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Two the Hard Way Tour

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Two the Hard Way Tour
Tour by Cher and Gregg Allman
Associated albumTwo the Hard Way
Start date1977
End date1977
Legs1
No. of shows16
Cher and Gregg Allman concert chronology
  • The Sonny & Cher Show Tour
    (1977)
  • Two the Hard Way Tour
    (1977-78)
  • Cher in Concert
    (1979-82)

The Two The Hard Way Tour (also known as Allman and Woman Tour) was a concert tour by American singer-actress Cher and American singer Gregg Allman, designed to promote their joint Two the Hard Way album.[1][2] Due to the album's commercial failure, the dates of the tour in the United States were very limited, although there were more dates in Japan, Oceania and Europe.

History

At the time of the tour, Cher had just finished production of The Sonny & Cher Show after a broken six-year run. Allman's band, The Allman Brothers Band, was in the middle of an acrimonious breakup.

The European leg of the tour covered the Netherlands, Belgium, France, England, Wales, Scotland and West Germany, over a span of 29 days.[2] The tour would start November 6, 1977, and was to be a 29 date tour, but on December 3, 1977 Cher pulled the plug on the tour and left Allman in Europe while she headed back to the United States with her children.

The pair were backed by an eight-piece band.[3] The show, whose material was selected by both of them, combined both Allman's material, which he sang solo, and numerous duets between the two on softer material in a blues or country and western vein.[3] Cher avoided the gaudy, over-the-top outfits of her normal stage self, and instead wore jeans, a tank top, and a cowboy hat.[3] The two also engaged in some married-couple stage banter,[3] although not to the Sonny and Cher level.

In November 1977, following their opening show in Bruxelle, Belgium, Allman said that he had had some concerns about the endeavor. "It's the first time ever we've given concerts together. We wondered a lot about how it would work out. For one thing, we didn't know if we'd be accepted."[3] Cher said, "It's different, but not that different, and I also find it real easy to sing this type of music,"[3] sentiments she had said before the tour as well, "We sound like we've been singing together for a long time."[2]

Allman did not want this tour's road expenses to mount up, as they had for the last Allman Brothers Band tour.[2] However, this tour too lost money from the start.[1] The Hard Way Tour also led to the final breakup of the couple. While pre-tour publicity had emphasized that Gregg Allman was free from drug and alcohol problems,[2] Cher discovered during the tour that Gregg Allman's drinking had returned, and once the tour was complete, she told him that their marriage finally was done for good.[1]

Partial set list

The set list included:

  1. "Matthew's Arrival"
  2. "Trouble No More"
  3. "Don't Keep Me Wonderin'"
  4. "Queen Of Hearts"
  5. "Let This Be a Lesson to Ya"
  6. "Sweet Feelin'"
  7. "One More Try"
  8. "Oncoming Traffic"
  9. "Come and Go Blues"
  10. "Bring It On Back"
  11. "Leave My Blues at Home"
  12. "Whipping Post"
  13. "Move Me" (with Cher)
  14. "Do What You Gotta Do" (with Cher)
  15. "Midnight Rider"

Also included in the setlist at various stages of the tour

Tour dates

Date City Country Venue
June 29, 1977 Tokyo  Japan Budokan
July 8, 1977 Osaka  Japan Kokousai Hall
November 6, 1977* Rotterdam  Netherlands De Doelen
November 9, 1977* Brussels  Belgium Theatre 140
November 11, 1977* Paris  France Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
November 14, 1977 Liverpool  England Liverpool Empire Theatre
November 17, 1977* Cardiff  Wales Cardiff University
November 19, 1977* Birmingham  England Birmingham Hippodrome
November 20, 1977* Glasgow  Scotland The Apollo
November 22, 1977* Manchester  England Manchester Apollo
November 24, 1977* London Rainbow
November 28, 1977 Berlin  Germany Hochschule der Künste
November 29, 1977 Hamburg Musikhalle
November 30, 1977 Frankfurt Stadthalle Offenbach
December 3, 1977 Düsseldorf Philipshalle
December 4, 1977 Cologne Messehalle 8

Personnel

  • Organ and Vocal: Gregg Allman
  • Vocal: Cher
  • Piano: Neil Larson
  • Guitar: Ricky Hirsch
  • Guitar: John Hug
  • Bass: Kenny Burke
  • Drums: Bill Stewart
  • Saxophone: Gene Dinwiddie

Broadcasts and recordings

Concerts were only recorded in Oceania and Japan. Video or photographic records of these concerts are very hard to come by, but in early 2008, three low quality videos emerged on YouTube from the Japanese concerts. Cher is only in one video, but in Japan she sing also "You've Really Got A Hold On Me". The couple were guests on the UK television show The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977 to promote the album and tour, clips of which can be seen in the documentaries Still Cher and A&E Biography. They performed at least "Love Me" and "Move Me".

References

  1. ^ a b c Quirk, Lawrence J. (1991). Totally Uninhibited: The Life and Wild Times of Cher. William Morrow and Company. ISBN 0-688-09822-3. p. 118.
  2. ^ a b c d e Dangaard, Colin (November 25, 1977). "Interview of Cher and Gregg Allman". Abilene Reporter.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Gruber, Ruth (November 16, 1977). "Gregg and Cher are singing together". United Press International.
  4. ^ On the internet and in online markets it is easy to find old tour posters which promoted the tour, which serves as a good source for dates and venues of the tour.
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