The Paul McCartney World Tour

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The Paul McCartney World Tour
Tour by Paul McCartney
Cover of the tour booklet
Associated albumFlowers in the Dirt
Start date26 September 1989
End date29 July 1990
Legs9
No. of shows103
Paul McCartney concert chronology
Concert ticket for 15 December 1989

The Paul McCartney World Tour was a worldwide concert tour by Paul McCartney, notable for being McCartney's first tour under his own name, and for the monumental painted stage sets by artist Brian Clarke. The 103-gig tour, which ran from 1989 through 1990, included a concert played to what was then the largest stadium crowd in the history of rock and roll.[1]

Tour

The World Tour was Paul McCartney's first world tour under his own name; it was also his first major tour outing in ten years, following the Wings UK Tour 1979, and his first world tour since the 1976 Wings Over the World Tour (both also with Linda McCartney).

While the tour coincided with the release of the solo album Flowers in the Dirt, and promoted that record by inclusion of its songs in the set list, The Paul McCartney World Tour has been characterised as thematically more about him embracing his Beatles past; for the first time in any of his tours, a substantial number of Beatles songs were featured in the set list.

The tour was documented by the 1990 live albums Tripping the Live Fantastic and Tripping the Live Fantastic: Highlights!, and the 1991 concert film Get Back. A one-hour tour documentary was also aired on Channel 4 in the UK, titled From Rio to Liverpool.

Set designs

The sets for the tour were designed by regular McCartney collaborator, the artist Brian Clarke, who together with Linda McCartney created the album cover for Flowers in the Dirt. The hand-painted stage set backdrops, notable for their scale, were executed under Clarke’s supervision by the scenic painters Elms Lesters, at the Los Angeles Painting Rooms. The scale designs for the tour, individual artworks by Clarke in acrylic and paper collage on Velin, were first publicly exhibited in 1990, at the Mayor Gallery in London. Elements from the sets appear as the graphic basis of much of the promotional material.

Brian Clarke’s painted and collaged set designs for the tour, showing the original backdrops for the arena concerts, and the additional wings designed for shows in larger stadiums.

Tour booklet

Concert attendees received, free of additional charge, a lavish 9x12-inch 98-me page booklet, containing the tour itinerary, lengthy profiles of the band members, descriptions of the tour's stage and logistics, and an extended description of Friends of the Earth's mission. Two-thirds of the booklet consisted of McCartney's reflections upon his life and career, illustrated by many photographs.

Set list

The following set list is obtained from the September 28, 1989 concert in Scandinavium, Gothenburg.[2] It is not intended to represent all dates throughout the tour.

