Here Come the Girls (concert tour)

Here Come the Girls
Tour by Anastacia, Chaka Khan, Heather Small and Lulu

Promotional poster for 2009 tour
Start date November 21, 2009 (2009-11-21)
End date December 13, 2010 (2010-12-13)
Legs 2
Number of shows 34 in Europe
Anastacia tour chronology
Heavy Rotation Tour
(2009)
Here Come the Girls
(2009-10)
Resurrection Tour
(2014)

Here Come the Girls was a co-headlining concert tour by American recording artists Anastacia and Chaka Khan and Scottish recording artist Lulu. The tour, primarily reaching Europe, began in November 2009.[1] Described as a music extravaganza that mixes high octane, high camp, get up and dance songs, against a backdrop of glamour and fun, the trek became a hit, selling out all 20 dates in 2009. Due to demand, the tour continued into 2010, with English singer Heather Small replacing Chaka Khan.[2] The tour became praised by both critics and spectators alike. At the time, concert promoters speculated about a 2011 extension of the tour into Continental Europe and North America.[3]

Background

Lulu, Chaka Khan and Anastacia are celebrating all that it means to be a woman. The laughter, the lost loves and the true loves, the yearning, the celebrating, friendship and family will all be explored in their new show which mixes great music, laughter, tears, glamour, joy with bit of mischief for good measure!

The tour was announced by British tabloid, The Daily Mail on September 12, 2009. The tour was produced and directed by Steven Howard, whose other credits included Viva la Diva Howard described the show as a journey through the music of the 60's to the new millennium. He compared the show as a fusion between Sex and the City and Mamma Mia! He goes on to further state:

"A show like this was something Lulu always wanted to do and we worked the idea up after we met a couple of years ago. Chaka Khan and Anastacia were her dream artists. They are all quite similar vocally and it was not hard to persuade them. They all wanted to do something different"[4]

The singers described the tour as a sisterhood, combining the different genres of pop, R&B and rock music. The tour was originally conceived by Lulu after performing with Paul Carrack, Kiki Dee and John Miles. She believe the event could be a tour but wanted to tour with Anastacia and Khan. The show consist mostly of covering songs because (collectively) the girls wanted to sing the music the inspired them versus singing original material. However, the singers included a few solo selections but sang a majority of the songs as a trio.[5]

Singer Anastacia described the show as,"[...] an amazing, fun party like atmosphere!!! We want everyone standing, dancing and singing along!!! We are sure to make you laugh lots and may even draw a tear or two."[6] To promote the tour, the girls appeared on Good Morning Television,[7] BBC Breakfast,[8] Loose Women,[9] Afternoon Live with Kay Burley,[10] London Tonight[11] and Live from Studio Five. Additionally they opened the Royal Variety Performance at the Opera House Theatre, Blackpool with a performance of "Relight My Fire".

Setlist

Tour dates

Promotional poster for 2010 leg of tour
Date City Country Venue
Leg I[13][14]
November 21, 2009 Edinburgh Scotland Usher Hall
November 23, 2009 Newcastle England Newcastle City Hall
November 24, 2009 Liverpool Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
November 26, 2009 Sheffield Sheffield City Hall
November 27, 2009 Oasis Leisure Centre
November 28, 2009 Bristol Colston Hall
November 30, 2009 Cardiff Wales Cardiff International Arena
December 2, 2009 London England HMV Hammersmith Apollo
December 4, 2009 Oxford New Theatre Oxford
December 8, 2009 Nottingham Nottingham Royal Concert Hall
December 10, 2009 Glasgow Scotland Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
December 12, 2009 Bournemouth England Windsor Hall
December 13, 2009 Plymouth Plymouth Pavilions
December 14, 2009 Portsmouth Portsmouth Guildhall
December 16, 2009 Manchester Manchester Apollo
December 17, 2009 Birmingham Symphony Hall
December 18, 2009 Kingston upon Hull Hull City Hall
December 20, 2009 Blackpool Opera House Theatre
December 21, 2009 Belfast Northern Ireland Waterfront Hall
Leg II[13][15][16]
November 22, 2010 Edinburgh Scotland Edinburgh Playhouse
November 23, 2010 Glasgow Clyde Auditorium
November 25, 2010 Liverpool England Echo Arena Liverpool
November 26, 2010 Birmingham National Indoor Arena
November 27, 2010 Brighton Brighton Centre
November 29, 2010 London HMV Hammersmith Apollo
November 30, 2010
December 2, 2010 Cardiff Wales Cardiff International Arena
December 3, 2010 Portsmouth England Portsmouth Guildhall
December 4, 2010 Bournemouth Windsor Hall
December 6, 2010 Sheffield Sheffield City Hall
December 7, 2010 Manchester Manchester Evening News Arena
December 8, 2010 Newcastle Metro Radio Arena
December 10, 2010 Nottingham Trent FM Arena Nottingham
December 12, 2010 Dublin Ireland The O2
Cancellations and rescheduled shows
December 3, 2009 Brighton, England Brighton Centre Cancelled
December 21, 2009 Belfast, Northern Ireland Waterfront Hall This concert was originally rescheduled to December 23, 2009 due to weather but ultimately cancelled[17]
December 13, 2010 Belfast, Northern Ireland Odyssey Arena Cancelled due to illness

