| Return of the Spice Girls | ||||
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The Spice Girls performing on their 2007-2008 world tour |
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| Reunion tour by Spice Girls | ||||
| Associated album | Greatest Hits | |||
| Start date | 2 December 2007 | |||
| End date | 26 February 2008 | |||
| Legs | 3 | |||
| Shows | 25 in North America 22 in Europe 47 in total |
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| Spice Girls tour chronology | ||||
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The Return of the Spice Girls was the second Europe-North America concert tour by British girl group the Spice Girls. This reunion tour visited five countries in both North America and Europe.[1] This tour marked the group's first tour since 1999's Christmas in Spiceworld tour of the United Kingdom, and the first as the original five-piece since May 1998. The tour is estimated to have grossed over US$70 million.[2] The tour won the 2008 Billboard Touring Award for Top Boxscore for a 17-night stand at London's O2 Arena.[3]
Contents |
On 28 June 2007 the Spice Girls held a press conference at The O2 in London, formally announcing their intention to reunite as a group,[4] a plan that had long been speculated by the media.[5] During the press conference, the group laid out their plans to embark on a world concert tour that would be seen as a celebration of the group's history and a final farewell to fans.[6]
Initially eleven dates were announced and spanned North America, Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa and South America and fans were informed that they had to pre-register for tickets on the group's website. On 30 September, the successful applicants for the Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Vancouver and London concerts were informed of how they could purchase their tickets, via email and text alerts, from valid ticket vendors. Demand was so high that many dates quickly sold out and three new dates in London were immediately announced after the first date at The O2 sold out in only 38 seconds.[7] Fans who had pre-registered for tickets were given 48 hours to purchase their tickets, after which they went on sale to the general public. In total, a further eighteen dates were announced in Britain, mostly in London, and twenty in the United States and Canada. The official tour logo features the flags from the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, China, Australia, Southafrica, Argentina and the United States.
The group's highest grossing North American city was Toronto, Canada at $6,396,302 with four shows on 3, 4, 25 and 26 February 2008. The last Spice Girls concert also occurred in Toronto, Canada.
The group's biggest international audience on the tour was in New England. The girls performed three shows in the New York area (two on Long Island - Nassau Coliseum, and one in Manhattan - Madison Square Garden), and three shows in the New Jersey area (two in Newark - Prudential Center, and one in East Rutherford - Izod Center), marking this the first time an act has ever played both the Prudential Center in Newark and the Izod Center in East Rutherford at one time, on the same tour. The girls were also scheduled to play the Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall near the end of the tour but the plans to do so were later scrapped.
In late 2007 a fake email was posted by Perez Hilton on his site saying the Spice Girls had cancelled the Buenos Aires date,[8] causing an official statement to be released saying that Buenos Aires and the other world tour dates were being finalized.[9] Due to the expansion of the British and American legs of the tour, it was finally announced on 1 February 2008 that the end of the tour would take place in Toronto, on 26 February 2008, meaning the dates in South America, Asia, Australia, and Africa were cancelled.[10] Many media outlets reported that it was due to Melanie Chisholm and Melanie Brown leaving the group,[11] but this was denied in an official thespicegirls.com video message.[12] The band suffered media backlash,[13] and fan backlash,[14][15] with many fans creating Facebook hate groups speculating the official announcement was "indirect" and that "the Spice Girls and their management knew the dates were cancelled even before they added 16 dates at the O2, deciding to announce it near the end of the tour to minimize controversy."[16] The lack of an official DVD caused some negativity as well.[17] After many e-mails from fans to the management, it was officially announced no official DVD had been recorded at all. Although each Spice Girl has a copy of the tour, Melanie Brown has confirmed on her site the footage of the tour recorded was poor and they felt it was wrong to release a DVD for local distribution.[17]
