Jump to content

Symphonica Tour

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Symphonica: The Orchestral Tour
Tour by George Michael
Promotional poster for LG Arena, Birmingham show
LocationEurope
Start date22 August 2011 (2011-08-22)
End date17 October 2012 (2012-10-17)
Legs2
No. of shows67 (75 scheduled)
George Michael concert chronology

Symphonica (also promoted as Symphonica: The Orchestral Tour) was an orchestral concert tour by George Michael and his last tour. The singer performed the songs mainly from Songs from the Last Century and Patience albums as well as some cover versions in new arrangements.

Background

[edit]

The tour was officially announced on 11 May 2011.[1] Due to high demand for tickets, extra shows were added in Dublin, London, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Cardiff, Rotterdam, Herning and Verona. A Brussels show was later announced on 3 June.[2] Milan and Copenhagen shows were later announced.

Many of the shows had already sold out completely. Prague, Antwerp, Rotterdam, London (Royal Albert Hall and Royal Opera House), Dublin, Cardiff, Sheffield and Newcastle had all sold out.

The show included four new core band members who were selected by producer Phil Ramone and George Michael. These new members included musical director and pianist Henry Hey, guitarist Ben Butler, bassist David Finck, and drummer Mark McLean. In addition, percussionist Lea Mullen and guitarist Phil Palmer completed the band, along with Michael's long-time background vocalists Shirley Lewis, Lucy Jules, Lincoln Jean-Marie and Jay Henry. The stage had a semi-oval shape with a huge screen projecting different visual effects, sometimes featuring Michael himself. Some visuals were taken from the previous tour.

On 25 November it was announced that all further concerts in 2011 had been cancelled due to Michael's illness.[3] Eventually, it took longer time for Michael to recover, resulting in all concerts postponed and scheduled for April and May being postponed to October and November 2012.

On 3 May 2012 it was announced that scheduled for early April shows in Australia would be postponed to November 2012. His performance in Perth on 10 November would've been the headline act for the Perth Arena Gala Opening.[4] But later due to recovery restrictions from the illness, Michael was forced to cancel all Australian dates.[3]

It was announced on Michael's website that his album Symphonica, released on 17 March 2014, would consist of studio material initially rehearsed for this tour including some live recordings.

Opening acts

[edit]
  • Wrocław Philharmonic Orchestra (Poland)
  • Czech National Symphony Orchestra (Prague)

Setlist

[edit]

The setlist of the premiere concert on 22 August 2011 at State Opera House – Prague, Czech Republic.[5]

  1. "Through"
  2. "My Baby Just Cares for Me"
  3. "Cowboys and Angels"
  4. "True Faith"
  5. "Let Her Down Easy" (Terence Trent D'Arby cover)
  6. "Kissing a Fool"
  7. "Going to a Town"
  8. "Roxanne"
  9. "It Doesn't Really Matter"
  10. "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"
    Intermission
  11. "Patience"
  12. "John and Elvis Are Dead"
  13. "Russian Roulette"
  14. "You Have Been Loved"
  15. "You've Changed"
  16. "Love Is a Losing Game"
  17. "Where I Hope You Are"
  18. "Praying for Time"
  19. "Wild Is the Wind"
  20. "A Different Corner"
  21. "Feeling Good"
  22. "You and I"
    Encore
  23. "Amazing" / "I'm Your Man" / "Freedom! '90"

