Heart of Stone Tour

The Heart of Stone Tour was the second solo concert tour by American singer-actress Cher. The tour supported her twenty-first studio album, Heart of Stone. A mini tour was set up in the summer 1989, and a second leg started in 1990. The tour reached North America, Australia and Europe and grossed over $40 million.

Heart of Stone Tour
Tour by Cher
Associated albumHeart of Stone
Start dateAugust 16, 1989
End dateDecember 4, 1990
Legs4
No. of shows72 in North America
6 in Europe
11 in Oceania
89 in total
Box office$40 million ($78.28 million in 2019 dollars)[1]
Cher concert chronology

Background

The Heart of Stone Tour was Cher's most ambitious solo tour, after an 8-year absence, and spanned eight months, three continents plus two casinos, the Sands Hotel in Atlantic City and The Mirage in Las Vegas. It was, in Cher's own words, "a cross between Phantom of the Opera and Metallica".[2] Her then-manager Bill Sammeth first set up a mini August tour in 1989, including stops in Detroit, Philadelphia, Chicago, Long Island, Providence, and Atlantic City. In eight shows, grosses of $200,000-plus per night were made before audiences of 8,000–11,500. After the filming of Mermaids, Cher resumed a bigger leg. The tour had been scheduled to open March 18 in Tucson, but the date was changed when the influenza threw Cher off her rehearsal schedule. Cher finally kicked off the North American leg of the tour in Dallas on March 31, 1990. The tour ran through to August 1990, and then proceeded to Europe and Australia in October and November.

Cher sang in eight shows, during a six-night engagement, at the 1,500-seat theatre of The Mirage.

Reception

The New York Times wrote of Heart of Stone Tour, "Her show is a kind of Las Vegas mystery play with a message: Trust yourself, don't give up on life or love, and eternal celebrity can be yours."[3]

Set list
  1. "I'm No Angel"
  2. "Hold On"
  3. "We All Sleep Alone"
  4. "Bang-Bang"
  5. "I Found Someone"
  6. "Perfection"
  7. "Tougher Than the Rest"
  8. "After All"
  9. "If I Could Turn Back Time"
Encore
  1. "Many Rivers to Cross"
  2. "Heart of Stone"
  3. "Takin' It to the Streets"
Notes
Source:[4]