The show begins with a video introduction of five young girls playing inside a house when they find a magic box. When they open it fireworks appear, the five girls all wish to become pop stars when they grow up, then an instrumental of "Spice Up Your Life" begins as various music videos and press headlines about the Spice Girls are shown, as the video ends the Spice Girls enter the stage on five platforms and perform "Spice Up Your Life" they then perform a mashup of their 1998 hit "Stop" and "It's Like That" by Jason Nevins and Run-DMC the track that famously made "Stop" their only UK single not to reach #1 at that time. After the girls introduce themselves at the end of the second song they perform "Say You'll Be There" remixed with If You Need A Fix by Blackstreet. Their reunion single "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" is the last song in the first act. The second act begins with a Jazz theme for "The Lady Is A Vamp" having a showgirl style performance. An up-tempo Jazz version of their 1997 Christmas Number One "Too Much" is performed inside a pink dressing booth. Before the song a pre-recording is played of the girls exchanging clothes. "2 Become 1" is performed next while the girls dance around pink and white poles. The third act begins with a video of falling money and the titles Baby, Posh, Sporty, Scary and Ginger appear on the screen with their signature themes. Halliwell then enters the stage wearing a Union Jack dress, while Bunton wears a small pink dress, and Chisholm appears wearing a sports track suit. Beckham then appears wearing a little black dress, while Brown wears her trademark leopard print. The song symbolises the height of the Spice Girls in their heyday. Beckham is then left on stage giving a Catwalk / Runway dance to a remix of "Like A Virgin" by Madonna and "Supermodel (You Better Work)" by Ru Paul. Brown then performs solo, taking a male member of the audience and subsequently chains him to a ladder as she performs a cover of "Are You Gonna Go My Way" by Lenny Kravitz. Bunton gives a 1960's inspired performance of her 2004 hit "Maybe". Next, "Viva Forever" is performed with a Latin theme, the song ends with Halliwell exiting the stage early, acknowledging her leaving the band in 1998. "Holler" is then performed by the four remaining members, with a dominatrix theme similar to the video of the song. Halliwell then returns solo to perform her Number One single "It's Raining Men", followed by Chisholm who performs her biggest solo Number One single, "I Turn To You". Brown, Chisholm, Bunton, and Beckham then perform Let Love Lead The Way. Halliwell returns from under the stage at the end of the song. The five girls come together holding hands and walk to centre stage, raising their hands to signify the reunion of the 5 piece and their bond. They then perform Mama with personal photographs of themselves with their Mother's and Children. This is then followed by the "Celebration Medley", a mash-up of "Celebration", "We Are Family", "Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)" and "That's The Way (I Like It)". The Girls then perform their 1998 Christmas Number One "Goodbye". The Encore begins with "If U Cant Dance" with the girls wearing a different coloured robe. The girls then take off their robes to reveal glittery outfits to perform their biggest hit "Wannabe". Finally they perform a heavily remixed version of "Spice Up Your Life" - replacing the last line of the song with "Hi Si Ja - Goodnight!" The girls then disappear underneath the stage and the show ends with the slogan "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED"
Act 1: The Power of Five (contains samples from "Spice Up Your Life")
Act 2: Seduce Me (contains samples from The Pink Panther)
Act 3: Bittersweet (contains samples from the motion picture Blade Runner)
Act 4: Supergirls
Act 5: Celebration
Act 6: Encore
| Date | City | Country | Venue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America[18] | ||||
| 2 December 2007 | Vancouver | Canada | General Motors Place | |
| 4 December 2007 | San Jose | United States | HP Pavilion at San Jose | |
| 5 December 2007 | Los Angeles | Staples Center | ||
| 7 December 2007 | ||||