Additional notes

[edit]
George Michael's symphony orchestra
  • Closer to the end of the intermission a mix of different Michael's songs including "A Different Corner", "Older" and "John and Elvis Are Dead" was played with some light effects.
  • From 3 September concert at Forum Copenhagen Michael performed the song "Understand" replacing "You and I".[6]
  • On 17 September, Michael performed a concert to celebrate the opening of a new stadium in Wrocław. He performed with the Wrocław Philharmonic Orchestra.[7]
  • From 19 September concert at Budapest Sportaréna Michael performed Elton John's song "Idol" replacing "It Doesn't Really Matter".[8]
  • From 7 October concert at Antwerp SportPaleis Michael performed "Song to the Siren" replacing "Understand".
  • Michael performed the song "Safe" on 29 October concert in London's Royal Albert Hall, 1 and 3 November concerts in Dublin's The O2
  • From 14 November concert at Prague O2Arena Michael performed the song "The Recluse" replacing "Kissing a Fool".[9]
  • During the second leg of the tour in 2012 the songs "Idol", "Song to the Siren", "You and I" and "Where I Hope You Are" were removed, the song "Father Figure" added to the first half of the setlist, the first song after the intermission was changed to "Waiting for that Day" and "Love Is a Losing Game" was not performed as well. Additionally, the last song performed live was "White Light".[10]
  • On 16 September concert in Birmingham Michael finished the concert with the song "I Remember You" instead of "White Light"
  • On 9 October concert in Manchester, Michael finished the concert with the song "I Remember You" instead of "White Light" and performed "Star People" and "F.E.A.R." by Ian Brown.
  • At concert in Liverpool and final shows in London Michael would finish the concert with "I Remember You".[10]

Shows

[edit]
List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, tickets sold, number of available tickets and amount of gross revenue
Date City Country Venue Attendance Revenue
Europe[11][12][13][14][15]
22 August 2011 Prague Czech Republic State Opera House
29 August 2011 Herning Denmark Jyske Bank Boxen
31 August 2011
2 September 2011
3 September 2011 Copenhagen Forum Copenhagen
5 September 2011 Berlin Germany Mercedes-Benz Arena
7 September 2011 Cologne Lanxess Arena
8 September 2011 Mannheim SAP Arena
10 September 2011 Florence Italy Piazza Santa Croce
11 September 2011 Naples Arena Italsider
13 September 2011 Verona Verona Arena
14 September 2011
17 September 2011 Wrocław Poland Stadion Miejski
19 September 2011 Budapest Hungary László Papp Budapest Sports Arena
20 September 2011 Zagreb Croatia Arena Zagreb
22 September 2011 Nice France Palais Nikaïa
24 September 2011 Bilbao Spain Bizkaia Arena
25 September 2011 Madrid Barclaycard Center Madrid
27 September 2011 Barcelona Palau Sant Jordi
28 September 2011 Marseille France Le Silo
30 September 2011 Toulouse Zénith de Toulouse
1 October 2011 Montpellier Park&Suites Arena
3 October 2011 Paris AccorHotels Arena
4 October 2011
7 October 2011 Antwerp Belgium Sportpaleis 13,052 / 13,437 $1,457,370
8 October 2011 Brussels Forest National
10 October 2011 Rotterdam Netherlands Rotterdam Ahoy
12 October 2011 Stuttgart Germany Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle
14 October 2011 Zürich Switzerland Hallenstadion
15 October 2011 Geneva SEG Geneva Arena
18 October 2011 Hamburg Germany Barclaycard Arena Hamburg 11,099 / 11,897 $921,594
19 October 2011 Hanover TUI Arena
21 October 2011 Rotterdam Netherlands Rotterdam Ahoy
22 October 2011
25 October 2011 London England Royal Albert Hall
28 October 2011
29 October 2011
1 November 2011 Dublin Ireland 3Arena
3 November 2011
6 November 2011 London England Royal Opera House
9 November 2011 Oberhausen Germany König Pilsener Arena
11 November 2011 Milan Italy Mediolanum Forum
12 November 2011
14 November 2011 Prague Czech Republic O2 Arena
15 November 2011 Berlin Germany Mercedes-Benz Arena 7,341 / 7,341 $382,960
17 November 2011 Munich Olympiahalle
19 November 2011 Frankfurt Festhalle Frankfurt
4 September 2012 Vienna Austria Wiener Stadthalle
6 September 2012
9 September 2012 Paris France Palais Garnier
11 September 2012 Brussels Belgium Forest National
14 September 2012 Amsterdam Netherlands Ziggo Dome
16 September 2012 Birmingham England LG Arena
17 September 2012
21 September 2012 Manchester Manchester Arena 11,356 / 12,876 $1,535,440
23 September 2012 Glasgow Scotland Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre
24 September 2012
29 September 2012 London England Royal Albert Hall
1 October 2012 Sheffield Sheffield Arena
3 October 2012 Newcastle Metro Radio Arena
5 October 2012 Cardiff Wales Motorpoint Arena Cardiff
6 October 2012
9 October 2012 Manchester England Manchester Arena 8,756 / 9,544 $1,181,680
10 October 2012 Liverpool Echo Arena Liverpool
13 October 2012 London Earls Court
14 October 2012
17 October 2012
Cancellations and rescheduled shows
26 October 2011 London, England Royal Albert Hall Postponed to 2 May 2012[16]
2 May 2012 London, England Royal Albert Hall Postponed to 29 September[17]
21 November 2011 Vienna, Austria Stadthalle Postponed to 6 September[18]
23 November 2011 Strasbourg, France Zénith Cancelled
26 November 2011 Cardiff, Wales Motorpoint Arena Postponed to 5 October 2012[19]
27 November 2011 Cardiff, Wales Motorpoint Arena Postponed to 6 October 2012[19]
30 November 2011 Liverpool, England Echo Arena Postponed to 10 October 2012
2 December 2011 Sheffield, England Motorpoint Arena Postponed to 10 October 2012
3 December 2011 Newcastle, England Metro Radio Arena Postponed to 3 October 2012
6–7 December 2011 Glasgow, Scotland SECC Postponed to 23–24 September 2012
9–10 December 2011 Birmingham, England Genting Arena Postponed to 16–17 September 2012
12–13 December 2011 Manchester, England Manchester Arena Postponed to 21 September and 9 October 2012
16–19 December 2011 London, England Earls Court Postponed to 13, 14 and 17 October 2012.
10 November 2012 Perth, Australia Perth Arena Cancelled[20]
13–14 November 2012 Adelaide, Australia Adelaide Entertainment Centre Cancelled
17–18 November 2012 Sydney, Australia Qudos Bank Arena Cancelled
21–22 November 2012 Melbourne, Australia Rod Laver Arena Cancelled
27 November 2012 Brisbane, Australia Brisbane Entertainment Centre Cancelled
1 December 2012 Hunter Valley, Australia Hope Estate Winery Cancelled

