The Joshua Tree Tour

U2 were gaining in popularity, and The Joshua Tree Tour saw U2 playing in arenas and some stadiums, with a simple stage, but to larger and larger crowds. Two legs were done in the North American market, and one in the European market. Throughout the tour the band would start work on Rattle and Hum and many performances on the last leg were filmed as part of that documentary.

Support acts through the tour varied and included Lone Justice, The Pretenders, UB40, The Waterboys and The Pogues as well as B.B. King. At a number of shows U2 took the stage as their own opening act, The Dalton Brothers.

A fourth leg was planned, but after touring and work on Rattle and Hum the band decide to forego visiting Australia and New Zealand in early 1988 to finish the new album instead, and make plans to take that album to Oceania instead. That tour was then pushed to early 1989, and then eventually pushed to late 1989.

Leg One: United States

The first leg opened in Tempe, Arizona on April 2, and closed in East Rutherford, New Jersey on May 16, 1987. During this leg, the band only played shows in the USA. Venues ranged from the 8,032 in attendance in Tucson, AZ to 51,718 in attendance in Pontiac, MI, U2's first headlining appearance in a stadium in North America.

• 1987-04-02: Arizona State University Activity Center, Tempe, AZ, USA
• 1987-04-04: Arizona State University Activity Center, Tempe, AZ, USA
• 1987-04-05: Tucson Community Center, Tucson, AZ, USA
• 1987-04-07: Summit, Houston, TX, USA
• 1987-04-08: Summit, Houston, TX, USA
• 1987-04-10: Pan American Center, Las Cruces, NM, USA
• 1987-04-12: Thomas and Mack Center, Las Vegas, NV, USA
• 1987-04-13: San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, CA, USA
• 1987-04-14: San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, CA, USA
• 1987-04-17: Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California
• 1987-04-18: Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA, USA
• 1987-04-20: Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA, USA
• 1987-04-21: Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena , Los Angeles, CA, USA
• 1987-04-22: Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena , Los Angeles, CA, USA
• 1987-04-24: Cow Palace, San Francisco, California
• 1987-04-25: Cow Palace, San Francisco, CA, USA
• 1987-04-29: Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, IL, USA
• 1987-04-30: Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI, USA
• 1987-05-02: Centrum in Worcester, Worcester, MA, USA
• 1987-05-03: Centrum in Worcester, Worcester, MA, USA
• 1987-05-04: Centrum in Worcester, Worcester, MA, USA
• 1987-05-07: Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT, USA
• 1987-05-08: Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT, USA
• 1987-05-09: Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT, USA
• 1987-05-11: Brenden Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ, USA
• 1987-05-12: Brenden Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ, USA
• 1987-05-13: Brenden Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ, USA
• 1987-05-15: Brenden Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ, USA
• 1987-05-16: Brenden Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ, USA

Leg Two: Europe

The second leg of the tour took the band throughout Europe, starting in Rome on May 27, 1987 and ending on Edge's birthday on August 8, 1987 in Cork, Ireland. The band headlined two nights at Croke Park in Dublin on this tour, and were moving to larger venues throughout Europe. The appearance in Paris on July 4 was filmed for television broadcast, and was released as a home video release in 2007 as part of the 20th anniversary releases of The Joshua Tree.

Ticket sales are difficult for the second leg of the tour, the band is at the height of their popularity and the number of tickets do not meet the demand. There are reports in some cities of people queuing for days to get a ticket, and when box offices are opened the ticket sales turn rowdy and police sometimes have to be brought in.

