List of Girls Aloud concert tours

Girls Aloud (L-R: Sarah Harding, Nadine Coyle, Nicola Roberts, Cheryl Cole, and Kimberley Walsh) performing in Manchester in April 2009, as a part of their Out of Control Tour.

British-Irish girl group Girls Aloud have embarked on six concert tours of the United Kingdom and Ireland, five of which were in arena-sized venues.

The group initially planned to embark on a Popstars: The Rivals tour in March 2003, alongside their fellow winners One True Voice as well as other contestants.[1] However, the tour was cancelled due to poor ticket sales.[2] Girls Aloud's manager Louis Walsh said the group would tour by themselves later that year; however, these plans never came into fruition.[2] In 2004, dates for Girls Aloud's first tour were announced.[3][4] What Will the Neighbours Say? Live reached twenty theatres over the course of twenty two shows. In 2006, Girls Aloud embarked on their second tour, performing in ten arenas across the United Kingdom.[5][6] The Chemistry Tour is the group's shortest tour and their only not to reach the island of Ireland. Kimberley Walsh described the show as "bigger and better."[7] The introduction depicts Girls Aloud as five women created by a mad scientist, referencing their reality show beginnings.[8][9] The stage included a catwalk which extended into the audience. The tour received widespread acclaim from contemporary music critics who complimented the show's relentless fun.[8][9][10] In support of their first greatest hits, Girls Aloud embarked on The Greatest Hits Tour in 2007. The show, dubbed the group's "raunchiest tour ever", received favorable reviews but was chastised for the number of covers performed.[11][12][13]

2008's Tangled Up Tour saw Girls Aloud embark on their longest tour yet.[14][15] The show reportedly cost an estimated £3 million to stage, with £250,000 worth of pyrotechnics.[16] The stage outfits were designed by Welsh designer Julien MacDonald.[17] For the opening number, the girls were suspended from the ceiling wearing black cloaks. They also performed a stripped-down ballad section on a catwalk in the middle of the arena.[18] Many reviews focused on Girls Aloud's provocative attire, comparing it to Madonna's Erotica era.[19][20][21] The tour was mostly praised by critics, who noted that "Girls Aloud remain confidently the only pop show in town" and they "pulled out all the stops."[21][22] Girls Aloud also performed a number of open-air concerts over the summer.[23][24][25][26] The Out of Control Tour was announced for 2009. Initially, just ten tour dates in bigger arenas across the United Kingdom and Ireland were announced.[27] Due to arenas selling out, Girls Aloud had to add a number of live shows to the tour.[28][29][30] During the middle section, the group "soared from the main stage to the middle of the venue on high wires."[31] They also learned a pole-dancing routine.[32] The sell-out tour earned millions in gross revenue.[33]

Girls Aloud have performed at London gay nightclub G-A-Y multiple times to promote the singles "The Show", "Life Got Cold", "Wake Me Up", and "Long Hot Summer".[34][35][36][37] They also performed at the venue to launch the release of their albums Sound of the Underground, What Will the Neighbours Say?, Chemistry, and Tangled Up.[38][39][40][41] The group have also performed at a number of festivals, including Big Gay Out in 2005 and V Festival in 2006 and 2008.[42][43][44] Girls Aloud also supported Coldplay alongside Jay-Z at Wembley Stadium for two consecutive nights in September 2009.[45]