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "George Michael announces Symphoninca: The Orchestral Tour". georgemichael.com. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  2. ^ "Symphonica performance added in Brussels". George Michael's Official Website. 3 June 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  3. ^ a b "George Michael shelves all 2011 tour dates due to illness | News". NME. 15 September 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  4. ^ "GEORGE MICHAEL'S SYMPHONICA TOUR TO OPEN PERTH ARENA". Perth Arena. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  5. ^ "Symphonica Tour Prague Setlist announced". George Michael's Official Website. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  6. ^ "Tour - GeorgeMichael.com". www.georgemichael.com. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012.
  7. ^ "George Michael will sing with the Wrocław Philharmonic Orchestra". 16 May 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
  8. ^ "Tour - GeorgeMichael.com". www.georgemichael.com. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012.
  9. ^ "Tour - GeorgeMichael.com". www.georgemichael.com. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012.
  10. ^ a b "www".
  11. ^ "More Symphonica Performances, Confirmed". George Michael's Official Website. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  12. ^ "Symphonica dates added in London". George Michael's Official Website. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  13. ^ "Symphonica dates added in Rotterdam". George Michael's Official Website. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  14. ^ "Announced new dates". George Michael's Official Website. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  15. ^ "Brussels show added". George Michael's Official Website. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
  16. ^ "Concert at Royal Albert Hall on 26 October has postponed to 2 May 2012". George Michael's Official Website. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  17. ^ "Concert at Royal Albert Hall on 2 May has postponed again to 29 September 2012". George Michael's Official Website. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  18. ^ "George Michael Announces Rescheduled + Newly Added Symphonica Dates!". George Michael's Official Website. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  19. ^ a b "Motorpoint Arena Cardiff on Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on 30 April 2022.[user-generated source]
  20. ^ "SYMPHONICA: AUSTRALIA!". George Michael's Official Website. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Symphonica: The Orchestral Tour.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Symphonica_Tour&oldid=1241871758"