Back in Black Tour

The Back in Black Tour was a concert tour by the Australian hard rock band AC/DC in support of their seventh studio album Back in Black, which was released on 25 July 1980.

Back in Black Tour

Tour by AC/DC
Full stage at De Montfort Hall in Leicester, 20 October 1980
Location	Europe North America Asia Australia
Associated album	Back in Black
Start date	29 June 1980 (1980-06-29)
End date	28 February 1981 (1981-02-28)
Legs	5
No. of shows	143
AC/DC concert chronology

Background

AC/DC performing on 20 October 1980

This was AC/DC's first tour with new vocalist Brian Johnson, who replaced Bon Scott after the latter's death in February 1980, making his first appearance on stage on 29 June 1980 in Namur, Belgium.^[1][2] The band transported their own one-ton "Hells Bell" on the road, which was lowered to the stage each night as the bell tolls of "Hells Bells" were heard. Johnson would finish it off with several hard hits, hammer in hand as the band commenced the show.^[1]

During the North American and European legs, the band were supported by a number of different opening acts, including Humble Pie, Def Leppard, ZZ Top, Blackfoot, Gamma, Whitesnake and Maggie Bell.^[1]

Reception

The responses from the audience during the band's performances in the United Kingdom were described as near rabid with anticipation.^[1]

Mike London from Billboard, however, had given the show he attended in New York a negative review - stating that while the band had established itself as a leader in heavy metal, the show lacked imagination and failed to live up to the band's sound, describing the stage theatrics as lifeless and overused. He noted that the fans attending the show had shown a general positive response, but later in the show grew tired of the poses and solos that Angus Young had given. Concluding his review, London stated his disappointment - saying that AC/DC's music deserved better treatment than what the band performed that night.^[3]

Set list

1. "Hells Bells"
2. "Shot Down in Flames"
3. "Sin City" or "Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be"
4. "Back in Black"
5. "Bad Boy Boogie"
6. "The Jack"
7. "Highway to Hell"
8. "What Do You Do for Money Honey"
9. "High Voltage"
10. "Shoot to Thrill" (played on occasions)
11. "Givin' the Dog a Bone" (played on occasions)
12. "Whole Lotta Rosie"
13. "You Shook Me All Night Long"
14. "Rocker" or "Problem Child" or "Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution" (played on occasions)
15. "T.N.T." or "Shake a Leg" ("Shake a Leg" played once)
16. "Let There Be Rock"

Tour dates

List of concerts, showing date, city, country and venue^[4]