Concert tours

Year Title Duration Number of
performances
2005 What Will The Neighbours Say...? Tour 4 May 2005 – 31 May 2005
22
The What Will The Neighbours Say...? Tour was Girls Aloud's debut concert tour. It promoted their first two albums, Sound of the Underground and What Will the Neighbours Say?. The tour reached theatres across the United Kingdom and Ireland. Seventeen tour dates were initially announced by various news sources in December 2004.[3][4] Extra shows were added at the Manchester Apollo and London's Hammersmith Apollo respectively, due to the high demand.[46] Girls Aloud performed all of their singles to date in addition to album tracks and a cover of Wheatus' "Teenage Dirtbag".[47] The show was released on DVD in November 2005[48] In a review of the DVD, MusicOMH stated "this features all that you'd ever want from a pop concert [...] almost every song is a cracker."[49]
2006 Chemistry: The Tour 22 May 2006 - 3 June 2006
10
The Chemistry Tour was Girls Aloud's second concert tour and their first to reach arenas. The tour dates were announced towards the end of October 2005.[5][6] Performing just ten dates across Great Britain, the tour ranks as their shortest. The group did not tour in Ireland due to low record sales. Kimberley Walsh said the tour would be "bigger and better" than the last tour, due to the size of the venues.[7] The stage included a catwalk which extended into the audience. The tour begins with an introduction "evokes memories of Weird Science", as a mad scientist creates five women.[8] The introduction was seen as a reference to Girls Aloud's reality show beginnings.[8][9] Girls Aloud performed a cover of Kaiser Chiefs' "I Predict a Riot" and a medley of songs from 1980s musicals. The tour received widespread critical acclaim who complimented the show's relentless fun. Laura Lee Davies of The Times praised the show, calling it "a thrilling hour and a half of skinny pants, fireworks and dry ice."[8] Sophie Heawood of The Guardian gave the concert four stars out of five. Heawood lauded the group's energy, vocals, and the show's "Broadway feel".[10] A DVD of the concert, titled Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits Live from Wembley Arena, was released on 13 November 2006 to coincide with the release of Girls Aloud's greatest hits The Sound of Girls Aloud.[50]
2007 The Greatest Hits Tour 14 May 2007 - 2 June 2007
16
The Greatest Hits Tour was the third concert tour by Girls Aloud, in support of their first greatest hits album The Sound of Girls Aloud. Girls Aloud performed all of their singles at the time, with the exception of their Dee C. Lee cover "See the Day", as well as album tracks like "Graffiti My Soul", "Real Life" and "Money". The group also performed a medley consisting of songs from the film Dirty Dancing.[51] Girls Aloud's provocative attire received attention. The Daily Mail called the show Girls Aloud's "raunchiest tour ever [...] there was singing and dancing, but the stand out element of Girls Aloud's latest tour: sex appeal a-go-go."[11] Dave Simpson of The Guardian gave the show three stars out of five. He chastised the covers, saying Girls Aloud "fare best when they are playing their own songs."[12] Lisa Verrico of The Times also awarded the concert three stars out of five and shared a similar point of view to Simpson. She wrote, "The band's smartest, sassiest, least conventional songs struggled to ignite the Newcastle crowd, while tacky covers and tawdry ballads went down a storm." Verrico also felt "big idea after big idea was let down by its budget."[13] The show is Girls Aloud's only tour not to receive a video release.
2008 Tangled Up Tour 3 May 2008 - 29 August 2008
35
The Tangled Up Tour was Girls Aloud's fourth tour, taking place over the summer of 2008. The first dates were announced by various news sources towards the end of November 2007. Initially, there was one date per venue, but the demand caused extra tour dates to be scheduled. In addition to twenty-four arena dates, Girls Aloud also performed eleven open-air concerts over the summer. The tour was sponsored by KitKat.[52] The show reportedly cost an estimated £3 million to stage, with £250,000 worth of pyrotechnics.[16] The stage outfits were designed by Welsh designer Julien MacDonald.[17] For the opening number, the girls were suspended from the ceiling wearing black cloaks. They also performed a stripped-down ballad section on a catwalk in the middle of the arena.[18] Many reviews focused on Girls Aloud's provocative attire, comparing it to Madonna's Erotica era.[16][19][20][21] The Mirror called it "the most sexually-charged performance of their career".[19] The Independent gave the show four stars, saying that "even their between-song chatter is amusing". Although low points were noted, the review continued that "Girls Aloud remain confidently the only pop show in town."[22] The Daily Record said they "pulled out all the stops."[21] However, The Times said "the famous five could easily have been interchangeable Stepford androids."[53] The tour was recorded on 17 May at the O2 Arena and shown live across 50 Vue cinemas up and down the country.[54] A DVD was released on the 27 October 2008, followed by a Blu-ray release on 24 November 2008.[55][56]
2009 Out of Control Tour 24 April 2009 - 6 June 2009
32
The Out of Control Tour was the fifth concert tour by Girls Aloud, in support of their fifth studio album Out of Control. Initially, just ten tour dates in bigger arenas across the United Kingdom and Ireland were announced.[27] Due to arenas selling out, Girls Aloud had to add a number of live shows to the tour.[28][29][30] The show opened with Girls Aloud stood on podiums which rose from underneath the stage and into the air. During the middle section, the group "soared from the main stage to the middle of the venue on high wires."[31] They also learned a pole-dancing routine.[32] They performed covers of James Morrison's "Broken Strings" and Britney Spears' "Womanizer".[57] The sell-out tour earned millions in gross revenue.[33] It was released on DVD and Blu-ray in October 2009.[58][59]
2013 Ten: The Hits Tour 21 February 2013 - 20 March 2013
20
Ten: The Hits Tour is the upcoming sixth concert tour by Girls Aloud, in support of their second greatest hits album, Ten. The tour will be the group's first tour in four years and their first tour since they returned from a three year hiatus (2009–12).[60][61] Initially, only 14 dates were announced for the tour, but due to high demand, extra dates were added.[62][63] [64]

