Use Your Illusion Tour
|
|
The Use Your Illusion Tour was a concert tour by the rock band Guns n' Roses which ran from May 24, 1991 to July 17, 1993. It was not only the band's longest tour, but one of the longest concert tours in rock history, consisting of 192 shows in 27 countries. It was also a source of much infamy for the band, due to riots, late starts, and outspoken rantings by lead singer Axl Rose.
The Use Your Illusion Tour was a promotional tour for the albums Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II, although due to the scale of the tour, the term "promotional tour" is perhaps a trivialization. The tour started on May 24, 1991, shortly after Use Your Illusion I was recorded but a few months before Use Your Illusion II. The tour marked a high point in the popularity of Guns n' Roses, with a total of over 7 million fans attending, and accompanied by high worldwide album sales. Live recordings from the tour would later provide much of content for the 2-disc set Live Era: '87-'93. The tour also provided a large volume of footage for music videos, including the popular "Don't Cry", "November Rain", and "Estranged". It was a feat that the band was never again able to repeat.
The conduct of the band, and particularly Axl Rose, during the Use Your Illusion Tour generated some bad press, notably from the magazines Spin, Kerrang, Circus Magazine, and Hit Parader. Axl's response to this bad press is documented in the song "Get In The Ring".
The Use Your Illusion Tour was massive not just in the number and size of performances, but also in its technical aspects and the size of the crew. A total of 80 working personnel travelled with the band during the tour. The trade magazine Performance named the tour crew "Crew of the Year" for 1991.
| Contents |
Schedule
The Use Your Illusion Tour comprised eight legs:
- May 24, 1991 - April 9, 1992: USA and Europe. This leg was called "Get In The Ring Motherfucker".
- May 16, 1992 - July 2, 1992: Europe
- July 17, 1992 - October 6, 1992: USA stadium tour with Metallica & Faith No More. Several shows sold out quickly.
- November 25, 1992 - December 13, 1992: South America
- January 12, 1993 - February 6, 1993: Japan/Far East
- February 23, 1993 - April 27, 1993: USA. This leg was called "Skin N' Bones".
- May 22, 1993 - July 13, 1993: Europe. This leg was called "Get In The Ring Motherfucker - Round II".
- July 16, 1993 - July 17, 1993: Argentina.
Notable events
On Tuesday, July 2, 1991, at a show in St. Louis, Missouri, Axl spotted a spectator taking photographs and jumped into the audience after him. After returning to the stage, Axl complained about the security ("Well, thanks to the lameass security, I'm going home") and stormed off the stage; the rest of the band followed. At this point, a riot broke out. Sixty fans were injured. The band lost most of their equiment and Axl was charged with incitement to riot.
On April 13 and 14, 1992, two concerts had to be cancelled when a warrant was issued for Axl's arrest due to the St. Louis show.
On April 20, 1992, the band performed The Freddie Mercury Tribute, a concert for AIDS Awareness in London. Late in the show, certain members of the band (notable Axl Rose and Slash) joined music legends like Elton John and the remaining members of Queen for a few classic songs. The show was broadcast live around the world via satellite, gathering the largest audience for a music concert in history.
On August 8, 1992, at a show in Montreal, Quebec, Metallica guitarist James Hetfield's left arm was badly burned due to misunderstanding about some new pyrotechnics added to Metallica's set. Metallica was forced to end their set early. During Guns n' Roses' set, Axl left stage temporarily after being hit by an object thrown from the crowd. Before the band could return to stage, a riot had broken out.
Countries visited
- Argentina
- Australia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Brazil
- Canada
- Chile
- China
- Colombia
- Czechoslovakia
- Denmark
- Finland
- Greece
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Mexico
- The Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Portugal
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- UK
- USA
- Venezuela
External links
- In depth info and tour diary (http://hem.passagen.se/snoqalf/m-ontour.html)