Date	City	Country	Venue
Warm-up[5]
29 June 1980	Namur	Belgium	Palais des Expositions
30 June 1980	Antwerp		Borgerhout-Zaal Cine Roma
1 July 1980	Deinze		Brielpoort
2 July 1980	Arlon		Hall Polyvalent
3 July 1980	Breda	Netherlands	Het Turfschip
5 July 1980	Wateringen		Velo Sporthal
Leg 1 — North America[5][6]
13 July 1980	Edmonton	Canada	Northlands Coliseum
14 July 1980	Calgary		Max Bell Arena
16 July 1980	Vancouver		Pacific Coliseum
19 July 1980	Winnipeg		Winnipeg Arena
20 July 1980	Thunder Bay		Fort William Gardens
22 July 1980	Ottawa		Ottawa Civic Center
23 July 1980	Montreal		Montreal Forum
25 July 1980	London		London Gardens
26 July 1980	Kitchener		Kitchener Memorial Auditorium
27 July 1980	Sudbury		Sudbury Community Arena
28 July 1980	Toronto		Maple Leaf Gardens
30 July 1980	Erie	United States	Erie County Fieldhouse
31 July 1980	Philadelphia		The Spectrum
1 August 1980	New York City		Palladium
3 August 1980	Landover		Capital Centre
6 August 1980	Norfolk		The Scope
7 August 1980	Roanoke		Roanoke Civic Center
8 August 1980	Charlotte		Charlotte Coliseum
9 August 1980	Fayetteville		Cumberland County Arena
10 August 1980	Greensboro		Greensboro Coliseum
12 August 1980	Atlanta		Fox Theatre
13 August 1980	Knoxville		James White Civic Coliseum
15 August 1980	Johnson City		Freedom Hall Civic Center
16 August 1980	Cincinnati		Riverfront Coliseum
17 August 1980	Toledo		Toledo Speedway
18 August 1980	Dayton		Hara Arena
19 August 1980	Lexington		Rupp Arena
20 August 1980	Nashville		Nashville Municipal Auditorium
22 August 1980	Lakeland		Lakeland Civic Center
23 August 1980	West Palm Beach		West Palm Beach Auditorium
24 August 1980	Jacksonville		Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum
26 August 1980	Houston		Sam Houston Coliseum
27 August 1980[a]			Agora
29 August 1980[b]	San Antonio		San Antonio Convention Center
30 August 1980	Dallas		Dallas Convention Center
31 August 1980	Amarillo		Amarillo Civic Center
1 September 1980	El Paso		El Paso County Coliseum
4 September 1980	Long Beach		Long Beach Arena
5 September 1980	Daly City		Cow Palace
6 September 1980	Oakland		Oakland Auditorium
7 September 1980[c]	San Bernardino		Orange Pavilion
10 September 1980	Lincoln		Pershing Auditorium
11 September 1980	Bloomington		Met Center
13 September 1980	Milwaukee		Milwaukee Auditorium
14 September 1980	Madison		Dane County Coliseum
16 September 1980	Normal		Horton Fieldhouse
18 September 1980	St. Louis		Kiel Opera House
19 September 1980	Cedar Rapids		Five Seasons Center
20 September 1980	Rosemont		Rosemont Horizon
21 September 1980	Fort Wayne		Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
24 September 1980	Indianapolis		Market Square Arena
25 September 1980	Louisville		Louisville Gardens
26 September 1980	Kalamazoo		Wings Stadium
27 September 1980	Detroit		Cobo Arena
29 September 1980	Columbus		St. John Arena
30 September 1980	Pittsburgh		Stanley Theatre
1 October 1980[d]	Cleveland		Public Hall
3 October 1980	Rochester		War Memorial Auditorium
4 October 1980	Buffalo		Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
5 October 1980	Syracuse		Onondaga War Memorial Auditorium
7 October 1980	Allentown		Stabler Arena
8 October 1980	Uniondale		Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
9 October 1980	Springfield		Springfield Civic Center
10 October 1980	Boston		Orpheum Theatre
11 October 1980
Leg 2 — Europe[5]
19 October 1980	Bristol	England	Colston Hall
20 October 1980	Leicester		De Montfort Hall
21 October 1980
22 October 1980	Birmingham		Birmingham Odeon
23 October 1980
25 October 1980	Manchester		Apollo Theatre
26 October 1980
27 October 1980	Sheffield		Sheffield City Hall
28 October 1980
29 October 1980	Hanley		Victoria Hall
31 October 1980	Newcastle		Mayfair Ballroom
1 November 1980	Glasgow	Scotland	Apollo Theatre
2 November 1980
4 November 1980	Newcastle	England	City Hall
5 November 1980
6 November 1980	Queensferry		Deeside Leisure Center
7 November 1980	Southampton		Gaumont
8 November 1980
10 November 1980	London		Hammersmith Odeon
11 November 1980
12 November 1980
14 November 1980			Apollo Victoria Theatre
15 November 1980
16 November 1980
20 November 1980	Stockholm	Sweden	Göta Lejon
22 November 1980	Oslo	Norway	Chateau Neuf
24 November 1980	Kiel	West Germany	Ostseehalle
25 November 1980	Köln		Sporthalle
26 November 1980	Hanover		Eilenriedehalle
27 November 1980	West Berlin		Deutschlandhalle
29 November 1980	Paris	France	Le Bourget
30 November 1980
2 December 1980	Nürnberg	West Germany	Messezentrum
3 December 1980	Heidelberg		Rhein-Neckar-Halle
4 December 1980	Essen		Grugahalle
5 December 1980	Bremen		Stadthalle
7 December 1980	Frankfurt		Festhalle
8 December 1980	Boblingen		Sporthalle Böblingen
9 December 1980	Saarbrücken		Saarlandhalle
10 December 1980	Hamburg		Messehallen
11 December 1980
13 December 1980	Strasbourg	France	Hall Rhenus
14 December 1980	Zürich	Switzerland	Hallenstadion
16 December 1980	Ravensburg	West Germany	Oberschwabenhalle
17 December 1980	Munich		Olympiahalle
19 December 1980	Lyon	France	Palais des Sports
20 December 1980	Lille		Foire Expo Internationale
Leg 3 — Europe
8 January 1981	Metz	France	Parc Expo
9 January 1981	Besançon		Palais des Sports
10 January 1981	Grenoble		Alpexpo
11 January 1981	Nice		Trinite Stade Municipal
13 January 1981	Avignon		Parc Exposition de Chateaublanc
15 January 1981	Barcelona	Spain	Palacio Municipal Deportes
17 January 1981	Madrid		Pabellon de Deportivo del Real Madrid
18 January 1981[e]	San Sebastián		Velodromo Anoeta de San Sebastian
19 January 1981	Toulouse	France	Hall Expo
20 January 1981	Pau		Foire Expo Hall F
22 January 1981	Le Mans		La Rotonde
23 January 1981	Brest		Parc de Penfeld
24 January 1981	Caen		Hall Expo
25 January 1981	Brussels	Belgium	Forest National
Leg 4 — Japan[5]
1 February 1981	Osaka	Japan	Expo Hall
2 February 1981	Nagoya		Shi Kokaido Hall
4 February 1981	Tokyo		Nihon Seinenkan
5 February 1981
Leg 5 — Australia[5]
13 February 1981	Perth	Australia	Perth Entertainment Centre
17 February 1981	Adelaide		Memorial Drive
23 February 1981[f]	Sydney		Sydney Showground
24 February 1981	Brisbane		Festival Hall
25 February 1981
27 February 1981	Melbourne		Sidney Myer Music Bowl
28 February 1981

