Golden Tour

The Golden Tour was the fifteenth concert tour by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue. It was launched in support of her fourteenth studio album, Golden (2018) and visited Europe and Australia. It began on 18 September 2018 in Newcastle, England at the Metro Radio Arena and concluded on 17 March 2019 in Mount Cotton, Australia at Sirromet Wines. The tour was announced in February 2018, consisting of dates only in the UK and the Ireland. The previously announced European tour was incorporated in September of the same year, and the Australian leg was announced in November.
The concerts were divided into seven distinct sections: Desert Sunrise, The High & Dry, Nothing Behind Me, Everything Ahead of Me, The Lovers United, At the Picnic After the Biker Rally, New York City and an encore, The Nashville Rider. An interval halfway through the show separated the concert into two halves. Acting as creative director alongside Rob Sinclair, Minogue created a show narrative that was set in the 1970s and heavily influenced by Western films, featuring an abstract road movie which was presented on a large video screen. The retro influence of the concerts were also amplified by a "g"-shaped stage with a glittered runway. The tour received acclaim from music critics, who praised the shows for their simplicity in comparison to Minogue's previous tours.
The Golden Tour was also commercially successful. According to Billboard, the three concerts in London, England at The O2 Arena grossed $3,368,900 with 30,100 tickets sold, placing her at eighth spot for the biggest concerts of September 2018. Footage from the tour was also filmed across several nights, and was released on 6 December 2019 as Golden Live in Concert.
In February 2018, Minogue announced a series of concerts in smaller venues as part of the Kylie Presents Golden tour, to coincide with the expected release of the album. Later the same month, a new arena tour was announced with only UK and Ireland dates being confirmed. Discussing the development process of the tour, Minogue stated:
In an interview on Good Morning Britain, Minogue explained that the shows would be split into "two halves", with an interval and a narrative throughout. She continued to say the setlist was mostly concrete at that point, mentioning "Raining Glitter" and "Lost Without You" as definite performances. Minogue's costumes for the tour were designed by Ralph & Russo, Kolchagov Barba, Paco Rabanne, Jitrois, Stevie Stewart and Wrangler.
Shortly before the tour commenced in September, Sonic Yootha were announced as the support act for the UK and Ireland dates, and the previously 12 announced European dates of the Kylie Presents Golden promotional tour scheduled for theatres and smaller arenas would be incorporated into the Golden Tour. On 7 November, Minogue announced the last six Australian dates for the Golden Tour, three of which were part of the "A Day on the Green" festival.
The first act of the show Desert Sunrise opened with a guitar instrumental and a howling wind sound effect, showing a projection of a desert at night. A troupe of dancers in cowboy outfits walked onto the stage as the sun began to rise, before Minogue rose out of the floor sat atop of a stack of luggage, singing "Golden". Lights brightened to reveal the "g"-shaped staging and a "glittering golden runway", and Minogue then performed "Get Outta My Way" and "Better the Devil You Know". "One Last Kiss" was performed at the opening night in Newcastle, but removed from the set list after.
The second section The High & Dry began with an interlude of "Blue Velvet", with the video screen showing Minogue singing the song at a bar. She emerged, dressed in an all-white ensemble, to continue the rest of the song. Minogue then performed "Confide in Me" and "I Believe in You"; the latter was sung in place of "Breathe" (performed only at Newcastle). A short a cappella of "Where the Wild Roses Grow" was then performed as Minogue passes a rose through the crowd to the back of the venue, followed by "In Your Eyes". The second act concluded with a performance of "A Lifetime to Repair", with the singer stood atop of a pool table surrounded by her dancers.
The third section Nothing Behind Me, Everything Ahead of Me began with a performance of "Shelby '68" and "Radio On", with Minogue explaining the backstory behind both songs to the audience. A rendition of "Wow" was then performed, followed by a mash-up of "Can't Get You Out of My Head" and "The Chain". During this, Minogue wore a bespoke denim jacket, with an image of her and the name of the city being performed in embroidered into the back. A telephone box prop near the stage ramp began to ring and the lights dimmed, indicating the start of the twenty-minute interval. During which, a giant silver disco ball illuminated the venue.
After the interval, the dancers rose from the stage atop of illuminated motorcycles and Minogue appeared at the top of the stage ramp. She performed "Slow", starting the fourth section of the show, At the Biker Rally. Minogue and her backing vocalists then went on to perform "Kids", before the lights were dimmed and a rendition of "The One" was performed. Minogue then sang "Stop Me from Falling", where the section concluded.
