Misplaced Pages

The Ice on Fire Tour was a worldwide concert tour held by English musician and composer Elton John, in support of his 19th studio album Ice on Fire. The tour included three legs (in the UK, Europe and North America) and a total of 122 shows.

Background

John had decided he wanted to hit the road with his new band, made up of some of the musicians who had worked with him on the Ice on Fire album in January, as well as a new set of backing singers: Alan Carvell, Helena Springs and Shirley Lewis – making it the largest band John had ever taken on tour.

On 14 November 1985, the tour began in Dublin and continued across the British Isles, including nine nights in a row at Wembley Arena, before concluding on 11 January 1986, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. As usual, John would select a handful of songs from his most recent album for inclusion in the set; in this instance, "Shoot Down the Moon", "This Town" and the singles "Nikita" and "Wrap Her Up" — all from Ice on Fire. The tour would continue in three months' time, but with a different percussionist.

Percussionist Jody Linscott replaced Ray Cooper on this second leg of the 1985–1986 World Tour, which began at the Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid on 1 March and continued through Europe before concluding on 26 April at the Vorst Nationaal in Brussels, Belgium.

After a four-month a break, during which John and the band recorded the Leather Jackets album, the North American leg of the world tour began at the Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan on 17 August and ended on 15 October with eight nights at Los Angeles' Universal Amphitheatre. One unique aspect to this tour was that John played acoustic guitar on stage (on Lesley Duncan's "Love Song"), something he had not done since 1976.

This part of the tour proved especially difficult for John, who unknowingly had developed potentially cancerous nodules on his vocal cords, and by the time he played his four-night run in New York City in mid-September, he was having a great deal of difficulty singing. John was ordered by his doctor not to speak while off-stage, and there was serious doubt as to whether or not he could finish this segment of the tour, let alone pull off the upcoming symphonic tour of Australia.

Setlists

1985

1. "Highlander"
2. "Tonight"
3. "One Horse Town"
4. "Better Off Dead"
5. "Rocket Man"
6. "Honky Cat"
7. "Burn Down the Mission"
8. "Someone Saved My Life Tonight"
9. "The Bitch Is Back"
10. "Song for You"/"Blue Eyes"/"I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues"
11. "Restless"
12. "Passengers"
13. "Bennie and the Jets"
14. "Sad Songs (Say So Much)"
15. "Shoot Down the Moon"
16. "This Town"
17. "Nikita"
18. "I'm Still Standing"
19. "Your Song"
20. "Wrap Her Up"
21. "Candle in the Wind"
22. "Kiss the Bride"
23. "Can I Get a Witness"

1986

1. "Highlander"
2. "Tonight"
3. "One Horse Town"
4. "Better Off Dead"
5. "Rocket Man"
6. "Philadelphia Freedom"
7. "Burn Down the Mission"
8. "Someone Saved My Life Tonight"
9. "The Bitch Is Back"
10. "Song for You"/"Blue Eyes"/"I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues"
11. "Paris"
12. "Restless"
13. "Bennie and the Jets"
14. "Sad Songs (Say So Much)"
15. "Cry to Heaven"
16. "This Town"
17. "Nikita"
18. "I'm Still Standing"
19. "Song for Guy"
20. "Wrap Her Up"
21. "Candle in the Wind"
22. "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"
23. "Your Song"
24. "Can I Get a Witness"

1. "Tonight"
2. "One Horse Town"
3. "Better Off Dead"
4. "Rocket Man"
5. "Philadelphia Freedom"
6. "Burn Down the Mission"
7. "Someone Saved My Life Tonight"
8. "The Bitch Is Back"
9. "Song for You"/"Blue Eyes"/"I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues"
10. "Levon"
11. "Paris"
12. "Restless"
13. "Bennie and the Jets"
14. "Love Song"
15. "Sad Songs (Say So Much)"
16. "This Town"
17. "I'm Still Standing"
18. "Nikita"
19. "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"
20. "Candle in the Wind"
21. "Daniel"
22. "Your Song"
23. ”Can I Get A Witness”

Tour dates

Box office score data

Personnel

• Elton John – lead vocals, piano, acoustic guitar on "Love Song"
• Davey Johnstone – lead guitar, backing vocals
• David Paton – bass guitar
• Fred Mandel – keyboards, rhythm guitar
• Charlie Morgan – drums
• Ray Cooper – percussion (UK leg)
• Jody Linscott – percussion (Europe and North American legs)
• Alan Carvell – backing vocals
• Helena Springs – backing vocals
• Shirley Lewis – backing vocals
• Onward International Horn Section

References

1. "The Band".
2. Songkick.com, Retrieved 29 August 2011
3. Songkick.com, Retrieved 29 August 2011
4. sheffieldhistory.co.uk, Retrieved 29 August 2011
5. olympiapark.de, Retrieved 29 August 2011
6. eltonjohnfan.de, Retrieved 29 August 2011
7. toledotalk.com, Retrieved 29 August 2011
8. Songkick.com, Retrieved 29 August 2011
9. seeing-stars.com, Retrieved 29 August 2011
10. "The Band".

External links

Quotations related to Ice on Fire Tour at Wikiquote

• Information Site with Tour Dates

• Elton John concert tours
• 1985 concert tours
• 1986 concert tours