1999 Tour
 |
| Tour by Prince | |
| Associated album | 1999 |
|---|---|
| Start date | November 11, 1982 |
| End date | April 10, 1983 |
| Legs | 2 |
| No. of shows | 93 (102 scheduled) |
| Prince concert chronology | |
The 1999 Tour was a concert tour by American recording artist Prince in support of his fifth studio album, 1999. It was, up till then, his longest tour of the United States. In addition to Prince and his band, his latest all-girl group, Vanity 6, made their first live act tour along with the returning The Time.
History
This tour saw the debut of Vanity 6 as a live act to go along with The Time as opening act. Even with the release of The Time's second album, What Time Is It?, tension between Prince and The Time escalated as the band was forced to play as Vanity 6's band during their 40-minute set with only a small increase in pay. They were further slighted by having to play behind a curtain, while the sultry girl group performed out front on stage. Eventually, the heat between the bands and the fact that Prince was getting increasingly insecure at The Time's nightly great performances, led to Prince dropping them from the tour completely.[1]
This marked the end of guitarist Dez Dickerson's tenure as a member of Prince's band. In the prior year, Dez became a born-again Christian and found himself conflicted playing music that contained Prince's racy lyrics. He was further upset when prior to 1982's Homecoming Tour stop in Minneapolis, he expressed his desire to omit "Head" from that night's set, that often ended with Prince simulating masturbating with his guitar. Dez gathered support from the rest of the members in the band to show a united front requesting they would not play the song in front of Dez's family, but when Prince was confronted and called for a vote, all but Dez sided with Prince, angering Dez.[1]
With Dez's impending departure, Prince had already found a replacement in Lisa Coleman's childhood friend Wendy Melvoin, who had already been participating in soundchecks with the band and would even stand in for Dez when he was not available. By the last leg of the tour, Wendy was officially the backup guitarist.
Initially, Prince had planned on playing at London's Dominion Theatre but opted out at the last minute, in order to continue gaining status across the United States.
Opening acts
Set list
The typical 1999 Tour setlist started with the "Don't worry..." intro from "1999" before an instrumental buildup to "Controversy", which segued into "Let's Work". "Do Me, Baby" was another staple from the Controversy album. Although some occasional older material was played, the remainder of the concert focused on new material. A keyboard interlude by Lisa introduced the new "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?". An extended "Lady Cab Driver" was a highlight and the slow jam "International Lover" were always played, as well as "Little Red Corvette" and "1999" (which often closed the show). "D.M.S.R." was usually worked in, sometimes as an encore. Occasionally some older material included "Head", "Uptown" and "Dirty Mind". "Still Waiting" sometimes segued into "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?". Between acts, songs from Joni Mitchell's Court and Spark were played.
Setlist of November 30 – December 3, 1982, at the Masonic Temple Auditorium, Detroit, Michigan[2]
- "Controversy" (Includes "1999" 'don't worry...' intro)
- "Let's Work"
- "Little Red Corvette"
- "Do Me, Baby"
- "Head"
- "Uptown"
- Keyboard Interlude by Lisa Coleman
- "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?"
- "Lady Cab Driver" (New version with additional lyrics)
- "International Lover"
- "1999"
- "D.M.S.R."
Setlist of March 8, 1983, at the Norfolk Scope, Norfolk, Virginia[3]
- "Controversy" (Includes "1999" 'don't worry...' intro)
- "Let's Work"
- "Do Me, Baby"
- "D.M.S.R."
- Keyboard Interlude by Lisa Coleman
- "With You" (Instrumental)
- "Still Waiting"
- "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?"
- "Lady Cab Driver" (New version with additional lyrics)
- "Little Red Corvette"
- "Dirty Mind"
- "International Lover"
- "1999"
The Band
- Director, Guitar, Piano, Tambourine & Vocals: Prince
- Guitar: Dez Dickerson
- Keyboards: Matt Fink
- Bass: Brown Mark
- Keyboards: Lisa Coleman
- Drums: Bobby Z
- Background vocalist: Jill Jones
Tour dates
| Date | City | Country | Venue | Attendance/Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America—Leg 1 | ||||
| November 11, 1982 | Chattanooga | United States | Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium | 3,866/3,866 |
| November 12, 1982 (2 shows) | Atlanta | Fox Theatre | 10,543/10,875 | |
| November 13, 1982 | ||||
| November 14, 1982 (2 shows) | New Orleans | Saenger Theatre | 5,271/5,271 | |
| November 18, 1982 | Columbus | Veterans Memorial Auditorium | — | |
| November 19, 1982 | Gary | Genesis Convention Center | 8,500/8,500 | |
| November 20, 1982 | Indianapolis | Market Square Arena | 14,032/14,032 | |