Tour dates
Date City Country Venue Tickets sold / available Revenue
North America [5]
August 16, 1989 Atlantic City United States Sands Hotel N/A N/A
August 17, 1989
August 18, 1989
August 19, 1989
August 20, 1989
August 23, 1989 Holmdel Township Garden State Arts Center N/A N/A
August 25, 1989 Detroit Fox Theatre 9,376 / 9,376 $317,368
August 26, 1989
August 27, 1989 Cuyahoga Falls Blossom Music Center N/A N/A
August 29, 1989 Philadelphia Mann Music Center 8,372 / 13,243 $205,789
August 30, 1989 Hartford Hartford Civic Center 11,577 / 11,577 $262,002
August 31, 1989 Wantagh Jones Beach Theater 10,000 / 10,000 $254,625
September 2, 1989 Saratoga Springs Saratoga Performing Arts Center N/A N/A
September 4, 1989 Bristol Lake Compounce
March 31, 1990 Dallas Coca-Cola Starplex Amphitheatre 11,511 / 20,000 $252,778
April 1, 1990 Houston The Summit N/A N/A
April 2, 1990 Austin Frank Erwin Center
April 4, 1990 Pensacola Pensacola Civic Center
April 6, 1990 Atlanta Omni Coliseum
April 7, 1990 Orlando Orlando Arena
April 8, 1990 Tampa USF Sun Dome
April 11, 1990 Miami James L. Knight Center 10,024 / 10,024 $352,838
April 12, 1990
April 27, 1990 Atlantic City Copa Room 2,550 / 2,550 N/A
April 28, 1990
April 29, 1990
May 1, 1990 Providence Providence Civic Center 9,642 / 12,100 $221,776
May 2, 1990 Landover Capital Centre 9,728 / 18,000 $243,200
May 4, 1990 Atlantic City Copa Room 1,700 / 1,700 N/A
May 5, 1990
May 7, 1990 Rochester Rochester Community War Memorial 8,884 / 8,884 $213,150
May 9, 1990 Albany Knickerbocker Arena 12,998 / 12,998 $280,637
May 10, 1990 Uniondale Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 13,250 / 17,000 $348,560
May 12, 1990 East Rutherford Brendan Byrne Arena 16,987 / 16,987 $408,267
May 13, 1990 Worcester Centrum in Worcester 12,000 / 12,000 $294,212
May 15, 1990 Niagara Falls Niagara Falls Convention and Civic Center 7,960 / 7,960 $197,250
May 16, 1990 Pittsburgh Civic Arena 12,880 / 16,000 N/A
May 19, 1990 Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills 16,739 / 16,739 $380,778
May 20, 1990 Cincinnati Riverfront Coliseum 9,638 / 17,000 $212,036
June 1, 1990 St. Louis St. Louis Arena 11,258 / 13,072 $255,816
June 2, 1990 Tinley Park World Music Theatre 16,870 / 28,000 $374,750
June 4, 1990 Bloomington Met Center 9,810 / 17,000 $224,472
June 5, 1990 Ames Hilton Coliseum 9,368 / 10,300 $210,780
June 9, 1990 Greenwood Village Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre N/A N/A
June 14, 1990 Las Vegas Siegfried & Roy Theatre
June 15, 1990
June 16, 1990
June 17, 1990
June 18, 1990
June 19, 1990
June 21, 1990 San Diego San Diego Sports Arena
June 29, 1990 Tempe ASU Activity Center
July 6, 1990 Milwaukee Marcus Amphitheater
July 7, 1990 Toledo Savage Hall
July 9, 1990 Richfield Township Coliseum at Richfield
July 11, 1990 Indianapolis Market Square Arena
July 12, 1990 Lexington Rupp Arena
July 16, 1990 Wantagh Jones Beach Theater
July 17, 1990 Philadelphia The Spectrum
July 20, 1990 Bristol Lake Compounce
July 26, 1990 Moncton Canada Moncton Coliseum
July 27, 1990 Halifax Halifax Metro Centre
July 29, 1990 Old Orchard Beach United States Seashore Performing Arts Center
August 11, 1990 Sacramento ARCO Arena
August 12, 1990 Oakland Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 9,040 / 13,453 $238,900
August 14, 1990 Spokane Spokane Coliseum N/A N/A
August 15, 1990 Tacoma Tacoma Dome
August 17, 1990 Salem L. B. Day Amphitheatre
August 18, 1990 Vancouver Canada Pacific Coliseum
August 20, 1990 Calgary Olympic Saddledome 13,218 / 17,000 $304,416
August 21, 1990 Edmonton Northlands Coliseum N/A N/A
August 25, 1990 Ottawa Lansdowne Park 11,382 / 12,000 $298,461
August 28, 1990 Montreal Montreal Forum 8,086 / 10,233 $230,447
August 29, 1990 Toronto CNE Grandstand N/A N/A
Europe
October 14, 1990 Dublin Ireland Point Theatre N/A N/A
October 16, 1990 London England Wembley Arena
October 17, 1990
October 19, 1990
October 21, 1990 Birmingham NEC Arena
October 23, 1990
Australia
November 14, 1990 Adelaide Australia Memorial Drive Park N/A N/A
November 16, 1990 Sydney Sydney Entertainment Centre
November 17, 1990
November 19, 1990
November 20, 1990
November 21, 1990
November 23, 1990 Melbourne National Tennis Centre
November 24, 1990
November 26, 1990
November 27, 1990
November 28, 1990
North America
December 2, 1990 Las Vegas United States Siegfried & Roy Theatre N/A N/A
December 3, 1990
December 4, 1990

Additional notes

Prior to the opening concert of the Australian leg of her concert in Adelaide on November 14, Cher also performed the after race concert at the conclusion of the 1990 Australian Formula One Grand Prix on November 4. The concert was held on the Christian Brothers College Oval in the middle of the Adelaide Street Circuit and a ticket to the race granted free entry to the show.

Cancellations: Cher had to cancel her tour in Russia, two days after the tickets were sold. She was rumored to cancel dates in Brazil and Argentina as well.

Personnel
  • Show Directed by Kenny Ortega
  • Artistic Director: Marty Callner
  • Musical Director: Gary Scott
  • Set Designer: Kenny Ortega
  • Costume Design: Bob Mackie
  • Additional Costumes: Ret Turner
  • Additional Costumes: Mike Schmidt
  • Make-up: Leonard Engelman
  • Hair: Renate Leuschner
  • Keyboards: Paul Mirkovich
  • Guitar: Elijah Blue Allman
  • Guitar: Dave Amato
  • Guitar: David Shelley
  • Bass: Hugh McDonald
  • Drums: Ron Wikso
  • Lead Vocals: Cher
  • Backing Vocalist: Darlene Love
  • Backing Vocalist: Pattie Darcy Jones
  • Backing Vocalist: Edna Wright
  • Dancers: Bubba Carr
  • Dancers: Aaron Cash
  • Dancers: Bill Holden Jr.
  • Dancers: Trish Ramish
  • Dancers: Michelle Rudy
  • Dancers: Peter Tramm
  • Dancers: Eyan Williams
  • Dancers: Troy Burgess

