25 Live

25 Live
Tour by George Michael
Associated album TwentyFive
Start date 23 September 2006
End date 1 December 2008
Legs 3
Shows 106
George Michael tour chronology
Cover to Cover tour
(1991)
25 Live
(2006–2008)
George Michael Live in Australia
(2010)

25 Live was a concert tour by English singer / songwriter George Michael. The tour was the most commercially successful tour of 2006–2007 in Europe. The tour has grossed over $200 million, with positive reviews from music critics. The 106 tour shows were performed in 41 countries and seen by 2 million fans across the globe.[1]

Contents

History

It was George Michael's first in over 15 years. The tour, running for 50 dates, began in Barcelona, Spain on 23 September and was originally to be ended at Wembley Arena in London, England in December, but—due to great feedback from fans—continued into 2007 providing more gigs throughout Europe, concluding in Belfast. The tour is described as "a celebration of his 25-year career in music", and was accompanied by a Greatest Hits album, released in late 2006. The news of the tour came amid increased media speculation about Michael's personal life, in particular his drug use and sex life. After the success of the autumn leg, new shows were added for summer 2007, in large arenas and stadiums. Popstar Sophie Ellis-Bextor was announced as the supporting act for 6 of the 8 UK shows. She will not open the show at Wembley Stadium as George is to be the first artist ever to play in the new stadium.

On 25 March 2008 a Third Leg of the 25 LIVE Tour was announced for North America. This leg included 21 dates in the United States and Canada. This was Michael's first tour of North America in 17 years. The tour coincided with the 1 April 2008 release of his new Greatest Hits album.

The tour ended with two concerts at Earls Court in London named "The Final Two". Wham! fans would recognise the reference to Wham!'s last gig at Wembley Arena in London in 1986, The Final. Another final concert was later announced. The concert was held in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 30 August and called The Final One. Australian dates were added in November 2009, involving stops in Perth, Sydney, and later Melbourne in February/March 2010.

Ticket Sales

Ticket sales in the UK and Europe have been brisk. Within two hours of initial sales, 240,000 tickets were snatched up by eager fans. First to sell out were UK shows in London's Wembley Arena and Earls Court as well as Birmingham's NEC Arena and Manchester's MEN Arena. The large capacity Manchester Evening News Arena show sold out within minutes, and the two 25 Live dates added to the venue were sold out by lunchtime. To meet demand, 14 gigs were added to the tour, including three additional shows in London alone. George Michael's dates around Europe were met with equally extraordinary enthusiasm. In Norway, the Oslo show at the Spektrum sold out in an hour and a half. In Copenhagen, 49,000 tickets sold out at the Parken venue in just 3 hrs. The first Rotterdam concert at Ahoy Arena sold out in a mere 6 minutes, and the second saw tickets vanish in 16 minutes. In fact, a third Rotterdam show was added by popular demand that also sold out in 16 minutes. This unprecedented response has stood out as the fastest sell of tickets ever experienced by Barrie Marshall, whose London-based promotion firm, Marshall Arts Limited, has been promoting shows for 30 years. George Michael's 47-date European tour kicks off on 23 September in Barcelona, culminating with four dates at London's Wembley Arena.

The 25 Live tour broke several ticket sales records, most notably in Copenhagen. Michael's concert at The Parken Stadium sold over 50,000 tickets in the matter of minutes, shattering the previous ticket sales record at the venue, formerly held by U2.

In North America, Although ticket sales waren't fast as they were in Europe, every venue was sold out in time for the concert. For a period of 25 hours during the week leading up to the Los Angeles Show on 25 June 2008, tickets were sold for a promotional price of $25.00 (down from $95) in celebration of George Michael's birthday, 25 June 1963.

All the tickets for the Final Two shows in London, England and the Finale One show in Denmark where sold out in 2 hours.

Ticket sales for the Australian leg were also brisk, the concerts in Perth at the 25,000 seat Burswood Dome and the 42,000 seat Sydney Football Stadium both being sellouts.

The Finals

On 11 June 2008 2 dates were added, titled "The final two", taking place in Earls Court, London on 24 August and 25 August 2008. These concerts were filmed for a 25 Live DVD release entitled "Live in London".

On 30 June 2008 George Michael announces one last show in Copenhagen at Copenhagen's Parken Stadium on 30 August. This special performance, entitled "The Final One", allowed Michael to say "thank you" to his loyal fans, not only in Scandinavia, but also across Europe.

On 1 November 2008 George Michael announced another last concert. This time it was held at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on 1 December 2008 in Abu Dhabi, UAE. It was the first event to be held at the new stadium and was billed as the biggest concert ever held in the UAE. It was also his first concert in the Middle East. The event also helped to launch National Day celebrations and an outdoor extravaganza of fireworks and lasers gave fans a spectacular and unforgettable experience.