Notable concerts

Year Title Duration Number of
performances
2007 Live at the Local 9 December 2007
1
In 2007, Girls Aloud performed a live set for Birmingham radio station BRMB's Live at the Local series. The intimate show included a live band accompanying the group with stripped down, mostly acoustic arrangements of Girls Aloud's songs. Girls Aloud performed "Something Kinda Ooooh", "Can't Speak French", "Whole Lotta History", "I'll Stand by You", "Love Machine", "Sexy! No No No...", "Sound of the Underground", "Call the Shots", and "Biology".
2008 The Girls Aloud Party 13 December 2008
1
The Girls Aloud Party was a one-off Christmas variety show, produced for ITV. Girls Aloud performed some of their biggest hits, as well as some tracks from their latest album, Out of Control.[65] James Morrison performed his track "Broken Strings" with Girls Aloud, while Kaiser Chiefs led into "Sound of the Underground" with their own track, "Never Miss a Beat". Along with performing, Girls Aloud starred in comedy skits.[66] The show attracted 8.1million viewers to ITV.[67]
2009 Viva la Vida Tour 18 September 2009 - 19 September 2009
2
In September 2009, Girls Aloud performed two consecutive nights at London's Wembley Stadium as an opening act for Coldplay alongside Jay-Z.[45] They performed eight of their biggest singles - "Sound of the Underground", "Biology", "Untouchable", "Love Machine", "I'll Stand by You", "Something Kinda Ooooh", "Call the Shots", and "The Promise" - and a cover of Robyn's "With Every Heartbeat".[68]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Girls Aloud tour dates changed". CBBC Newsround (BBC). 21 January 2003. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  2. 1 2 "Popstars dismiss tour setback". BBC News (BBC). 19 February 2003. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  3. 1 2 "Girls Aloud prep first ever UK our". TourDates.co.uk. 3 December 2004. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  4. 1 2 "Girls Aloud First Live Tour!". MTV News. MTV UK. 10 December 2004. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  5. 1 2 "May 2006 tour confirmed". GirlsAloud.co.uk. Fascination Records. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  6. 1 2 "Girls Aloud line up Arena date". Manchester Evening News. Trinity Mirror. 31 October 2006. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  7. 1 2 "Your questions aloud". Top of the Pops. BBC. 21 March 2006. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Laura Lee Davies (24 May 2006). "Girls Aloud". The Times. News Corporation. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  9. 1 2 3 Michael Deacon (24 May 2006). "Loveable Girls just want to have fun". The Daily Telegraph (London: Telegraph Media Group). Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  10. 1 2 Sophie Heawood (24 May 2006). "Girls Aloud, Nottingham Arena". The Guardian (London: Guardian Media Group). Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  11. 1 2 "Girls Aloud launch raunchiest tour ever". Daily Mail (London: Associated Newspapers). 15 May 2007. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  12. 1 2 Dave Simpson (18 May 2007). "Girls Aloud at Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle". The Guardian (London: Guardian Media Group). Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  13. 1 2 Lisa Verrico (18 May 2007). "Girls Aloud". The Times. News Corporation. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  14. ↑ "Girls Aloud relaxing ahead of tour". AOL Entertainment. 30 March 2008. Retrieved 4 April 2008.
  15. ↑ Gary Welford (17 December 2007). "Girls Aloud set for double date on Tyneside". Retrieved 4 April 2008.
  16. 1 2 3 "Material Girls Aloud". Metro.co.uk. 5 May 2008. Retrieved 9 May 2008.
  17. 1 2 Jessica Bumpus (8 May 2008). "Girls in sparkle". Vogue.co.uk. Retrieved 8 May 2008.
  18. 1 2 Emma Johnson (31 May 2008). "Girls Aloud/Echo Arena". Liverpool Daily Post. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
  19. 1 2 3 "Girls Aloud launch Tangled Up tour with raunchy performance". The Mirror. 5 May 2008. Retrieved 5 May 2008.
  20. 1 2 Kim Dawson (4 May 2008). "Attack of the cones". Daily Star. Retrieved 5 May 2008.
  21. 1 2 3 4 Beverley Lyons and Laura Sutherland (5 May 2008). "Girls get Into the Groove". Daily Record. Archived from the original on 8 May 2008. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
  22. 1 2 David Pollock (8 May 2008). "First Night: Girls Aloud, SECC, Glasgow". London: The Independent. Retrieved 8 May 2008.
  23. ↑ Dayle Crutchlow (10 March 2008). "Girls Aloud to rock Warwick Castle". Coventry Evening Telegraph. Retrieved 3 April 2008.
  24. ↑ "Girls Aloud 'Call the Shots' at Sandown Park's Music Night". Sandown.co.uk. Retrieved 10 April 2008.