| November 21, 1982 | Cleveland | Cleveland Public Hall | 7,987/7,987 | |
| November 24, 1982 | Philadelphia | Class of 1923 Arena | — | |
| November 26, 1982 | Charlotte | Charlotte Coliseum | 12,187/12,187 | |
| November 27, 1982 | Hampton | Hampton Coliseum | 13,800/13,800 | |
| November 28, 1982 | Columbia | Carolina Coliseum | 12,352/12,352 | |
| November 30, 1982 (2 shows) | Detroit | Masonic Temple Auditorium | 25,932/25,932 | |
| December 1, 1982 (2 shows) | ||||
| December 2, 1982 | ||||
| December 3, 1982 | ||||
| December 4, 1982 | St. Louis | The Checkerdome | 16,323/16,323 | |
| December 5, 1982 | Louisville | Louisville Gardens | 6,850/6,850 | |
| December 8, 1982 | Saginaw | Saginaw Civic Center | — | |
| December 9, 1982 | Chicago | Auditorium Theatre | 11,703/11,703 | |
| December 10, 1982 | ||||
| December 11, 1982 | ||||
| December 12, 1982 | Cincinnati | Riverfront Coliseum | 12,500/12,500 | |
| December 15, 1982 | Memphis | Mid-South Coliseum | 11,200/11,200 | |
| December 16, 1982 | Nashville | Nashville Municipal Auditorium | 11,098/11,098 | |
| December 17, 1982 | Pine Bluff | Pine Bluff Convention Center | — | |
| December 18, 1982 | Baton Rouge | Riverside Centroplex | — | |
| December 19, 1982 | Birmingham | Birmingham–Jefferson Civic Center | — | |
| December 20, 1982 | New Orleans | Saenger Theatre | — | |
| December 29, 1982 | Houston | The Summit | — | |
| December 30, 1982 | Shreveport | Hirsch Memorial Coliseum | — | |
| December 31, 1982 | Dallas | Reunion Arena | — | |
| January 2, 1983 | Houston | The Summit | — | |
| January 3, 1983 | Lake Charles | Lake Charles Civic Center | — | |
| North America—Leg 2 | ||||
| February 1, 1983 | Lakeland | United States | Lakeland Civic Center | — |
| February 2, 1983 | Savannah | Savannah Civic Center | — | |
| February 3, 1983 | Augusta | Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center | — | |
| February 4, 1983 | Greensboro | Greensboro Coliseum | — | |
| February 5, 1983 | Richmond | Richmond Coliseum | — | |
| February 6, 1983 | Roanoke | Roanoke Civic Center | — | |
| February 10, 1983 | Providence | Providence Civic Center | — | |
| February 11, 1983 | Hartford | Hartford Civic Center | — | |
| February 13, 1983 | Washington, D.C. | D.C. Armory Starplex | — | |
| February 14, 1983 | — | |||
| February 15, 1983 | Chapel Hill | Carmichael Auditorium | — | |
| February 16, 1983 | Macon | Macon Coliseum | — | |
| February 18, 1983 | Tallahassee | Tallahassee–Leon County Civic Center | — | |
| February 19, 1983 | Jacksonville | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum | — | |
| February 20, 1983 | Mobile | Mobile Municipal Auditorium | — | |
| February 22, 1983 | Greenville | Greenville Memorial Auditorium | — | |
| February 24, 1983 | Buffalo | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium | — | |
| February 25, 1983 | East Lansing | MSU Auditorium | — | |
| February 26, 1983 | Toledo | Toledo Sports Arena | — | |
| February 27, 1983 | Ann Arbor | Crisler Arena | — | |
| February 28, 1983 | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh Civic Arena | — | |
| March 2, 1983 | Peoria | Peoria Civic Center | — | |
| March 3, 1983 | Trotwood | Hara Arena | — | |
| March 5, 1983 | Baltimore | Baltimore Civic Center | — | |
| March 6, 1983 | Salisbury | Wicomico Youth and Civic Center | — | |
| March 8, 1983 | Norfolk | Norfolk Scope | — | |
| March 9, 1983 | Columbus | Columbus Municipal Auditorium | — | |
| March 10, 1983 | Monroe | Monroe Civic Center | — | |
| March 11, 1983 | Huntsville | Von Braun Civic Center | — | |
| March 12, 1983 | Knoxville | Knoxville Civic Coliseum | — | |
| March 13, 1983 | Kalamazoo | Wings Stadium | — | |
| March 15, 1983 | Bloomington | Met Center | — | |
| March 17, 1983 | Rockford | Rockford MetroCentre | — | |
| March 18, 1983 | Omaha | Omaha Civic Auditorium | — | |
| March 19, 1983 | Kansas City | Municipal Auditorium | — | |
| March 21, 1983 | New York City | Radio City Music Hall | — | |
| March 24, 1983 | San Antonio | HemisFair Arena | — | |
| March 25, 1983 | Norman | Lloyd Noble Center | — | |
| March 28, 1983 | Los Angeles | Universal Amphitheatre | — | |
| March 29, 1983 | San Diego | San Diego Sports Arena | — | |
| March 30, 1983 | Phoenix | Veterans Memorial Coliseum | — | |
| March 31, 1983 | Long Beach | Long Beach Arena | — | |
| April 1, 1983 | Oakland | Oakland–Alameda County Arena | — | |
| April 2, 1983 | Fresno | Fresno Convention Center | — | |
| April 3, 1983 | Oakland | Oakland–Alameda County Arena | — | |
| April 5, 1983 | Denver | Denver Auditorium | — | |
| April 7, 1983 | Milwaukee | MECCA Arena | — | |
| April 8, 1983 | Detroit | Joe Louis Arena | — | |
| April 9, 1983 | Richfield | Richfield Coliseum | — | |
| April 10, 1983 | Chicago | UIC Pavilion | — | |
References
- ^ a b Jason Draper (2008). "Prince: Life & Times". Jawbone Press.
- ^ http://www.princevault.com/index.php/30_November,_1982
- ^ http://www.princevault.com/index.php/08_March,_1983
- ^ Prince Tour History