Broadcasts and recordings
Main articles: Cher Extravaganza: Live at the Mirage and Live at the Mirage

Only a few dates during this tour were recorded and kept. The shows that we know were definitely recorded are:

Pensacola Civic Center, Pensacola, Florida, USA
Cher's 1990 Pensacola, Florida date was one of the concerts recorded as told by Cher herself on the 2005 release of the Mirage Special. During this concert, Cher's microphone does not work during the opening. There is no known copy of this concert in circulation and the only footage available is on the Mirage concert DVD. It is under the title of blooper in the bonus features and features only the concert intro and snippet of 'I'm No Angel'.

Mirage Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Cher's two concerts at the Mirage Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada were filmed as part of Cher's CBS special to be shown on television. These shows saw some of Cher's more conservative alternatives to her mainstream tour outfits, somewhat more suitable for a TV audience. Cher's outfit for 'If I Could Turn Back Time' is notably different as is Cher's opening outfit which seems more formal interpretation of the original. The stage shape was also altered for these shows, with runways forming two audience pits which joined at the centre. The TV Special was aired February 4, 1991."[6]

Jones Beach Amphitheater, Wantagh, New York, USA
This concert was filmed to be used in part with the 'Prime Time Live' Cher Tour special. The show featured interviews with Cher and backstage rehearsal footage. The program then cut live to the concert where 'If I Could Turn Back Time' was performed. There are copies in circulation of this uncut concert but nothing commercial. It is reasonably difficult to obtain a copy other than from fan trades etc. The show features fewer songs than Cher's Mirage Special, but does include the original tour outfits.

Melbourne Tennis Center, Melbourne, Australia
This concert was broadcast live via satellite to Australia's Sky Channel members. The concert was shown in its entirety and uncut form, only once on television. Little is known about this show other than it features extra performances of Desperado and Love Hurts.

Dallas, Texas, USA
Footage from this concert was shown during the April 3, 1990 episode of Entertainment Tonight. They labelled the tour as "Cher Tour 1990" and the Dallas show as opening night. The show also showed backstage rehearsals the night before the opening.

Other Recordings
Other shows that haven't been identified were recorded on the tour which were used primarily for promotional use on programs such as Entertainment Tonight and Prime Time Live. The same footage shown on Prime Time Live has also been included as bonus features for some of the songs on the Mirage DVD release. The tour footage of the bonus songs on the Mirage DVD shows a different backing singer to any other footage.

Rehearsal footage

During the promotion of the tour, many television programs such as Entertainment Tonight went backstage showing the construction and rehearsal of the set. There is a fair amount of rehearsal footage considering the little amount of the tour that was filmed.Rehearsal footage is available as a second angle option in the 2005 release of her Mirage concert. The show was filmed on Cher's personal video camera in front of a small non-paying audience. The show at this stage is only in its development stages and the footage is used by Cher as a "work tape" for her to see where she can improve. During certain songs such as "I Found Someone" and "Takin' It to the Streets" in the original VHS and DVD releases, shots of Cher rehearsing for her Mirage shows were shown in black and white. Due to the fact the shots were shown over the concert, the original audio is not available although it does show Cher rehearsing her dance moves for the end track.In 1990 Prime Time Live did a special about Cher's upcoming tour. As well as showing clips from the tour and a satellite performance from the concert that night, footage of Cher rehearsing was also shown. It's not clear which show she was actually in sound check for, but during the rehearsal she requested the overall level of the band to be reduced.Footage from the Dallas, Texas rehearsals was shown with an Entertainment Tonight report on Cher's tour. It showed Cher practising her dance steps for her closing number and also miscues during the runthrough. The US TV show After Hours also showed rehearsal footage of songs such as "After All", "Hold On" and "I'll Be There For You" during an interview promoting the tour. The shots were possibly taken for her Atlantic City show as Cher mentions that that is where she is when being interview although this is not certain.

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References
  1. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  2. Page, Janice (September 5, 1989). "Phantom of Opera Meets... Metallica". Providence Journal. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
  3. Pareles, Jon (May 12, 1990). "Review/Music; Yearning and Self-Reliance by Cher". The New York Times. p. 13.
  4. Parales, Jon (May 12, 1991). "Yearning and Self-Reliance by Cher". The New York Times. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
  5. Heart of Stone Tour
  6. O'Connor, John J. (February 4, 1991). "A Potpourri of Cher's Mood Swings". The New York Times. Retrieved December 31, 2008.
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