The 1980 World Tour was a concert tour by English musician and composer

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

, in support of his 14th studio album ''

21 at 33 ''21 at 33'' is the fourteenth studio album by English musician Elton John and his 21st album in total, made when John was 33 years old, hence the title. ''21 at 33'' was recorded at Super Bear Studios, Nice, France, in September 1979 and at ...

''. the tour included two legs (North America and Oceania) and a total of 63 shows.

Tour

John's 1980 tour was unique for two reasons: it was the only tour he has ever done that had a guitarist in the band, but did not include Davey Johnstone, and it is the only time a band member (in this case drummer Nigel Olsson) has done songs from his solo career in the middle of a show. Olsson, who had rejoined John's band along with Dee Murray after six years, performed his own releases, "Saturday Night" and "All I Want Is You". And while Johnstone did make a guest appearance at one show (joining in on "Bite Your Lip (Get Up and Dance") at 6 November stop at The Forum in Los Angeles), he primarily was involved with

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

's career and had been replaced in John's band by two premiere session guitarists: Tim Renwick from England and American Richie Zito. The new band did a private warm-up gig at the Palomino Club in Los Angeles on 25 August, exactly ten years to the day from his first American show at the nearby

Troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...

. Then, with opening act Judie Tzuke, the tour moved across North America before landing with great fanfare at New York City's

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

. There, on 13 September, John and the band played a free concert in front of an estimated 450,000 people. The show was highlighted by a cover of

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

's "

Imagine Imagine may refer to: * Imagination Music Albums * ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008 * ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002 * ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012 * ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971 ** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...

" in the shadow of Lennon's apartment, and John's choice of costumes, including the "piano keys" outfit designed by Andre Miripolsky; he dressed as

Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...

for the encores, in a costume designed by

Bob Mackie Robert Gordon "Bob" Mackie (born March 24, 1939) is an American fashion designer and costumier, best known for his dressing of entertainment icons such as Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, Diahann Carroll, Carol Channing, Cher, Doris Day, Marlene D ...

. The Central Park show was recorded and broadcast as a concert special on HBO, and later released on home video. Clips from the show have been posted on Elton John's official website; however, to date no audio of the soundtrack has ever been officially released. After the last United States show on 15 November in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

, Hawaii, the tour concluded with 17 concerts in New Zealand and Australia, finishing at the

Perth Entertainment Centre The Perth Entertainment Centre was an indoor arena and cinema complex in Perth, Western Australia, located on Wellington Street at the northern edge of the Perth central business district. It was demolished as part of the Perth City Link projec ...

(as he had on the 1979 tour) on 22 December.

Tour dates

Set list

Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" is a medley of two songs written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It is the opening track of the 1973 double album ''Goodbye Yellow Brick Road''. The fi ...

" #" Tiny Dancer" #" Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" #" All the Girls Love Alice" #" Rocket Man" #" Sartorial Eloquence" #" Philadelphia Freedom" #" Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" #"Saturday Night" ( Nigel Olsson song) #"All I Want Is You" ( Nigel Olsson song) #" Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" #"

Harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

" #" White Lady, White Powder" #"

Little Jeannie "Little Jeannie" (spelled "Little Jeanie" on the cover of certain single releases) is a song written by English musician Elton John and Gary Osborne recorded by John, and released as a single in 1980 from John's album ''21 at 33''. It reached n ...

" #" Bennie and the Jets" #"

" (

song) #"

Ego Ego or EGO may refer to: Social sciences * Ego (Freudian), one of the three constructs in Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche * Egoism, an ethical theory that treats self-interest as the foundation of morality * Egotism, the drive to ...

" #"

Have Mercy on the Criminal "Have Mercy on the Criminal" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It is the most frequent live-track on the album besides the two dominating singles, "Daniel" and "Crocodile Rock". ...

" #" Someone Saved My Life Tonight" #" Your Song" #" Bite Your Lip"

Tour band

– lead vocals, piano * Richie Zito – lead guitar, backing vocals * Tim Renwick – rhythm guitar, backing vocals * Dee Murray – bass guitar, backing vocals * Nigel Olsson – drums, backing vocals *

James Newton Howard James Newton Howard (born June 9, 1951) is an American film composer, music producer and keyboardist. He has scored over 100 films and is the recipient of a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, and nine nominations for Academy Awards. His film scores ...

– keyboards, synthesizer,

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...

, backing vocals

References

External links

Information Site with Tour Dates
{{Elton John Elton John concert tours 1980 concert tours