Survival Tour

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Survival Tour 1979
Tour by Bob Marley & The Wailers
Start date late October 1979
End date January 6, 1980
Legs 1
Shows 41 in North America
3 in the Caribbean
2 in Africa
46 in total
Bob Marley & The Wailers tour chronology
Babylon by Bus Tour
(1979)
Survival Tour
(1979)
Uprising Tour
(1980)

The Survival Tour was a concert tour organised to support the album Survival by Bob Marley & The Wailers. It was Marley's second-last tour.

The tour started in Boston in late October 1979, and ended in Libreville, Gabon, on January 6, 1980. During 1979 which was the International Year of the Child the band made appearances at a few benefit concerts for children, as was the case on August 10, 1979, in Jamaica, prior to the Survival Tour, and on December 15, 1979 in Nassau, Bahamas. The tour mainly took place in the United States, but also included performances in the Caribbean and in Africa.

The performance in Santa Barbara, California on November 25 has been released on VHS and DVD as "Bob Marley - The Legend Live". The performance in Oakland, featuring Ronnie Wood (The Rolling Stones) in the encore five days later, had also been taped on video by Bill Graham Presents, but hasn't been released yet.

Most concerts in the United States and in Africa were opened by soul and R&B singer Betty Wright. Furthermore the Survival Tour was the only tour the band included a horn section, featuring Glen Da Costa on saxophone and David Madden on trumpet. After the concerts in Gabon the band returned to Jamaica to record the Uprising album and to make trips to Brazil and to Zimbabwe to perform at its independence celebrations on April 18, 1980, before kicking off the Uprising Tour in Europe by the end of May.

While on tour Marley performed for the first time in Trinidad and Tobago, The Bahamas, and in Africa.

[edit] Setlist

The standard setlist of the tour mostly looked like the following:

  • "Positive Vibration"
  • "Wake Up And Live"
  • "Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)"
  • "Concrete Jungle"
  • "I Shot The Sheriff"
  • "Running Away" / "Crazy Baldhead" (medley)
  • "Ambush In The Night"
  • "The Heathen"
  • "War" / "No More Trouble"
  • "Africa Unite"
  • "One Drop"
  • "Exodus"
  • "No Woman, No Cry"
  • "Jammin'"
  • "Is This Love?"
  • "Get Up, Stand Up"

At the beginning of the tour which started with seven shows at the Apollo Theater in New York City, Marley varied the setlists much more than later on the tour. Most shows had a standard setlist which closes with "Exodus", and an encore set which usually ended with "Get Up, Stand Up". From show to show sometimes an additional song was edged in the middle or attached at the end of the setlist, like "Ride Natty Ride", "Natty Dread", "Lively Up Yourself", "Roots, Rock, Reggae", "Zimbabwe", "Stir It Up", "Kinky Reggae", "So Much Trouble In The World", "Burnin' And Lootin'", "Natural Mystic", "So Much Things To Say", "Rat Race", "Rebel Music" and "Survival". Live performances of each of these songs happened very rarely during the tour.

[edit] 1979 - Survival Tour

Date Venue City State Notes
October  ? Boston, MA Flag of the United States USA
October Madison Square Garden New York City, NY Flag of the United States USA
October 25 Apollo Theater Harlem, NY Flag of the United States USA 2 shows
October 26 Apollo Theater Harlem, NY Flag of the United States USA 2 shows
October 27 Apollo Theater Harlem, NY Flag of the United States USA 2 shows
October 28 Apollo Theater Harlem, NY Flag of the United States USA
October 31 Colgate University Hamilton, NY Flag of the United States USA
November 1 Maple Leaf Gardens Toronto, ON Flag of Canada Canada
November 2 Forum Concert Bowl Montréal, QC Flag of Canada Canada
November 3 Civic Centre Ottawa, ON Flag of Canada Canada
November 4 Memorial Hall Burlington, VT Flag of the United States USA 2 shows
November 7 Penn Hall Philadelphia, PA Flag of the United States USA with Stevie Wonder; benefit concert for the Black Music Association
November 10 Masonic Temple Detroit, MI Flag of the United States USA with King Sundiata Keita
November 11 Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI Flag of the United States USA
November 12 The Auditorium Milwaukee, WI Flag of the United States USA
November 13 Uptown Theatre Chicago, IL Flag of the United States USA
November 15 Northrop Auditorium Minneapolis, MN Flag of the United States USA
November 17 Kinsmen Friedhouse Edmonton, AB Flag of Canada Canada
November 19 Paramount Theatre Portland, Oregon Flag of the United States USA
November 20 Paramount Theatre Seattle, WA Flag of the United States USA 2 shows
November 21 The Coliseum Vancouver, BC Flag of Canada Canada
November 23 Pauley Pavilion, UCLA Los Angeles, CA Flag of the United States USA
November 24 San Diego Sports Arena San Diego, CA Flag of the United States USA
November 25 Santa Barbara County Bowl Santa Barbara, CA Flag of the United States USA
November 27 The Roxy Theater Los Angeles, CA Flag of the United States USA benefit for Sugar Ray Robinson's foundation
November 30 Oakland Auditorium Arena Oakland, CA Flag of the United States USA with Ronnie Wood and Donald Kinsey
December 1 Freeborn Hall, University of California Sacramento, CA Flag of the United States USA
December 2 Civic Auditorium Santa Cruz, CA Flag of the United States USA 2 shows
December 5 Denver University Arena Denver, CO Flag of the United States USA
December 6 Hoch Auditorium, University of Kansas Lawrence, KS Flag of the United States USA Blue Riddim Band opened
December 7  ? Dallas, TX Flag of the United States USA
December 8 Public Services Association Grounds Port of Spain Flag of Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad/Tobago
December 9  ? Trinidad Flag of Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad/Tobago
December 10 Memorial Gymnasium, Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN Flag of the United States USA
December 11  ? New Orleans, LA Flag of the United States USA
December 12 Fox Theatre Atlanta, GA Flag of the United States USA
December 13 Jai Alai Fronton Tampa, FL Flag of the United States USA
December 15 Queen Elizabeth Sports Center Nassau Flag of the Bahamas Bahamas benefit concert for Bahamian children
January 4 Gymnase Omnisport Bongo Libreville Flag of Gabon Gabon (1980)
January 6 Gymnase Omnisport Bongo Libreville Flag of Gabon Gabon (1980)