Cancelled dates

List of cancelled dates, showing date, city, country, venue and reason for cancellation

Date (1980)	City	Country	Venue	Reason
6 July	Nijmegen	Netherlands	De Vereeniging	Low ticket sales (120 sold)
16 August	Thornville	United States	Legend Valley	—
27 August	Lafayette		Le Centre Civique
19 November	Copenhagen	Denmark	Odd Fellow Palæet	Stage set did not fit

Box office score data

List of box office score data with date, city, venue, attendance, gross, references

Date (1980)	City	Venue	Attendance	Gross	Ref(s)
14 July	Calgary, Canada	Max Bell Arena	3,426	$33,072	[7]
16 July	Vancouver, Canada	Pacific Coliseum	8,197	$73,773
20 July	Thunder Bay, Canada	Fort William Gardens	4,249	$34,929
28 July	Toronto, Canada	Maple Leaf Gardens	8,500	$80,750	[3]
1 August	New York City, United States	Palladium	3,385	$30,400
13 August	Knoxville, United States	Coliseum	6,886	$54,170	[8]
15 August	Johnson City, United States	Freedom Hall	6,146	$48,959
6 September	Oakland, United States	Auditorium	6,500	$62,350	[9]
10 September	Lincoln, United States	Pershing Auditorium	4,529	$35,343	[10]
13 September	Milwaukee, United States	Auditorium	6,000	$51,493
14 September	Madison, United States	Dane County Coliseum	10,100	$80,701
18 September	St. Louis, United States	Kiel Opera House	3,519	$30,367	[11]
27 September	Detroit, United States	Cobo Arena	11,137	$107,843	[12]
30 September	Pittsburgh, United States	Stanley Theatre	3,742	$32,002	[13]
3 October	Rochester, United States	War Memorial Auditorium	10,200	$76,331
10–11 October	Boston, United States	Orpheum Theatre	5,600	$51,059	[14]

Personnel

• Angus Young – lead guitar
• Cliff Williams – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Malcolm Young – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Phil Rudd – drums
• Brian Johnson – lead vocals

Notes

1. This concert was an unannounced club gig.
2. Originally scheduled for 28 August 1980.
3. Originally scheduled for 3 September 1980.
4. Originally scheduled for 5 October 1980.
5. Originally scheduled for 20 January 1981.
6. Originally scheduled for 20 February 1981.

References

Citations

1. Perkins 2011.
2. Giles, Jeff (29 June 2015). "The Night Brian Johnson Played His First Show With AC/DC". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
3. London, Mike (16 August 1980). "Talent in Action: AC/DC, Def Leppard". Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 32. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 27. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
4. Durieux, Arnaud. "AC/DC Tour History - 1980/81 "Back in Black" World Tour". ac-dc.net. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
5. Masino 2015.
6. "North American tour dates". Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 31. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 2 August 1980. p. 64. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
7. "Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 31. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 2 August 1980. p. 36. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
8. "Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 35. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 30 August 1980. p. 35. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
9. "Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 38. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 20 September 1980. p. 57. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
10. "Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 39. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 27 September 1980. p. 37. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
11. "Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 40. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 4 October 1980. p. 37. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
12. "Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 41. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 11 October 1980. p. 41. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
13. "Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 42. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 18 October 1980. p. 31. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
14. "Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 43. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 25 October 1980. p. 30. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 1 September 2022.

Sources

• Perkins, Jeff (2011). AC/DC: Uncensored on the Record. Warwickshire, England: Coda Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-908538-54-3.
• Masino, Susan (2015). AC/DC FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the World's True Rock 'n' Roll Band. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4950-2601-0.