LoveTown Tour

The Joshua Tree Tour didn't make it to Australia, New Zealand and Japan in 1987. And the band soon got distracted with the promotion of a film and finishing up the accompanying album, Rattle and Hum. A year after that album was finished, U2 announced a tour with B.B. King, which would see them visit those three countries as well as doing a number of stops around Europe. The tour was set to end with a number of shows between Christmas and New Years in Dublin.

The tour opened in Sydney Australia on September 21, 1989, and finished in Rotterdam on January 10, 1990, a replacement show for one that had been cancelled. 47 concerts were played in total. B.B.King and his band would join U2 each night as an opening act and would later return to perform in an encore with the band. Weddings, Parties Anything were a second support act at some of the concerts on the first leg.

The name "LoveTown" is a shortened form of "When Love Comes to Town," the song U2 had done with B.B.King on Rattle and Hum. The sets were minimal, with images by Chilean mural artist Rene Castro decorating the stage.

LoveTown Tour: Leg One [Australia, New Zealand, Japan]

The first leg of the tour saw U2 visiting Oceania and playing smaller venues. The first leg of the tour saw Bono suffering with vocal problems, which forced several shows to be postponed in Sydney. These were rescheduled before the end of the leg. But the issues with his throat would continue. U2 was due to play five shows in Sydney, and the shows on October 22, 24, and 25 were later rescheduled for November 17, 18, and 19.

LoveTown Tour: Leg Two [Europe]

The second leg of the tour saw U2 take the shows to Europe to play a small number of cities, and B.B. King once again joins U2 as an opening act. This leg of LoveTown saw Bono's vocal issues continue. Originally three concerts were planned for Amsterdam on December 18, 19 and 20. The band made it through six songs on the first night before Bono's voice gave up. The band had to cancel the end of the show, and the shows in Amsterdam are later replaced by four shows in Rotterdam at the end of the tour due to venue availability. These shows are smaller than those in Amsterdam, so an additional show is added.

Initially a fifth show was also planned for the Point Depot in Dublin, but the show never happens.

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