Tour dates

Date City Country Venue
Europe
26 September 1989 Drammen Norway Drammenshallen
28 September 1989 Gothenburg Sweden Scandinavium
29 September 1989 Stockholm Isstadion
30 September 1989
3 October 1989 Hamburg West Germany Alsterdorfer Sporthalle
4 October 1989
6 October 1989 Frankfurt Festhalle
7 October 1989
9 October 1989 Paris France Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy
10 October 1989
11 October 1989
16 October 1989 Dortmund West Germany Westfalenhalle
17 October 1989
20 October 1989 Munich Olympiahalle
21 October 1989
22 October 1989
24 October 1989 Rome Italy Palaeur
26 October 1989 Milan Palatrussardi
27 October 1989
29 October 1989 Zürich Switzerland Hallenstadion
30 October 1989
2 November 1989 Madrid Spain Palacio de los Deportes
3 November 1989
5 November 1989 Lyon France Halle Tony Garnier
7 November 1989 Rotterdam Netherlands Rotterdam Ahoy
8 November 1989
10 November 1989
11 November 1989
North America
23 November 1989 Inglewood United States Great Western Forum
24 November 1989
27 November 1989
28 November 1989
29 November 1989
3 December 1989 Rosemont Rosemont Horizon
4 December 1989
5 December 1989
7 December 1989 Toronto Canada SkyDome
9 December 1989 Montreal Montreal Forum
11 December 1989 New York City United States Madison Square Garden
12 December 1989
14 December 1989
15 December 1989
Europe
2 January 1990 Birmingham England National Exhibition Centre
3 January 1990
5 January 1990
6 January 1990
8 January 1990
9 January 1990
11 January 1990 London Wembley Arena
13 January 1990
14 January 1990
16 January 1990
17 January 1990
19 January 1990
20 January 1990
21 January 1990
23 January 1990
24 January 1990
26 January 1990
North America
1 February 1990 Auburn Hills United States The Palace of Auburn Hills
2 February 1990
4 February 1990 Pittsburgh Civic Arena
5 February 1990
8 February 1990 Worcester Worcester Centrum
9 February 1990
12 February 1990 Cincinnati Riverfront Coliseum
14 February 1990 Indianapolis Market Square Arena
15 February 1990
18 February 1990 Atlanta The Omni
19 February 1990
Asia
3 March 1990 Tokyo Japan Tokyo Dome
5 March 1990
7 March 1990
9 March 1990
11 March 1990
13 March 1990
North America
29 March 1990 Seattle United States Kingdome
31 March 1990 Berkeley California Memorial Stadium
1 April 1990
4 April 1990 Tempe Sun Devil Stadium
7 April 1990 Irving Texas Stadium
9 April 1990 Lexington Rupp Arena
12 April 1990 Tampa Tampa Stadium
14 April 1990 Miami Gardens Joe Robbie Stadium
15 April 1990
South America
20 April 1990 Rio de Janeiro Brazil Maracanã Stadium
21 April 1990
Europe
23 June 1990 Glasgow Scotland S.E.C.C. Arena
28 June 1990 Liverpool England King's Dock
30 June 1990 Stevenage Knebworth Park
North America
4 July 1990 Washington, D.C. United States RFK Stadium
6 July 1990
9 July 1990 East Rutherford Giants Stadium
11 July 1990
14 July 1990 Philadelphia Veterans Stadium
15 July 1990
18 July 1990 Ames Cyclone Stadium
20 July 1990 Cleveland Cleveland Stadium
22 July 1990 Raleigh Carter–Finley Stadium
24 July 1990 Foxborough Foxboro Stadium
26 July 1990
29 July 1990 Chicago Soldier Field

Box office score data

Venue City Tickets sold / available Gross revenue
The Palace of Auburn Hills Auburn Hills 35,294 / 35,294 $1,005,879
Civic Arena Pittsburgh 29,365 / 29,365 $836,903
Worcester Centrum Worcester 29,600 / 29,600 $728,545
Riverfront Coliseum Cincinnati 14,545 / 14,545 $414,533
Market Square Arena Indianapolis 30,650 / 30,650 $873,525
The Omni Atlanta 29,784 / 29,784 $848,844
California Memorial Stadium Berkeley 118,352 / 118,352 $3,550,560
Sun Devil Stadium Tempe 66,546 / 66,546 $1,996,380
Texas Stadium Irving 57,337 / 57,337 $1,863,453
Rupp Arena Lexington 19,951 / 19,951 $568,604
Tampa Stadium Tampa 58,241 / 58,241 $1,747,230
Joe Robbie Stadium Miami Gardens 95,410 / 95,410 $2,862,300
RFK Stadium Washington, D.C. 91,892 / 91,892 $2,756,760
Giants Stadium East Rutherford 105,082 / 105,082 $3,415,165
Veterans Stadium Philadelphia 102,695 / 102,695 $3,107,980
Cyclone Stadium Ames 53,763 / 53,763 $1,747,298
Cleveland Stadium Cleveland 66,476 / 66,476 $1,994,280
Carter–Finley Stadium Raleigh 51,260 / 51,260 $1,537,800
Foxboro Stadium Foxborough 85,938 / 85,938 $2,578,110
Soldier Field Chicago 55,630 / 55,630 $1,807,975
Total 1,197,811 / 1,197,811
(100%)
$36,242,124

Tour band

Outdoor stage and show, 14 July 1990 at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium

See also

References

  1. ^ "Tour Archives: The Paul McCartney World Tour". paulmccartney.com. MPL Communications). Retrieved 12 Dec 2020.
  2. ^ Paul McCartney Concert Setlist at Scandinavium, Gothenburg, Sweden on September 28, 1989 http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/paul-mccartney/1989/scandinavium-gothenburg-sweden-63d11ec7.html