Wikipedia

Club Fantastic Tour

The Club Fantastic Tour (also advertised as the Club Fantastic '83 Tour) was the debut concert tour by English pop duo Wham!, launched in support of their first studio album Fantastic (1983). It was sponsored by Fila sportswear and spanned two months from October to late November 1983, comprising 30 sold-out shows across England, Scotland and Wales.[1][2]

Club Fantastic Tour
Tour by Wham!
Tour programme cover
LocationUnited Kingdom
Associated albumFantastic
Start date9 October 1983 (1983-10-09)
End date30 November 1983 (1983-11-30)
No. of shows29 (30 scheduled)
Supporting act(s)Gary Crowley
Wham! concert chronology

Background

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Wham! announced a tour in August 1983. Their co-manager Simon Napier-Bell had a plan to raise some revenue; if little money was to be made from records, then it was time for the duo to begin performing with a 30-date tour of the UK. Napier-Bell secured a £50,000 sponsorship deal with the sportswear manufacturer Fila, with George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley wearing the company's clothing on stage throughout the tour.[1]

Halfway through the tour, Michael lost his voice and had to cancel ten consecutive shows; concerts were pushed back and rescheduled.[3]

Concert synopsis

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The show started with Michael entering the stage right-side in yellow Fila sports gear, and Ridgeley entering the stage left-side in red Fila sports gear while the band played "Bad Boys". Pepsi & Shirlie, backing singers and dancers, ran on stage for "Club Tropicana".[4]

Ridgeley then announced the next song, "Blue", a slow love ballad. He held a plectrum in his mouth and shook hands. They then sang "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)", dancing as a foursome. They continued with "A Ray of Sunshine", which ended the first part of the set.[4] During the break a screen appeared and the crowd were shown family photos such as Ridgeley in pyjamas, and a young Michael in glasses. A mixed compilation of the group's music videos was played.[5]

Then Michael sang "Careless Whisper" to a backing track on his own. He and Ridgeley changed into white Wham! singlet T-shirts and sang "Bad Boys". "Love Machine" followed, then "Nothing Looks the Same in the Light". "Come On" ended the set, with the two playing a mock game of badminton, occasionally whacking a shuttlecock out to the crowd.[6]

The encore was "Young Guns (Go for It)" with the duo wearing camp cowboy outfits, "Wham Rap!" with them wearing white, and finally Chic's 1979 disco hit "Good Times".[4]

Opening acts

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The group decided to go back to their clubbing roots and had Gary Crowley (of Capital Radio) as the opening DJ act. Also included were some body-poppers called Eklypse who did dance routines for over an hour before the show.[2]

Set list

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Lyceum Theatre, the venue of five consecutive shows in London

The first set saw the band play most of the hits from the Fantastic album before Michael was on stage alone singing songs like "Careless Whisper", a then-unreleased track.[2]

The average set list was as follows:[7]

  1. "Young Guns (Go for It)"
  2. "Club Tropicana"
  3. "Blue"
  4. "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)"
  5. "A Ray of Sunshine"
    Break
  6. "Careless Whisper"
  7. "Bad Boys"
  8. "Love Machine"
  9. "Nothing Looks the Same in the Light"
  10. "Come On"
  11. "Young Guns (Go for It)"
  12. "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)"
  13. "Good Times"

Tour dates

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List of concerts, showing date, city, country and venue
Date City Country Venue
United Kingdom
9 October 1983 Aberdeen Scotland Capitol Theatre
10 October 1983
11 October 1983 Edinburgh Playhouse Theatre
13 October 1983 Glasgow Apollo Theatre
14 October 1983 Blackpool England Opera House
15 October 1983 Newcastle City Hall
16 October 1983 Manchester Apollo Theatre
18 October 1983 Liverpool Royal Court Theatre
19 October 1983 Sheffield City Hall
21 October 1983 Leicester De Montfort Hall
22 October 1983 St Austell Coliseum
23 October 1983 Bristol Studio
24 October 1983 Swansea Wales Top Rank
27 October 1983 London England Hammersmith Odeon
28 October 1983
29 October 1983
30 October 1983 Brighton Centre
1 November 1983 Nottingham Royal Centre
2 November 1983 Poole Arts Centre
3 November 1983 Crawley Leisure Centre
4 November 1983 Leeds University
6 November 1983 Birmingham Odeon Theatre
7 November 1983
8 November 1983 London Lyceum
9 November 1983
10 November 1983 Brighton Centre
13 November 1983 London Lyceum
14 November 1983
15 November 1983
16 November 1983
17 November 1983
19 November 1983 Whitley Bay Ice Rink
20 November 1983 Swansea Wales Top Rank
21 November 1983 Poole England Arts Centre
24 November 1983 Birmingham Odeon Theatre
25 November 1983 Leeds University
26 November 1983 London Hammersmith Odeon
28 November 1983 Nottingham Royal Centre
29 November 1983 Brighton Centre
30 November 1983
Key
Show Denotes cancelled concert dates that were rescheduled.

Personnel

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Quotes

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Gary Crowley described the tour as "some of my bestest bestest memories ... The nearest I'll ever get to being in the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night."[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b Steele, Robert (2017). Careless Whispers: The Life & Career of George Michael: Revised & Updated. Omnibus Press. p. 84. ISBN 978-1-78323-968-9. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Jovanovic, Rob (2015). George Michael: The Biography. Hachette UK. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-349-41124-8. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  3. ^ "From Wham Rap to Wembley '86". Disco 45 Hot Pop Special (Wham! ed.). United Kingdom: Trevor Bolton Partnership. 1986.
  4. ^ a b c Reid, Jim (22 October 1983). "Wham-bushed!". Record Mirror. United Kingdom: United Newspapers.
  5. ^ Simper, Paul (22 October 1983). "Wham! On Tour, Fantastic Day (and Night)". Number One. United Kingdom.
  6. ^ Tennant, Neil (24 May – 6 June 1984). "The Beach Boys: Sea, sand, shorts, shuttlecocks and snogging: Yes, Wham! are back. Your travel guide in Miami". Smash Hits. United Kingdom: EMAP Metro.
  7. ^ "Average setlist for tour: Club Fantastic Tour". setlist.fm. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  8. ^ "Gary Crowley remembers being the warm up man for Wham in the 80's". BBC. 26 December 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
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