# Back to Front Tour

Back to Front was a concert tour by Peter Gabriel, a retrospective performance based on every song from his 1986 multi-platinum album So played in sequence. The backing band included musicians that Gabriel toured with in 1986–87 in support of the album's initial release.
Each night of the tour was recorded and released both separately and as part of a box set entitled Back to Front: Encore Series. The releases were limited editions and available exclusively from Gabriel's official website.
On 23 June 2014, Real World Records and Eagle Rock Entertainment released the live album and film Back to Front: Live in London, recorded at the O2 concerts.

## Background

In 2012, Gabriel released a 25th anniversary box set of So. To coincide with this release, Gabriel decided to assemble his band from the album's accompanying tour, with David Rhodes on guitar, Tony Levin on bass, Manu Katché on drums, and David Sancious on keyboards. Gabriel was initially reluctant to play So in its entirety, but reconsidered after he witnessed Brian Wilson perform Pet Sounds from start to finish.
Ben Findlay served as the front of house audio engineer for The Back of Front Tour, having previously worked with Gabriel at Real World Studios. The sound system used on the tour was a 96-input Avid Profile D-Show console, with the device's native EQ features being used on the drums. Findlay grouped these drum channels together, which he saved as a snapshot to correspond with each song. A Bricasti M1 was the primary outboard gear reverb effect used on the vocals and a Quantec Yardstick was relied on for long reverb decays.
During the tour, Gabriel also played some new original songs, including "O But" and "What Lies Ahead". John Cusack appeared at the 6 October 2012 concert in Los Angeles, recreating a scene from Say Anything... (1989).

## Reception

Dave McKenna of The Washington Post described the 14 October 2012 concert in Fairfax as "great". He highlighted the "goofy line routines" performed by Gabriel, Tony Levin, and David Rhodes on "Sledgehammer" and "Big Time" and said that Gabriel "choked up" when introducing "Biko".

## Personnel

* Peter Gabriel – vocals, piano, keyboard, tambourine
* David Rhodes – guitar and backing vocals
* Tony Levin – bass guitar, upright bass, synthesizer, backing vocals
* David Sancious – keyboards, accordion, acoustic guitar
* Manu Katché – drums, shaker
* Jennie Abrahamson – backing vocals, tambourine, 12 string acoustic guitar
* Linnea Olsson – backing vocals, synthesizer, cello

## Tour crew

* Tour manager: Dave Taraskevics
* Lighting designer: Rob Sinclair

## Set list

Acoustic (with house lights left on):
* "Daddy Long Legs" (new unfinished song, also known as "O But", released as Playing For Time on i/o in 2023 with a full band and orchestral arrangement. Replaced by new unfinished song "What Lies Ahead" in late 2014)
* "Come Talk to Me"
* "Shock the Monkey"
* "Family Snapshot"
Electric:
* "Digging in the Dirt"
* "Secret World"
* "The Family and the Fishing Net" or "Darkness" (December 2014)
* "No Self Control"
* "Games Without Frontiers" (in Herning and Amsterdam only)
* "Solsbury Hill" (played after "Washing of the Water" for first show in Quebec City)
* "Washing of the Water" or "Humdrum" (2012 tour), "Why Don't You Show Yourself" (2013 and 2014 tours)
So:
* "Red Rain"
* "Sledgehammer"
* "Don't Give Up"
* "That Voice Again"
* "Mercy Street"
* "Big Time"
* "We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37)"
* "This Is the Picture (Excellent Birds)"
* "In Your Eyes"
Encore:
* "Here Comes the Flood" (played 11 times in mid 2014)
* "The Tower That Ate People"
* "Biko"