The fifth section, At the Picnic After the Biker Rally, began with a medley of "Wouldn't Change a Thing" and "I'll Still Be Loving You", where Minogue performed whilst moving around the stage with the dancer Anders Nielsen, followed by "Especially for You". She then performed "Lost Without You", complete with a laser show, and "All the Lovers". The section finished with the conclusion of this song, following the use of rainbow coloured lights and multiple confetti drops.
The video screens then displayed the logo of the penultimate "Studio 54" section, with Minogue entering through the stage doors wearing a bespoke golden dress, alluding to the Spinning Around video. This dress feature near 120,000 Preciosa crystals. She performed a medley consisting of then-unreleased song "New York City", "Raining Glitter" and "On a Night Like This". A chugging steam train sound effect then followed, as Minogue performed a disco rendition of "The Loco-Motion". Concluding the section, "Spinning Around" was performed, with golden ribbons fired across the audience.
Minogue then thanked the audience and vacated the stage with her dancers, as the lights dimmed. The video screen showed a blue, sparkling background before Minogue reappeared and began the encore of the show, The Nashville Rider, performing "Love at First Sight". Minogue then performed an extended version of the album's lead single, "Dancing", and concluded the show by thanking her team and audience and exiting through the stage doors.
The tour has gained acclaim from music critics. Simon Duke from The Evening Chronicle gave the opening night in Newcastle five stars with a positive review, saying that "Kylie dazzled in front of a set with visuals that looked like they'd been lifted straight from a picture perfect postcard of the Wild West". Duke stated that the "well executed and deliciously camp choreography [...] is a must see", being one of the best pop shows "ever experienced".
Adrian Caffery from The Birmingham Mail gave the Birmingham date 4 stars, stating that it was a "rollercoaster concert showcasing 30 years of Kylie [that] failed to disappoint", yet noted "there was a lot less spectacle than in previous Kylie concerts, with the extravagant stages [...] replaced by giant video screens." He concluded that "Kylie turned 50 this year, and on this evidence it's clear she still has the Midas' touch."
Jack Hardwick from The Daily Star stated that "the pint-sized singer looked hotter than ever as she belted out some of her biggest hits" whilst "wowing fans with her killer vocals and [...] sex appeal. For the opening London date at The O2 Arena, Hardwick gave the show 4 stars, stating that Minogue "wowed fans with a stellar set-list of her biggest hits and a healthy smattering of new album tracks". He commented positively on the simplicity of the show, saying that "Kylie doesn't need to rely on larger-than-life sets and jaw-dropping water spectacles to put on a killer show". Hardwick went on to praise Minogue's "faultless" vocals, concluding that "the show [was a] nostalgic trip down memory lane [...] [with] disco classics in the form of On a Night Like This, The Loco-Motion, Spinning Around and Love at First Sight." Gemma Sandways of The Evening Standard reviewed the same show, giving it 4 stars and stating that "there was a healthy helping of glamour [...] from the glittering gowns to the giant disco ball and metallic streamers unleashed". She concluded by saying that the "performance served as a welcome reminder of Minogue's generosity as a performer, and of the refreshing lack of cynicism with which she has always embraced all eras of her career". "A Day on the Green" festival where shows in Australia that were outdoor venues. The shows would go on rain or shine. Perth was a sell out show, which also came with the rain. For most of the Australian shows Kylie took the opportunity to meet fans one on one. In Adelaide she meet Jayden Norsworthy, Perth she met Terence Belletty
This set list is representative of the 20 September 2018 show in Nottingham. It does not represent all dates of the tour.
Golden Live in Concert is the concert film of its corresponding tour. The film was recorded over various shows, and was released on 6 December 2019 in a 2CD and DVD format. The DVD contains the full live performance plus extra bonus features "We Are Golden" while the live album includes all audio tracks performed on the DVD footage.
The release of the DVD was announced on 7 October 2019 which coincided with the announcement of the extended repackage of Step Back in Time: The Definitive Collection and as a teaser for the DVD Minogue uploaded a video of the performance of "Lost Without You". On 18 October 2019 the performance of "Golden" was uploaded to Minogue's YouTube channel followed by the performance of "The Loco-Motion" which was uploaded on 5 December 2019. The DVD was released in two different formats: a digipack standard edition and a hardcover book deluxe edition which was available exclusively on her web store for a limited period of time.
A recording of the show aired on Channel 4 on Christmas Day 2019 following the broadcast of Minogue's television special, Kylie's Secret Night. This broadcast was edited into an hour-long special, featuring the following:
This broadcast was also shown on Channel 9 in Australasia on New Year's Eve, and was altered slightly to include behind the scenes interviews and footage.
Adapted from the tour programme credits.