Lando 
Posted on 03/18/2005 8:20:39 PM PST by freedom44
This summer, get ready to travel back in time. Although there have been package tours featuring '80s artists for years, the upcoming summer concert season marks a notable increase. Promoters say the acts' multigenerational appeal, strong catalog of hits and, perhaps most important, reasonable ticket prices are propelling the upswing.
As previously reported, the eighth annual Rock Never Stops tour, scheduled to hit 2,500- to 5,000-seat theaters in at least 40 cities starting in June, will feature Cinderella, Ratt, Quiet Riot and Firehouse.
Also in June, Def Leppard and Bryan Adams are launching a 26-date co-headlining tour of minor league ballparks.
"When we started eight years ago, this style of rock'n'roll was niche. There weren't a lot of people banging our doors down," says Mark Hyman, a partner at Paradise Artists, creator of the Rock Never Stops tour. "The fans used to be embarrassed to come; they didn't want people to know they love the music. With Motley Crue out there packing them in, that tells you that this music has once again arrived."
So-called "hair bands" and other rockers from the 1980s are rising in popularity on the touring circuit because their initial fans continue to go to concerts.
The 2003 edition of Rock Never Stops, with Whitesnake, Warrant, Kip Winger and Slaughter, grossed about $1.1 million and attracted nearly 85,000 people for 24 dates, according to Billboard Boxscore. Full results were not reported for the tour's 2004 outing.
Fans are now bringing their children to these shows, and a new generation is developing strong connections to these acts.
"These bands are the new classic rock of the current era," says John Domagall, manager of Firehouse at Artists Representation & Management and a former promoter for Rock Never Stops. "The people that really listen to those '70s artists aren't going to as many concerts. The demo for the '80s stuff are mostly in their 30s and 40s, and they are warmly receiving these acts. I've also got 12-year-olds wanting to see Motley Crue and Lynyrd Skynyrd so bad."
The shows themselves are also more theatrical, and perceived to be a good deal by consumers. Tickets for Rock Never Stops range from $35 to $45. Def Leppard/Adams has a base price of $45. Tim Heyne, Cinderella's manager at Union Entertainment Group, notes, "We will have pyro and other special things for Rock Never Stops. You're going to get a lot of pop for your dollar."
At each Def Leppard/Adams stop, a stage will be built on the field, and fans can sit in the outfield or in the stands. "Everybody wants to play Madison Square Garden, but there's a point when you want to do something that's a little different," Def Leppard lead singer Joe Elliott offers. The band's two-disc set "Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection" (Mercury/UME) will be released May 17.
Elliott says that although Def Leppard has generally toured alone, pairing with Adams makes sense and is even a way to draw in new fans. "A Bon Jovi or a Bryan Adams is what people would perceive is a right fit for us," he says. "We're comfortable accepting the way people think."
Let it Rock! Let it Roll! Let it Go!............
I'm looking forward to Def Lep and Bryan Adams coming to my town!... DL is one of the few groups I have been wanting to see and haven't been able... This will be #3 for seeing Bryan..
Neil Diamond is touring overseas through June and ill be gin his 50-city USA tour in July.
You heard it here! ;-)
My back hurts, and my knee is throbbing because it's gonna rain soon.
one word....EAGLES!!!
Lando
I went and saw Rush on their Vapor Trails tour, and that was a great show. They're not exactly an 80s band, though.
It would appear that now is the time for a revival of the concept, only time-shifted twenty years.
-ccm
I went to my 15 year high school reunion last summer. It was really kind of creepy because of all these old people there, he-he-he. A radio station in Indianapolis just this past week changed it's format from 50's and 60's oldies to 70's and 80's oldies.
GEN-X Ping
I saw the Ratt/Poison tour a few years ago. Maybe there'll be a Styx 'n Stones tour eventually.
"Wishing" was on of my favorites...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/totp/artists/a/a_flock_of_seagulls/video/a_flock_of_seagulls_wishing.ram
I would click that link but I have to go give my cat a bath.
Neither is Journey.
They're awesome! I just took my two teenage daughters to see them in San Diego and they were incredible. They're gorgeous still AND they are really talented musicians. Something unheard of in today's pop music scene.
Simon LeBon forever!!!
I swear I'm not a teenage girl...;)
I had a strong sense as I read your headline that . . .
how to put it . . .
before the summer is over . . . Hollyweed will seem like
the paragon example of irrelevant, chaff, hideous-upside-down-values . . . perhaps even of evil by comparison with real life events compared to Hollyweed make-believe.
I hope, in some respects, that I'm wrong.
Am curious if anyone else has felt anything similar about the summer:
I had a strong sense as I read your headline that . . .
how to put it . . .
before the summer is over . . . Hollyweed will seem like
the paragon example of irrelevant, chaff, hideous-upside-down-values . . . perhaps even of evil by comparison with real life events compared to Hollyweed make-believe.
I hope, in some respects, that I'm wrong.
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