## Tour dates

List of 2012 concerts :
| Date | City | Country | Venue | Attendance | Revenue |
| 16 September 2012 | Quebec City | Canada | Colisée Pepsi | 8,652 / 10,006 | $914,352 |
| 18 September 2012 | Montreal | Canada | Bell Centre | 11,902 / 11,902 | $1,277,415 |
| 19 September 2012 | Toronto | Canada | Air Canada Centre | 11,267 / 12,159 | $1,098,899 |
| 21 September 2012 | Philadelphia | United States | Wells Fargo Center | 11,773 / 12,809 | $1,111,651 |
| 23 September 2012 | Wantagh | United States | Jones Beach Theater | 10,602 / 13,995 | $991,035 |
| 24 September 2012 | Boston | United States | TD Garden | 5,671 / 9,215 | $519,413 |
| 26 September 2012 | Auburn Hills | United States | The Palace of Auburn Hills | — | — |
| 27 September 2012 | Chicago | United States | United Center | 9,886 / 10,863 | $967,504 |
| 30 September 2012 | Morrison | United States | Red Rocks Amphitheatre | 8,631 / 8,631 | $787,067 |
| 2 October 2012 | San Jose | United States | HP Pavilion at San Jose | 6,964 / 7,500 | $710,388 |
| 5 October 2012 | Las Vegas | United States | PH Live Showroom | — | — |
| 6 October 2012 | Los Angeles | United States | Hollywood Bowl | 15,482 / 17,416 | $1,527,290 |
| 8 October 2012 | San Diego | United States | Valley View Casino Center | — | — |
| 9 October 2012 | Santa Barbara | United States | Santa Barbara Bowl | 3,972 / 4,549 | $432,182 |
| 13 October 2012 | Uncasville | United States | Mohegan Sun Arena | 4,150 / 4,497 | $379,490 |
| 14 October 2012 | Fairfax | United States | Patriot Center | 5,812 / 5,812 | $546,621 |
List of 2013 concerts :
| Date | City | Country | Venue | Attendance | Revenue |
| 28 September 2013 | Herning | Denmark | Jyske Bank Arena | 6,500 | — |
| 30 September 2013 | Amsterdam | Netherlands | Ziggo Dome | — | — |
| 1 October 2013 | Brussels | Belgium | Forest National | 8,000 | — |
| 3 October 2013 | Vienna | Austria | Wiener Stadthalle | 10,000 | — |
| 5 October 2013 | Belgrade | Serbia | Kombank Arena | — | — |
| 7 October 2013 | Milan | Italy | Mediolanum Forum | 11,000 | — |
| 8 October 2013 | Geneva | Switzerland | Geneva Arena | 8,000 | — |
| 10 October 2013 | Prague | Czech Republic | O$_2$ Arena | 12,000 | — |
| 11 October 2013 | Leipzig | Germany | Arena Leipzig | 10,000 | — |
| 13 October 2013 | Stuttgart | Germany | Schleyerhalle | 12,000 | — |
| 15 October 2013 | Paris | France | Palais Omnisports de Bercy | 16,000 | — |
| 16 October 2013 | Düsseldorf | Germany | ISS Dome | 10,000 | — |
| 18 October 2013 | Hamburg | Germany | O$_2$ World Hamburg | 12,035 / 12,730 | $876,611 |
| 19 October 2013 | Berlin | Germany | O$_2$ World Berlin | 13,468 / 13,468 | $1,060,450 |
| 21 October 2013 | London | England | The O$_2$ Arena | 22,584 / 27,739 | $1,762,780 |
| 22 October 2013 | London | England | The O$_2$ Arena | 22,584 / 27,739 | $1,762,780 |
| 24 October 2013 | Glasgow | Scotland | SSE Hydro | — | — |
| 25 October 2013 | Manchester | England | Phones 4u Arena | 14,057 / 15,105 | $913,023 |
List of 2014 concerts :
| Date | City | Country | Venue | Attendance | Revenue |
| 29 April 2014 | Frankfurt | Germany | Festhalle Frankfurt | 11,000 | — |
| 30 April 2014 | Munich | Germany | Olympiahalle | 11,000 | — |
| 2 May 2014 | Cologne | Germany | Lanxess Arena | 15,000 | — |
| 3 May 2014 | Hanover | Germany | TUI Arena | 12,500 | — |
| 5 May 2014 | Bratislava | Slovakia | Slovnaft Arena | — | — |
| 6 May 2014 | Budapest | Hungary | Budapest Sports Arena | — | — |
| 8 May 2014 | Bucharest | Romania | Romexpo Pavilionul Central | — | — |
| 12 May 2014 | Łódź | Poland | Atlas Arena | 13,000 | — |
| 13 May 2014 | Ostrava | Czech Republic | ČEZ Aréna | — | — |
| 16 May 2014 | Vilnius | Lithuania | Siemens Arena | — | — |
| 17 May 2014 | Riga | Latvia | Arena Riga | — | — |
| 20 May 2014 | Helsinki | Finland | Hartwall Arena | — | — |
| 22 May 2014 | Stockholm | Sweden | Ericsson Globe | 10,950 | — |
| 23 May 2014 | Oslo | Norway | Oslo Spektrum | 7,000 | — |
| 25 May 2014 | Berlin | Germany | Waldbühne | 20,000 | — |
| 12 November 2014 | Brussels | Belgium | Palais 12 | 9,000 | — |
| 13 November 2014 | Strasbourg | France | Zénith de Strasbourg | 8,000 | — |
| 15 November 2014 | Nantes | France | Zénith de Nantes Métropole | 8,000 | — |
| 16 November 2014 | Toulouse | France | Zénith de Toulouse | 8,000 | — |
| 18 November 2014 | Zürich | Switzerland | Hallenstadion | 7,212 / 13,000 | $597,346 |
| 20 November 2014 | Turin | Italy | Pala Alpitour | — | — |
| 21 November 2014 | Bologna | Italy | Unipol Arena | — | — |
| 23 November 2014 | Graz | Austria | Stadthalle Graz | 4,000 | — |
| 24 November 2014 | Salzburg | Austria | Salzburgarena | — | — |
| 28 November 2014 | Birmingham | England | LG Arena | — | — |
| 30 November 2014 | Sheffield | England | Motorpoint Arena Sheffield | — | — |
| 1 December 2014 | Cardiff | Wales | Motorpoint Arena Cardiff | — | — |
| 3 December 2014 | London | England | SSE Wembley Arena | — | — |
| 4 December 2014 | Newcastle | England | Metro Radio Arena |
| 7 December 2014 | Liverpool | England | Echo Arena Liverpool | — | — |
| 8 December 2014 | Aberdeen | Scotland | AECC Arena | 4,600 | — |
| 10 December 2014 | Dublin | Ireland | 3Arena | — | — |

### Cancellations and rescheduled shows

| 5 October 2013 | Zagreb, Croatia | Arena Zagreb | Venue changed to Kombank Arena, Belgrade, Serbia |
| 10 May 2014 | Kyiv, Ukraine | Palace of Sports | Canceled |
| 26 November 2014 | Lyon, France | Halle Tony Garnier | Canceled |