The Tour of Life

The Tour of Life
Tour by Kate Bush
Location	Europe
Associated album	The Kick Inside and Lionheart
Start date	2 April 1979 (warm up concert)
End date	13 May 1979
No. of shows	28
Kate Bush concert chronology
	; ; ; The Tour of Life; (1979); ; Before the Dawn; (2014);

The Tour of Life (or Kate Bush Tour) was the only concert tour by English singer Kate Bush. The tour was made for her first two albums, The Kick Inside and Lionheart. It happened in April and May 1979. It was the first concert ever to use a wireless headset microphone. The device was invented by Gordon Paterson so Bush could dance on stage. The tour's lighting worker, Bill Duffield, died after the first concert because he fell from a stage and seating structure.

Set list

"Moving"
"The Saxophone Song"
"Room for the Life"
"Them Heavy People"
"The Man with the Child in His Eyes"
"Egypt"
"L'Amour Looks Something Like You"
"Violin"
"The Kick Inside"

Interlude: John Carder Bush poetry reading

"In the Warm Room"
"Fullhouse" (not sang during the concerts at Hammersmith Odeon)
"Strange Phenomena"
"Hammer Horror" (not live)
"Kashka From Baghdad"

Interlude: Chanting

"Don't Push Your Foot on the Heartbrake"
"Wow"
"Coffee Homeground" (with extended instrumental introduction)
"In Search of Peter Pan"

Interlude: John Carder Bush poetry reading

"Symphony in Blue" (including "Gymnopédie 1" by Erik Satie)
"Feel It" (with instrumental introduction)
"Kite"
"James and the Cold Gun"

Encore 1

"Oh England My Lionheart"

Encore 2

"Wuthering Heights"

Credits

These are the people listed in the Kate Bush Tour programme sold at the concerts.^[1]^[2]

Performers

Ben Barson – synthesizer, acoustic guitar
Brian Bath – electric guitar, acoustic mandolin, background vocals
Kate Bush – vocals, piano, keyboards
Paddy Bush – mandolin, background vocals, various instruments
Simon Drake – magician^[3]
Glenys Groves – background vocals
Preston Heyman – Drums/Percussion
Kevin McAlea – piano, keyboards, saxophone, 12-string guitar
Alan Murphy – electric guitar, whistles
Del Palmer – bass guitar
Liz Pearson – background vocals

Production

Conception, producer, director – Kate Bush
Production design, stage direction – Dave Jackson
Stage management – Nick Levitt
Stage crew – Cliff Carter, Martin Prior, Gerry Raymond Barker, Andrew Bryant
Costuming – Lisa Hayes
Costuming assistance – Hermione Brakspear
Choreography – Anthony Van Laast

Audiovisuals

Sound engineering – Gordon Patterson
Projections – Ken Sutherland
Lighting consulting – James Dann
Spoken word and poetry – John Carder Bush
Photography – Gered Mankowitz, Terry Walker, Hirchono

Tour management

Promotion – Lindsay Brown
Tour management – Richard Ames
Programmes – Kate Bush, Nicholas Wade, Nick Price
Tour graphics and merchandise – Paul Maxwell Ltd.
Tour co-ordination – Hilary Walker, John Carder Bush

Shows

Date (1979)^[4]^[5]^[6]	City	Country	Venue
2 April^[a]	Poole	England	Poole Arts Centre
3 April	Liverpool		Liverpool Empire Theatre
4 April	Birmingham		Birmingham Hippodrome
5 April	Birmingham		Birmingham Hippodrome
6 April	Oxford		New Theatre Oxford
7 April	Southampton		Gaumont Theatre
9 April	Bristol		Bristol Hippodrome
10 April	Manchester		Manchester Apollo
11 April	Manchester		Manchester Apollo
12 April	Sunderland		Sunderland Empire Theatre
13 April	Edinburgh	Scotland	Usher Hall
16 April	London	England	Palladium
17 April
18 April
19 April
20 April
24 April	Stockholm	Sweden	Stockholm Konserthuset
26 April	Copenhagen	Denmark	Falkoner Theatre
28 April	Hamburg	West Germany	Congress Center Hamburg
29 April	Amsterdam	Netherlands	Carré Theatre
2 May	Stuttgart	West Germany	Kongresszentrum Liederhalle
3 May	Munich		Circus Krone
4 May	Cologne		Köln Gürzenich
6 May	Paris	France	Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
8 May	Mannheim	West Germany	Mannheimer Rosengarten
10 May	Frankfurt	West Germany	Jahrhunderthalle
12 May^[b]	London	England	Hammersmith Odeon
13 May
14 May

Notes

↑ This show was called a "warm up".
↑ This concert was dedicated to Bill Duffield. It was called Kate Bush In Aid of Bill Duffield. Peter Gabriel and Steve Harley sang as guests.

References

↑ Heawood, Sophie (31 August 2014). "Leaf through history with the programme from Kate Bush's 1979 tour". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
↑ Bush, Kate; Wade, Nicholas; Price, Nick (1979). "Kate Bush Tour" programme.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
↑ "Kate Bush announces first live shows since 1979". The Guardian. 31 March 2014. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
↑ McHale, Kirsty (26 August 2014). "Flashback: Kate Bush at the Liverpool Empire, April 1979". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
↑ Thomson, Graeme (9 February 2015). "Chapter 6: The Tour of Life". Under the Ivy: The Life & Music of Kate Bush. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-1-78323-392-2.
↑ Thomson, Graeme (13 May 2010). "Kate Bush's only tour: pop concert or disappearing act?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 October 2023.

[7] This show was called a "warm up".

[8] This concert was dedicated to Bill Duffield. It was called Kate Bush In Aid of Bill Duffield. Peter Gabriel and Steve Harley sang as guests.

[1] Heawood, Sophie (31 August 2014). "Leaf through history with the programme from Kate Bush's 1979 tour". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 October 2023.

[2] Bush, Kate; Wade, Nicholas; Price, Nick (1979). "Kate Bush Tour" programme.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[3] "Kate Bush announces first live shows since 1979". The Guardian. 31 March 2014. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 October 2023.

[4] McHale, Kirsty (26 August 2014). "Flashback: Kate Bush at the Liverpool Empire, April 1979". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 19 October 2023.

[Thomson2015-5] Thomson, Graeme (9 February 2015). "Chapter 6: The Tour of Life". Under the Ivy: The Life & Music of Kate Bush. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-1-78323-392-2.

[6] Thomson, Graeme (13 May 2010). "Kate Bush's only tour: pop concert or disappearing act?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 October 2023.

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