To me, these are the tours that inspired the large scale legacy rock touring. Big stadiums, long wide ranging setlists. These are the tours that cemented these guys as legends. They could tour whenever they wanted, wherever they wanted for the rest of their lives at this point. It inspired stuff like the Eagles reunion tour in the 90s. Older guys playing rock music from their youth.

Anyway, I always wondered who did it first? I always thought it was Paul that started this trend, but actually the Stones tour started a month earlier than Paul's. But Paul's album came out 3 months earlier than the Stones tour which means it was planned way in advance. I guess I'm just fascinated that two of the biggest tours ever, up to that point, but the pinnacle of 60s legends were occurring at the same time. Was it completely coincidental that they were both having comebacks and large tours? Did one get planned earlier which piqued the other band's interest? Did Paul and Mick and Keith ever talk or consult about how these tours were similar? Did dates and legs have to be planned accordingly?

Just very interesting to me that they happened so close together. Are the similarities all in my mind?

The Rolling Stones 1969 North American Tour was cited as the trend setter in a rock music documentary that I saw.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-05-09 09:50 by StonedInTokyo.

Wasn't it Pink Floyd's "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" tour that started it tall in late 1987 ? Pretty sure Michael Cohl was behind it too.

As a side note Macca's 1993 US tour ran into trouble when the venues weren't getting filled and that led to the departure of Richard Ogden, the guy who has "masterminded" Paul's return (think canning the proposed "Return to Pepperland" 1987 album in favor of "All the Best" and then FITD). I don't believe the Stones had that type of problem until the 2007 European tour.

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IORR Links : Essential Studio Outtakes CDs : Audio - History of Rarest Outtakes : Audio

Elvis Presley 1972

I think too that Pink Floyd started the "60 70's revival greatest hist legend" tour.
and btw, don't forget the Who and their 25 anniversay tour, started June 21st 1989.
http://en.wikipedia.org

Pink Floyd started it, with Cohl.

Floyd started it.

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RollingFreak
To me, these are the tours that inspired the large scale legacy rock touring. Big stadiums, long wide ranging setlists. These are the tours that cemented these guys as legends. They could tour whenever they wanted, wherever they wanted for the rest of their lives at this point. It inspired stuff like the Eagles reunion tour in the 90s. Older guys playing rock music from their youth.

Anyway, I always wondered who did it first? I always thought it was Paul that started this trend, but actually the Stones tour started a month earlier than Paul's. But Paul's album came out 3 months earlier than the Stones tour which means it was planned way in advance. I guess I'm just fascinated that two of the biggest tours ever, up to that point, but the pinnacle of 60s legends were occurring at the same time. Was it completely coincidental that they were both having comebacks and large tours? Did one get planned earlier which piqued the other band's interest? Did Paul and Mick and Keith ever talk or consult about how these tours were similar? Did dates and legs have to be planned accordingly?

Just very interesting to me that they happened so close together. Are the similarities all in my mind?

The monster stadium tours that became 'events' more than concerts go back way before that. Think of the Stones from 1975 on...big stage, effects...though the outrageously high price of $10 in the 70s is wildly low compared to prices charged starting late 90s

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buffalo7478
The monster stadium tours that became 'events' more than concerts go back way before that. Think of the Stones from 1975 on...big stage, effects...though the outrageously high price of $10 in the 70s is wildly low compared to prices charged starting late 90s

I always remember at the Voodoo Lounge Press Conference Mick saying that "our ticket prices are pretty reasonable compared to everyone else's" -- those words could never again after that point.

I went to see Bruce Springsteen in 1985 at the LA Coliseum with 80,000 others. It was a 3-hour show.

I saw Jagger said once that the Beatles toyed with playing stadiums but the Stones were the first one who really pushed it and did Stadium tours. I think it was right after the 1981 tour.

While it's Floyd in terms of presentation, the year before was the deciding factor when the biggest tour in North America was a nostalgia tour for the first time as The Monkees (3/4 of 'em anyway) reunited on the back of a massive reissue campaign that put all of their studio albums back in the charts and MTV saturated the airwaves with weekend-long marathons. From a sheer commercial standpoint, it helped send the message to the Michael Cohls of the world that sixties acts could be packaged at a premium instead of relegated to the special hell usually reserved for oldies acts. And no, I'm not suggesting Floyd, Stones, Who, Macca were headed for the state fair, but the business shifted from a focus on the hot album of the era (BORN IN THE USA and THE JOSHUA TREE would seem to be the last in that respect) to see concert tours packaged around elaborate greatest hits shows.

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stanlove
I saw Jagger said once that the Beatles toyed with playing stadiums but the Stones were the first one who really pushed it and did Stadium tours. I think it was right after the 1981 tour.

are you joking? the beatles played stadiums regularly in 1964-66.