These concerts were the last time George Michael embarked on extensive touring.

Set list

First leg

  1. "Waiting (Reprise)"
  2. "Flawless (Go to the City)"
  3. "Fastlove"
  4. "Father Figure"
  5. "Star People '97"
  6. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"
  7. "Praying for Time"
  8. "Too Funky"
  9. "You Have Been Loved"
  10. "Everything She Wants"
  11. "My Mother Had a Brother"
  12. "Shoot the Dog"
    Break
  13. "Faith"
  14. "Spinning the Wheel"
  15. "Jesus to a Child"
  16. "An Easier Affair"
  17. "A Different Corner"
  18. "Amazing"
  19. "I'm Your Man"
  20. "Outside
    Encore
  21. "Careless Whisper"
  22. "Freedom! '90"

Second leg

  1. "Waiting (Reprise)"
  2. "Flawless (Go to the City)"
  3. "Fastlove"
  4. "Precious Box"
  5. "Father Figure"
  6. "Everything She Wants"
  7. "Ticking"
  8. "Praying for Time"
  9. "Too Funky"
  10. "Star People"
  11. "Shoot the Dog"
    Break
  12. "Faith"
  13. "Spinning the Wheel"
  14. "An Easier Affair"
  15. "Jesus to a Child"
  16. "Amazing"
  17. "I'm Your Man"
  18. "Outside"
    Encore
  19. "Careless Whisper"
  20. "Freedom! '90"

Third leg

  1. "Waiting (Reprise)"
  2. "Fastlove"
  3. "I'm Your Man"
  4. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"
  5. "Father Figure"
  6. "Hard Day"
  7. "Everything She Wants"
  8. "One More Try"
  9. "A Different Corner"
  10. "An Easier Affair"
  11. "Too Funky"
  12. "Star People'97"
    Break
  13. "Faith"
  14. "Feeling Good"
  15. "Roxanne"
  16. "Spinning the Wheel"
  17. "Kissing a Fool"
  18. "Amazing"
  19. "Flawless (Go to the City)"
  20. "Outside
  21. "Praying For Time"
    Encore
  22. "Careless Whisper"
  23. "Freedom 90"

The Finals

  1. "Waiting (Reprise)"
  2. "Fastlove"
  3. "I'm Your Man"
  4. "Father Figure"
  5. "You Have Been Loved"
  6. "Everything She Wants"
  7. "Precious Box"
  8. "One More Try"
  9. "Jesus to a Child"
  10. "An Easier Affair"
  11. "Too Funky"
  12. "Shoot the Dog"
    Break
  13. "Faith"
  14. "Spinning the Wheel"
  15. "Feeling Good"
  16. "Roxanne"
  17. "My Mother Had a Brother"
  18. "Kissing a Fool"
  19. "Amazing"
  20. "Flawless (Go to the City)"
  21. "Fantasy"
  22. "Outside"
    Encore
  23. "Careless Whisper"
  24. "Freedom! '90"

Personnel

The band

Management and production

Promoters

Tour dates

Europe

Date City Country Venue
23 September 2006 Barcelona Spain Palau Sant Jordi
26 September 2006 Madrid Spain Palacio de Deportes
29 September 2006 Toulouse France Zenith de Toulouse
30 September 2006 Toulon France Zenith Omega
2 October 2006 Lyon France Halle Tony Garnier
5 October 2006 Milan Italy Forum Milano
6 October 2006 Milan Italy Forum Milano
9 October 2006 Paris France Bercy
10 October 2006 Paris France Bercy
13 October 2006 Metz France Galaxie
14 October 2006 Stuttgart Germany Schleyerhalle
16 October 2006 Leipzig Germany Leipzig Arena
17 October 2006 Oberhausen Germany Oberhausen Arena
20 October 2006 Gothenburg Sweden Scandinavium
21 October 2006 Oslo Norway Oslo Spektrum
22 October 2006 Stockholm Sweden Globen
25 October 2006 Frankfurt Germany Festhalle
26 October 2006 Zürich Switzerland Hallenstadion
29 October 2006 Munich Germany Olympiahalle
1 November 2006 Rotterdam Netherlands Ahoy
2 November 2006 Rotterdam Netherlands Ahoy
4 November 2006 Rotterdam Netherlands Ahoy
6 November 2006 Berlin Germany Velodrom
7 November 2006 Hamburg Germany Color Line Arena
9 November 2006 Mannheim Germany SAP Arena
11 November 2006 Copenhagen Denmark Parken
13 November 2006 Cologne Germany Cologne Arena
14 November 2006 Antwerp Belgium Sports Paleis
17 November 2006 Manchester United Kingdom MEN Arena
18 November 2006 Manchester United Kingdom MEN Arena
21 November 2006 Manchester United Kingdom MEN Arena
22 November 2006 Glasgow United Kingdom SECC Arena
25 November 2006 London United Kingdom Earls Court
26 November 2006 London United Kingdom Earls Court
28 November 2006 London United Kingdom Earls Court
2 December 2006 Birmingham United Kingdom NEC Arena
3 December 2006 Birmingham United Kingdom NEC Arena
4 December 2006 Birmingham United Kingdom NEC Arena
7 December 2006 Dublin Ireland The Point
8 December 2006 Dublin Ireland The Point
11 December 2006 London United Kingdom Wembley Arena
12 December 2006 London United Kingdom Wembley Arena
14 December 2006 London United Kingdom Wembley Arena
15 December 2006 London United Kingdom Wembley Arena