Box office

Venue City Tickets Sold / Available Gross Revenue
Manchester Evening News Arena Manchester 2,077 / 3,400 (61%) $121,985[18]
The O2 Dublin 1,559 / 2,000 (78%) $102,362 [19]

Critical reception

The tour received high praise from spectators of the performance by the girls, however, music critics gave the tour mixed reviews.

References

  1. O'Connell, Daniel (2009-09-15). "Here Come the Girls: Lulu, Chaka Khan and Anastacia for Winter 2009 UK tour". All Gigs. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  2. "Heather Small joins Here Come The Girls tour". BBC News Online. British Broadcasting Corporation. 2010-09-07. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  3. Smith, Mark (2010-09-23). "Here Come the Girls featuring Lulu, Anastacia and Heather Small heads to Echo Arena". Chester Chronicle. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  4. Sandy, Matt (2009-09-12). "Here come the (old) girls: Lulu, Chaka Khan and Anastacia to roll back the decades with festive supergroup". Daily Mail. Associated Newspapers. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  5. "'Here come the girls' watch out". BBC News Online. British Broadcasting Corporation. 2009-09-17. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  6. Newkirk, Anastacia (2009-09-21). "Thank You!!". Anastacia's Official Website. The Island Def Jam Music Group. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  7. "Find out what's on GMTV - Britain's biggest breakfast show | What's on". GMTV. 15 September 2009. Retrieved 1 October 2009.
  8. "Programmes | Breakfast". BBC News. Retrieved 1 October 2009.
  9. "Loose Women - ITV Lifestyle". Itv.com. Retrieved 1 October 2009.
  10. "Lulu, Chaka Khan And Anastacia Set For 'Here Come The Girls' Tour | Showbiz News | Sky News". News.sky.com. Retrieved 1 October 2009.
  11. Bleakley, George (25 September 2009). "ITV London Tonight". Itv.com. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  12. "Here Come The Girls kicks off in Edinburgh". Heather Smalls' Official Website. 2010-11-22. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  13. 1 2 "Tour dates". Here Come the Girls' Official Website. TCB Group. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  14. Saard, M. (2009-09-15). "Lulu, Chaka Khan and Anastacia's Here Come the Girls Tour & Tickets". Stereoboard. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  15. News Deck (2010-09-07). "Here Come The Girls returns with Lulu, Anastacia and Heather Small for Winter 2010 tour". Music News. Publishing Group Network. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  16. Stickler, Jon (2010-09-10). "Lulu & Anastacia Return With Heather Small For 'Here Come The Girls' 2010 Tour & Tickets". Stereoboard. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  17. BBC News Staff (2009-12-22). "Concert cancelled due to weather". Brighton Wired. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  18. "Billboard Boxscore: Current Scores". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 25 June 2011. Archived from the original on 15 June 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
  19. "Billboard Boxscore". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 5 March 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  20. Dalton, Stephen (2009-12-01). "Here Come the Girls, at Colston Hall, Bristol". The Times. News Corporation. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  21. Brear, Nik (2009-11-28). "REVIEW: Here Come The Girls, Sheffield City Hall". Sheffield Star. Johnston Press. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  22. Hemley, Matthew (2009-12-03). "Here Come the Girls". The Stage. The Stage Newspaper Limited. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  23. Wright, Jade (2009-11-25). "Here Come The Girls at Liverpool's Philharmonic Hall". Liverpool Echo. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  24. Gleaves, Edward (2009-12-02). "Concert review: Here Come The Girls at the CIA". South Wales Evening Post. South West Wales Publications. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  25. Caulfield, Mike (2010-12-08). "Here Come The Girls". City Life. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  26. Rahbarkouhi, Aranda (2010-12-09). "Review: Here Come The Girls, Newcastle". Evening Chronicle. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  27. Killon, Judi (2010-12-06). "Here Come The Girls". Portsmouth News. Portsmouth Publishing & Printing. Retrieved 29 December 2010.

External links

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