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Bsebastian

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stanlove
I saw Jagger said once that the Beatles toyed with playing stadiums but the Stones were the first one who really pushed it and did Stadium tours. I think it was right after the 1981 tour.

are you joking? the beatles played stadiums regularly in 1964-66.

Not sure why you are asking me if I am joking when I just repeated what Jagger said. But the Beatles played a small number of stadiums compared to what the Stones did in say 1981.

Don't know exact tour dates but I saw Stones Fall 1989 and Macca Spring 1990

[en.wikipedia.org]

Macca/Stone = Apples/Oranges

I doubt they ever consulted each other. They'll do whatever they damn well please, McCartney having a lot more leeway because he doesn't have to cajole the like of Richards and Watts. But while after the 1989 tour when McCartney did his first large scale outing since 1976, he also continued to make new music. We can debate the quality of it all we want but the fact remains he was and still is a creative machine and now and then he still comes up with a couple of gems. The Stones new music output is a matter of record, or really, a matter of a lack of records.

Amazingly, since 2002, the only years McCartney hasn't been on an official tour of some sort are 2006 and 2008. Sure, he's cut down the number of dates per tour, but he's been Out There, pun intended.

And I don't know if this really responded to the OP, but it's what came out.

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stanlove

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Bsebastian

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stanlove
I saw Jagger said once that the Beatles toyed with playing stadiums but the Stones were the first one who really pushed it and did Stadium tours. I think it was right after the 1981 tour.

are you joking? the beatles played stadiums regularly in 1964-66.

Not sure why you are asking me if I am joking when I just repeated what Jagger said. But the Beatles played a small number of stadiums compared to what the Stones did in say 1981.

yeah sorry for wording that so strongly. if jagger ever said the beatles toyed with the idea, then he was wrong, because they actually did play stadiums. however jagger obviously knows this.

1969 Tour of America started all. The Stones and their high ticket prices were big news from Tv, Life magazine to Radio.

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hot stuff
1969 Tour of America started all. The Stones and their high ticket prices were big news from Tv, Life magazine to Radio.

it's true about the ticket prices. in fact i believe the reason, or one of them, for doing altamonte was to deflect criticism about high ticket prices by doing a show for free. it's ironic when people complain about the stones' high ticket prices when they go on tour since even the "golden era" stones always charged enough to shock and outrage people.

I wonder why Clapton has never done a stadium tour to my knowledge?

The ticket prices took a dramatic turn when they launched the No Security Tour.

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jazzbass
I wonder why Clapton has never done a stadium tour to my knowledge?

A man's got to know his limitations.

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JTHanis

I always remember at the Voodoo Lounge Press Conference Mick saying that "our ticket prices are pretty reasonable compared to everyone else's" -- those words could never again after that point.

Bye everyone else did he mean The Eagles who the same year were charging 100$?

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Long John Stoner

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jazzbass
I wonder why Clapton has never done a stadium tour to my knowledge?

A man's got to know his limitations.

He played a lot of stadiums in 1974, and did co-headline full set gigs with Elton John in London, NYC and LA. He is barely an arena act now.

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RollingFreak
To me, these are the tours that inspired the large scale legacy rock touring. Big stadiums, long wide ranging setlists. These are the tours that cemented these guys as legends. They could tour whenever they wanted, wherever they wanted for the rest of their lives at this point. It inspired stuff like the Eagles reunion tour in the 90s. Older guys playing rock music from their youth.

Anyway, I always wondered who did it first? I always thought it was Paul that started this trend, but actually the Stones tour started a month earlier than Paul's. But Paul's album came out 3 months earlier than the Stones tour which means it was planned way in advance. I guess I'm just fascinated that two of the biggest tours ever, up to that point, but the pinnacle of 60s legends were occurring at the same time. Was it completely coincidental that they were both having comebacks and large tours? Did one get planned earlier which piqued the other band's interest? Did Paul and Mick and Keith ever talk or consult about how these tours were similar? Did dates and legs have to be planned accordingly?

Just very interesting to me that they happened so close together. Are the similarities all in my mind?

Macca did his "Wings Over the World tour" in 1976.

Zeppelin did their 1973 big stadium / arena tour.

Stones did their stadium / arena tour in 1969.

Beatles had a bit 1966....

Who started the whole big thing - good question, a mix of things I guess....

The Beatles Shea Stadium started it.

This is a joke! 'Twas the stones 69

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potus43
This is a joke! 'Twas the stones 69

yes a mere 4 years after the beatles played shea...

Feels like you guys know absolutely nothing about this subject. The original poster had a great question, and it was met with dismal reponses. The actual turning point in the touring industry was the Stones 1981-2 tour. It was predomintely stadiums and it was like the first tour that ever made real big bucks for a rock band. I think I read about this in either Bill Wymans book or According to the Stones. They followed it up with the 1989-90 mega tour which is still the biggest tour of all time.