Europe #2

Date City Country Venue
12 May 2007 Coimbra Portugal Estádio Cidade de Coimbra
18 May 2007 Aarhus Denmark NRGi Park
19 May 2007 Aarhus Denmark NRGi Park
23 May 2007 Budapest Hungary Stadium Puskás Ferenc
25 May 2007 Bratislava Slovakia Inter Football Stadium
28 May 2007 Sofia Bulgaria Lokomotiv Stadium
31 May 2007 Bucharest Romania Lia Manoliu
2 June 2007 Prague Czech Republic Strahov Stadium
2 June 2007 Katowice Poland Spodek
6 June 2007 Dublin Ireland RDS Arena
7 June 2007 Dublin Ireland RDS Arena
9 June 2007 London United Kingdom Wembley Stadium
10 June 2007 London United Kingdom Wembley Stadium
12 June 2007 Norwich United Kingdom Carrow Road
15 June 2007 Manchester United Kingdom City of Manchester Stadium
17 June 2007 Glasgow United Kingdom Hampden Park
19 June 2007 Plymouth United Kingdom Home Park
22 June 2007 Paris France Stade de France
23 June 2007 Antwerp Belgium Sportpaleis
26 June 2007 Amsterdam Netherlands Amsterdam Arena
29 June 2007 Stockholm Sweden Globe Arena
1 July 2007 Helsinki Finland Hartwall Arena
5 July 2007 Moscow Russia Olympisky Stadium
6 July 2007 Moscow Russia Olympisky Stadium
9 July 2007 Kiev Ukraine Olympic Stadium
10 July 2007 Warsaw Poland Służewiec
12 July 2007 Warsaw Poland Służewiec
13 July 2007 Vienna Austria Stadthalle
15 July 2007 Nuremberg Germany EasyCredit-Stadion
17 July 2007 Padua Italy Stadio Plebiscito
19 July 2007 Lucca Italy Stadio Porta Elisa
21 July 2007 Rome Italy Stadio Olimpico
26 July 2007 Athens Greece OAKA Olympic Stadium
4 August 2007 Belfast United Kingdom Odyssey Arena

North America

Date City Country Venue
17 June 2008 San Diego United States San Diego Sports Arena
19 June 2008 San Jose United States HP Pavilion
21 June 2008 Las Vegas United States MGM Grand Garden Arena
22 June 2008 Phoenix United States U.S. Airways Center
25 June 2008 Los Angeles United States The Forum
27 June 2008 Anaheim United States Honda Center
2 July 2008 Seattle United States KeyArena
4 July 2008 Vancouver Canada General Motors Place
7 July 2008 Saint Paul United States XCEL Energy Center
9 July 2008 Chicago United States United Center
13 July 2008 Dallas United States American Airlines Center
14 July 2008 Houston United States Toyota Center
17 July 2008 Toronto Canada Air Canada Centre
18 July 2008 Montreal Canada Bell Centre
21 July 2008 New York City United States Madison Square Garden
23 July 2008 New York City United States Madison Square Garden
26 July 2008 Philadelphia United States Wachovia Center
27 July 2008 Boston United States TD Banknorth Garden
29 July 2008 Washington United States Verizon Center
31 July 2008 Atlanta United States Philips Arena
2 August 2008 Tampa United States Times Forum
3 August 2008 Fort Lauderdale United States BankAtlantic Center

The Finals

Date City Country Venue
24 August 2008 London United Kingdom Earls Court
25 August 2008 London United Kingdom Earls Court
30 August 2008 Copenhagen Denmark Parken Stadium
1 December 2008 Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates Zayed Sports City Stadium

Critical reception

The tour received positive reviews, with praise for the set list and all over production of the show.

Features

Trivia

References

Notes

External links