• 1987-05-27: Stadio Flaminio, Rome, Italy
• 1987-05-29: Stadio Alberto Braglia, Modena, Italy
• 1987-05-30: Stadio Alberto Braglia, Modena, Italy
• 1987-06-02: Wembley Arena, London, England
• 1987-06-03: National Exhibition Centre Arena, Birmingham, England
• 1987-06-06: Eriksberg Shipyard Docks, Gothenburg, Sweden
• 1987-06-12: Wembley Stadium, London, England
• 1987-06-13: Wembley Stadium, London, England
• 1987-06-15: Le Zénith, Paris, France
• 1987-06-17: Müngersdorfer Stadion, Cologne, Germany
• 1987-06-21: St. Jakob Stadium, Basel, Switzerland
• 1987-06-24: King's Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland
• 1987-06-27: Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland
• 1987-06-28: Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland
• 1987-07-01: Elland Road Stadium, Leeds, England
• 1987-07-04: Hippodrome de Vincennes, Paris, France
• 1987-07-08: Vorst National, Brussels, Belgium
• 1987-07-10: Stadion Feijenoord, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
• 1987-07-11: Stadion Feijenoord, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
• 1987-07-15: Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain
• 1987-07-18: Espace Richter, Montpellier, France
• 1987-07-21: Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany
• 1987-07-22: Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany
• 1987-07-25: Arms Park, Cardiff, Wales
• 1987-07-29: Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, Glasgow, Scotland
• 1987-07-30: Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, Glasgow, Scotland
• 1987-08-01: Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland
• 1987-08-03: National Exhibition Centre Arena, Birmingham, England
• 1987-08-04: National Exhibition Centre Arena, Birmingham, England
• 1987-08-08: Pairc Ui Chaoimh, Cork, Ireland

Leg Three: North America

The third leg of the tour returned to North America, this time playing shows in both Canada and the USA. It was during this leg of the tour that much of the live footage for Rattle and Hum was filmed.

• 1987-09-10: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum , Uniondale, NY, USA
• 1987-09-11: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum , Uniondale, NY, USA
• 1987-09-12: Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA, USA
• 1987-09-14: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ, USA
• 1987-09-17: Boston Garden, Boston, MA, USA
• 1987-09-18: Boston Garden, Boston, MA, USA
• 1987-09-20: Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium , Washington, DC, USA
• 1987-09-22: Sullivan Stadium, Foxborough, MA, USA
• 1987-09-23: New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT, USA
• 1987-09-25: John F Kennedy Stadium, Philadelphia, PA, USA
• 1987-09-28: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY, USA
• 1987-09-29: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY, USA
• 1987-10-01: Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
• 1987-10-03: Canadian National Exhibition Stadium, Toronto, ON, Canada
• 1987-10-06: Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, OH, USA
• 1987-10-07: Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, NY, USA
• 1987-10-09: Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY, USA
• 1987-10-11: Silver Stadium, Rochester, NY, USA
• 1987-10-13: Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
• 1987-10-20: Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, IA, USA
• 1987-10-22: Assembly Hall, Champaign, IL, USA
• 1987-10-23: Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY, USA
• 1987-10-25: St. Louis Arena, St. Louis, MO, USA
• 1987-10-26: Kemper Arena, Kansas City, MO, USA
• 1987-10-28: Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, IL, USA
• 1987-10-29: Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, IL, USA
• 1987-10-30: Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, IL, USA
• 1987-11-01: Hoosier Dome, Indianapolis, IN, USA
• 1987-11-03: St. Paul Civic Center, St. Paul, MI, USA
• 1987-11-04: St. Paul Civic Center, St. Paul, MI, USA
• 1987-11-07: McNichols Sports Arena, Denver, CO, USA
• 1987-11-08: McNichols Sports Arena, Denver, CO, USA
• 1987-11-12: BC Place, Vancouver, BC, Canada
• 1987-11-14: Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, CA, USA
• 1987-11-15: Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, CA, USA
• 1987-11-17: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA, USA
• 1987-11-18: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA, USA
• 1987-11-22: Frank Erwin Center, Austin, TX, USA
• 1987-11-23: Tarrant County Convention Center, Fort Worth, TX, USA
• 1987-11-24: Tarrant County Convention Center, Fort Worth, TX, USA
• 1987-11-26: Louisiana State University Assembly Center, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
• 1987-11-28: Charles M. Murphy Athletic Center, Murfreesboro, TN, USA
• 1987-12-03: Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, FL, USA
• 1987-12-05: Tampa Stadium, Tampa, FL, USA
• 1987-12-08: Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia
• 1987-12-09: Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, GA, USA
• 1987-12-11: Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA, USA
• 1987-12-12: Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA, USA
• 1987-12-19: Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, AZ, USA
• 1987-12-20: Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, AZ, USA

Related News: The Joshua Tree 1987 Tour

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