| 8 December 2007 | Las Vegas | Mandalay Bay Events Center | ||
| 9 December 2007 | ||||
| 11 December 2007 | ||||
| Europe[18] | ||||
| 15 December 2007 | London | England | The O2 | |
| 16 December 2007 | ||||
| 18 December 2007 | ||||
| 20 December 2007 | Cologne | Germany | Kölnarena | |
| 23 December 2007 | Madrid | Spain | Telefónica Arena | |
| 2 January 2008 | London | England | The O2 | |
| 3 January 2008 | ||||
| 4 January 2008 | ||||
| 6 January 2008 | ||||
| 8 January 2008 | ||||
| 9 January 2008 | ||||
| 11 January 2008 | ||||
| 12 January 2008 | ||||
| 13 January 2008 | ||||
| 15 January 2008 | ||||
| 16 January 2008 | ||||
| 18 January 2008 | ||||
| 20 January 2008 | ||||
| 22 January 2008 | ||||
| 23 January 2008 | Manchester | Manchester Evening News Arena | ||
| 24 January 2008 | ||||
| 26 January 2008 | ||||
| North America[18] | ||||
| 30 January 2008 | Boston | United States | TD Banknorth Garden | |
| 31 January 2008 | Montréal | Canada | Bell Centre | |
| 3 February 2008 | Toronto | Air Canada Centre | ||
| 4 February 2008 | ||||
| 6 February 2008 | Uniondale | United States | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum | |
| 7 February 2008 | ||||
| 10 February 2008 | Newark | Prudential Center | ||
| 11 February 2008 | ||||
| 13 February 2008 | East Rutherford | Izod Center | ||
| 15 February 2008 | Chicago | United Center | ||
| 16 February 2008 | Auburn Hills | Palace of Auburn Hills | ||
| 18 February 2008 | New York City | Madison Square Garden | ||
| 19 February 2008 | Philadelphia | Wachovia Center | ||
| 21 February 2008 | Washington, D.C. | Verizon Center | ||
| 22 February 2008 | Hartford | XL Center | ||
| 24 February 2008 | Montréal | Canada | Bell Centre | |
| 25 February 2008 | Toronto | Air Canada Centre | ||
| 26 February 2008 | ||||
| Venue | City | Tickets Sold / Available | Gross Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Motors Place | Vancouver | 13,369 / 13,369 (100%) | $1,440,569 |
| HP Pavilion at San Jose | San Jose | 11,316 / 11,316 (100%) | $1,169,331 |
| Staples Center | Los Angeles | 24,502 / 24,502 (100%) | $2,673,311 |
| Mandalay Bay Events Center | Las Vegas | 18,342 / 19,700 (93%) | $2,183,383 |
| The O2 | London | 256,647 / 256,647 (100%) | $33,829,250 |
| Manchester Evening News Arena | Manchester | 41,323 / 41,323 (100%) | $5,388,122 |
| TD Banknorth Garden | Boston | 11,774 / 11,774 (100%) | $1,304,787 |
| Bell Centre | Montreal | 20,032 / 23,971 (84%) | $2,114,189 |
| Air Canada Centre | Toronto | 58,368 / 58,368 (100%) | $6,396,302 |
| Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum | Uniondale | 22,622 / 24,207 (93%) | $2,427,714 |
| Prudential Center | Newark | 23,430 / 25,143 (93%) | $2,565,726 |
| Izod Center | East Rutherford | 13,894 / 13,894 (100%) | $1,457,542 |
| United Center | Chicago | 13,205 / 13,205 (100%) | $1,396,051 |
| Palace of Auburn Hills | Auburn Hills | 9,859 / 11,100 (89%) | $1,043,194 |
| Madison Square Garden | New York City | 12,558 / 12,558 (100%) | $1,491,141 |
| Wachovia Center | Philadelphia | 10,652 / 13,938 (76%) | $1,166,854 |
| Verizon Center | Washington, D.C. | 12,435 / 12,435 (100%) | $1,355,892 |
| XL Center | Hartford | 5,727 / 7,659 (74%) | $2,673,311 |
| TOTAL | 580,055 / 595,109 (97%) | $70,004,738 |
Source:[19]
The original tour dates were as follows:
| Date | City | Country |
|---|---|---|
| North America | ||
| 7 December 2007 | Los Angeles | United States |
| 8 December 2007 | Las Vegas | |
| 11 December 2007 | New York City | |
| Europe | ||
| 15 December 2007 | London | England |
| 20 December 2007 | Cologne | Germany |
| 23 December 2007 | Madrid | Spain |
| Asia | ||
| 10 January 2008 | Beijing | China |
| 12 January 2008 | Hong Kong | |
| Australia | ||
| 17 January 2008 | Sydney | Australia |
| Africa | ||
| 20 January 2008 | Cape Town | South Africa |
| South America | ||
| 24 January 2008 | Buenos Aires | Argentina |
BBC Radio 2 recorded shows on 15 December & December 16. An hour-long "highlights special" was broadcast on 22 December and 31 December 2007, that included eleven of the twenty-two songs performed.[21] It was confirmed on the Spice Girls official website that there will not be a DVD release.[22] However, Halliwell mentioned in 2009 that each of the girls have their own copy of a DVD. The following songs were aired by BBC2:
All of their solo performances were omitted along with the medley and "Who Do You Think You Are", "The Lady Is A Vamp", "Let Love Lead The Way", "Goodbye" and "If U Can't Dance".
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