# Louder Than Concorde Tour

The Louder Than Concorde Tour was a concert tour by English musician and composer Elton John, in support of his 10th studio album Rock of the Westies. the tour included two legs (United Kingdom and North America) and a total of 62 shows.

## Tour

John and his band recorded the Blue Moves album (and No. 1 hit single "Don't Go Breaking My Heart") in Toronto in March 1976, and began touring the UK on 29 April in Leeds. This leg of the tour, which included a midnight show in Glasgow, ended on 4 June in Cardiff. On 29 June 1976 in Landover, Maryland, the eastern half of the US got the newly named "Louder Than Concorde (But Not Quite As Pretty)" tour, a testament to the onslaught John and his ferocious band were delivering to a country in the midst of its Bicentennial celebration.
On 4 July 1976, John played Schaefer Stadium near Boston. Billie Jean King sang backing vocals and John slipped "Holiday Inn" in to the 20-song set list, a unique event on this tour. Part-way through this leg of the tour, Ray Cooper fell ill and was forced to miss roughly a dozen shows. Ever the punsmith, John declared that the missing percussionist was "Ray Cooper-ating from surgery."
The tour concluded in mid-August with a record-breaking seven sold-out nights at Madison Square Garden. For these shows, John and the band shared the stage with the New York Community Choir and performed encores with Kiki Dee, Alice Cooper and Divine. As this week was winding down, John notified the band that he was taking a break from touring and the group soon disbanded.

## Tour dates

| Date | City | Country | Venue |
| Europe ||||
| 29 April 1976 | Leeds | England | Leeds Grand |
| 30 April 1976 | Leeds | England | Leeds Grand |
| 1 May 1976 | Manchester | England | Manchester Bellevue |
| 2 May 1976 | Preston | England | Preston Guildhall |
| 3 May 1976 | Liverpool | England | Liverpool Empire |
| 4 May 1976 | Liverpool | England | Liverpool Empire |
| 5 May 1976 | Leicester | England | De Montfort Hall |
| 6 May 1976 | Hanley | England | Victoria Hall |
| 7 May 1976 | Wolverhampton | England | Wolverhampton Civic Hall |
| 9 May 1976 | Croydon | England | Farfield Hall |
| 11 May 1976 | London | England | Earls Court |
| 12 May 1976 | London | England | Earls Court |
| 13 May 1976 | London | England | Earls Court |
| 14 May 1976 | Watford | England | Baileys |
| 16 May 1976 | Birmingham | England | Birmingham Odeon |
| 17 May 1976 | Birmingham | England | Birmingham Odeon |
| 18 May 1976 | Sheffield | England | Sheffield City Hall |
| 20 May 1976 | Newcastle | England | Newcastle City Hall |
| 21 May 1976 | Edinburgh | Scotland | Usher Hall |
| 22 May 1976 | Dundee | Scotland | Caird Hall |
| 24 May 1976 | Glasgow | Scotland | Apollo Theatre |
| 25 May 1976 | Glasgow | Scotland | Apollo Theatre |
| 27 May 1976 | Coventry | England | New Theatre |
| 28 May 1976 | Coventry | England | New Theatre |
| 29 May 1976 | Southampton | England | Gaumont Theatre |
| 30 May 1976 | Taunton | England | Taunton Odeon |
| 31 May 1976 | Bristol | England | Bristol Hippodrome |
| 1 June 1976 | Bristol | England | Bristol Hippodrome |
| 3 June 1976 | Cardiff | England | Cardiff Capitol |
| 4 June 1976 | Cardiff | England | Cardiff Capitol |
| North America ||||
| 29 June 1976 | Landover | United States | Capital Centre |
| 30 June 1976 | Landover | United States | Capital Centre |
| 1 July 1976 | Landover | United States | Capital Centre |
| 4 July 1976 | Foxborough | United States | Schaefer Stadium |
| 6 July 1976 | Philadelphia | United States | The Spectrum |
| 7 July 1976 | Philadelphia | United States | The Spectrum |
| 8 July 1976 | Philadelphia | United States | The Spectrum |
| 11 July 1976 | Pontiac | United States | Pontiac Silverdome |
| 13 July 1976 | Greensboro | United States | Greensboro Coliseum |
| 14 July 1976 | Charlotte | United States | Charlotte Coliseum |
| 16 July 1976 | Atlanta | United States | Omni Coliseum |
| 18 July 1976 | Tuscaloosa | United States | Memorial Coliseum |
| 20 July 1976 | Louisville | United States | Freedom Hall |
| 21 July 1976 | Indianapolis | United States | Market Square Arena |
| 24 July 1976 | Saint Paul | United States | Saint Paul Civic Center |
| 26 July 1976 | Chicago | United States | Chicago Stadium |
| 27 July 1976 | Chicago | United States | Chicago Stadium |
| 28 July 1976 | Chicago | United States | Chicago Stadium |
| 29 July 1976 | Chicago | United States | Chicago Stadium |
| 1 August 1976 | Richfield | United States | Richfield Coliseum |
| 2 August 1976 | Richfield | United States | Richfield Coliseum |
| 3 August 1976 | Cincinnati | United States | Riverfront Coliseum |
| 7 August 1976 | Buffalo | United States | Rich Stadium |
| 10 August 1976 | New York City | United States | Madison Square Garden |
| 11 August 1976 | New York City | United States | Madison Square Garden |
| 12 August 1976 | New York City | United States | Madison Square Garden |
| 13 August 1976 | New York City | United States | Madison Square Garden |
| 15 August 1976 | New York City | United States | Madison Square Garden |
| 16 August 1976 | New York City | United States | Madison Square Garden |
| 17 August 1976 | New York City | United States | Madison Square Garden |

## Set list

* Grow Some Funk of Your Own
* Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
* Island Girl
* Rocket Man
* Hercules
* Bennie and the Jets
* Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
* Love Song (Lesley Duncan cover)
* Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (The Beatles cover)
* Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me
* Empty Sky
* Someone Saved My Life Tonight
* Don't Go Breaking My Heart
* I've Got the Music in Me (Kiki Dee cover)
* Philadelphia Freedom
* We All Fall in Love Sometimes
* Curtains
* Tell Me When the Whistle Blows
Encore:
* Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting
* Your Song
* Pinball Wizard (The Who cover)

## Personnel

* Elton John – lead vocals, piano
* Davey Johnstone – lead guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
* Caleb Quaye – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
* Kenny Passarelli – bass guitar, backing vocals
* Roger Pope – drums
* James Newton Howard – keyboards, electric piano, synthesizer
* Ray Cooper – percussion
* Cindy Bullens – backing vocals
* Jon Joyce – backing vocals
* Ken Gold – backing vocals