The Pump Tour was a
concert tour
A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often, concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific ...
by American rock band
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...
that lasted twelve months, from mid-October 1989 to mid-October 1990. The tour was put on in support of the band's second consecutive
multi-platinum
Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
album ''
Pump
A pump is a device that moves fluids (liquids or gases), or sometimes Slurry, slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic or pneumatic energy.
Mechanical pumps serve in a wide range of application ...
'', released in September 1989.
Background
The Pump Tour saw the band continue its successful streak, on the heels of 1987's ''
Permanent Vacation'' and its
associated tour. During the course of the tour, the band charted four
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...
singles from ''
Pump
A pump is a device that moves fluids (liquids or gases), or sometimes Slurry, slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic or pneumatic energy.
Mechanical pumps serve in a wide range of application ...
''. By the end of the tour, ''Pump'' had sold four million copies, eventually selling seven million copies.
This tour was notable as it saw Aerosmith's first return to Europe since 1977, as well as the band's first-ever performances in Australia. In addition, this tour saw the band tour North America on numerous legs, as well as perform a series of dates in Japan.
Special performances on ''
The Howard Stern Show
''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was radio syndication, nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WINS-FM, WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The sho ...
'', ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'', and ''
MTV Unplugged
''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV. It showcases recorded live performances of popular music artists playing acoustic instrument, acoustic or "unplugged" variations of songs. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999. F ...
'' were interspersed during the course of the tour.
Opening acts on this tour included
Skid Row
A skid row, also called skid road, is an impoverished area, typically urban, in English-speaking North America whose inhabitants are mostly poor people " on the skids". This specifically refers to people who are poor or homeless, considered disre ...
,
Joan Jett
Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin; September 22, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actress. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music#J, Godmother of Punk", she is regarded as a Pop icon, rock icon and ...
,
The Cult
The Cult are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Bradford in 1983. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band had performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead vocalist Ian Astbury ...
,
Poison
A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figurati ...
,
Warrant,
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
,
The Black Crowes, and
The Quireboys. Some of these acts were regular openers, while some opened for Aerosmith only at specific festivals or stadium shows.
During the tour, the band got to meet some of their idols.
Steven Tyler
Steven Victor Tallarico (born March 26, 1948), known professionally as Steven Tyler, is an American singer and songwriter. Tyler is best known as the lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the keyboards, h ...
met
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...
backstage at a
Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
concert, only the second time he had met him, and the first time he met him while sober. In addition, the band met
Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin from its founding in 1968 until their breakup in 1980. Since then, he has had a successful solo ca ...
and
Jimmy Page
James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician and producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the Rock music, rock band Led Zeppelin.
Page began his career as a studio session musician in Lo ...
, who saw the band perform on separate occasions in England. At one show, The Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington Leicestershire UK, Page jammed with the band on "
Train Kept A-Rollin'", and at another show, he played an extended set with the band at the
Marquee Club
The Marquee Club was a music venue in London, England, that opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. It was a small and relatively cheap club, in the heart of London's West End of London, West End.
It was the location of the first ...
in London.
For this tour, the band employed the use of a Citation II private plane, which the band named "Aeroforce One". The plane was formerly used by
Philippine
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
dictator
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...
.
In September 1990, towards the end of the tour, A&R man
John Kalodner remarked how Aerosmith were "maybe the biggest band in the world", thinking "Nobody else is this good right now."
Tour dates
Setlist
Average set:
# "Heart's Done Time"
# "Young Lust"
# "
F.I.N.E."
# "
Monkey on My Back"
# "Don't Get Mad, Get Even"
# "
Janie's Got a Gun"
# "Permanent Vacation"
# "
Mama Kin"
# "
What It Takes"
# "Voodoo Medicine Man"
# "
Red House" (
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...
cover)
# "
Draw the Line"
# "
Rag Doll"
# "
Sweet Emotion"
# "
Dude (Looks Like a Lady)"
# "
Dream On"
# "
Love in an Elevator"
Encore:
# "
Train Kept A-Rollin'" (Tiny Bradshaw cover)
# "
Walk This Way
"Walk This Way" is a song by the American rock band Aerosmith. Written by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, the song was originally released as the second single from the album '' Toys in the Attic'' (1975). It peaked at number 10 on the ''Billboa ...
"
Notes
References
{{Aerosmith
Aerosmith concert tours
1989 concert tours
1990 concert tours