheduled for 5 October 1980.
  5. ^ Originally scheduled for 20 January 1981.
  6. ^ Originally scheduled for 20 February 1981.

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ a b c d Perkins 2011.
  2. ^ Giles, Jeff (29 June 2015). "The Night Brian Johnson Played His First Show With AC/DC". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  3. ^ a b London, Mike (16 August 1980). "Talent in Action: AC/DC, Def Leppard". Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 32. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 27. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  4. ^ Durieux, Arnaud. "AC/DC Tour History - 1980/81 "Back in Black" World Tour". ac-dc.net. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e Masino 2015.
  6. ^ "North American tour dates". Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 31. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 2 August 1980. p. 64. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  7. ^ "Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 31. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 2 August 1980. p. 36. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  8. ^ "Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 35. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 30 August 1980. p. 35. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  9. ^ "Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 38. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 20 September 1980. p. 57. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  10. ^ "Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 39. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 27 September 1980. p. 37. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  11. ^ "Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 40. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 4 October 1980. p. 37. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  12. ^ "Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 41. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 11 October 1980. p. 41. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  13. ^ "Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 42. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 18 October 1980. p. 31. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  14. ^ "Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 43. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 25 October 1980. p. 30. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 1 September 2022.

Sources

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