  25. ↑ "Girls Aloud - 18 July". Newmarket Racecourses.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 March 2008. Retrieved 4 April 2008.
  26. ↑ Henry Northmore (21 February 2008). "Girls Aloud and Runrig to play Edinburgh Castle gigs". The List. Retrieved 4 April 2008.
  27. 1 2 Tom Thorogood (11 November 2008). "Girls Aloud announce tour". MTV News. MTV. Archived from the original on 21 December 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
  28. 1 2 "Girls Aloud announce third concert". Shropshire Star. Midland News Association. 19 November 2008. Retrieved 20 November 2008.
  29. 1 2 "Girls Aloud add third city gig". Evening Times. Newsquest. 20 November 2008. Retrieved 20 November 2008.
  30. 1 2 Tom Thorogood (24 November 2008). "Girls Aloud announce next single". MTV News. MTV. Retrieved 29 November 2008.
  31. 1 2 "Girls Aloud tear off their skirts in a tribute to Bucks Fizz at Manchester Gig". The Sun (London: News International). 25 April 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2009.
  32. 1 2 "Girls Aloud's pole-dancing performance". Myparkmag.co.uk. 17 April 2009. Retrieved 30 July 2009.
  33. 1 2 "Billboard Boxscore". Billboard (New York City: Nielsen Business Media, Inc.). 12 September 2009. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 24 April 2010
  34. ↑ "Girls Aloud perform at G.A.Y. in the London Astoria". FilmMagic.com. 26 June 2004. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  35. ↑ "Girls Aloud play G-A-Y". Getty Images. 19 February 2005. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  36. ↑ "Pop group Girls Aloud perform at G-A-Y at the London Astoria". Getty Images. 16 August 2003. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  37. ↑ "Long Hot Summer (GAY Live) - Single". iTunes Store. Apple Inc. 22 August 2005. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
  38. ↑ "Girls Aloud performing at 'Gay' at the Astoria, London, Britain". Rex Features. 14 May 2003. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  39. ↑ "Girls Aloud performing at G.A.Y. nightclub in London, Britain". Rex Features. 27 November 2004. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  40. ↑ Kiki King, Eva Simpson and Caroline Hedley (5 December 2005). "Bad girls". Daily Mirror. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  41. ↑ "Girls Aloud's hat-trick". The Sun (London: News International). 19 November 2007. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  42. ↑ "Big Gay Out". Life. Time Inc. 23 July 2005. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  43. ↑ "Girls Aloud heading to V Festival". TourDates.co.uk. 4 April 2006. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  44. ↑ "2008 Line Up". VFestival.com. Retrieved 4 April 2008.
  45. 1 2 "Girls Aloud to support Coldplay". Newsbeat (BBC Radio 1). 3 December 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2008.
  46. ↑ "Girls Aloud unveil UK tour schedule". TourDates.co.uk. 10 January 2005. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  47. ↑ "What Will the Neighbors Say? Live in Concert [DVD]". MSN Music. MSN. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  48. ↑ "Girls Aloud- What Will The Neighbours Say? Live in Concert [2005] [DVD] [2007]". Amazon.co.uk. Amazon.com. Retrieved 2 December 2008.
  49. ↑ "Girls Aloud - What Will The Neighbours Say Live (Polydor)". MusicOMH. 2 November 2005. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  50. ↑ "Live at Wembley". HMV. HMV Group. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  51. ↑ "Right flappers: Girls Aloud step out as showgirls". Evening Standard. Daily Mail and General Trust. 28 May 2007. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  52. ↑ "Girlband get million pound payout from KitKat". The Sun (London). 7 March 2008. Retrieved 7 March 2008.
  53. ↑ Dalton, Stephen (9 May 2008). "Girls Aloud at SECC,Glasgow". London: The Times. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  54. ↑ Phil Robinson (2 May 2008). "Girls Aloud gig to be screened live at Vue". icCheshireOnline. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  55. ↑ "Girls Aloud: Tangled Up Tour 2008". HMV.com. HMV Group. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  56. ↑ "Girls Aloud: Tangled Up Tour Live From The O2". HMV.com. HMV Group. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  57. ↑ Peter Robinson (27 April 2009). "A Girls Aloud live report". Popjustice. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
  58. ↑ "Out Of Control: Live From The O2: 2009". HMV.com. HMV Group. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  59. ↑ "Girls Aloud: Out Of Control Tour". HMV.com. HMV Group. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  60. ↑ "Girls Aloud 2013 Tour Dates". girlsaloud.com. 19 October 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  61. ↑ "Girls Aloud Announce 2013 Tour Dates & Greatest Hits". MTV UK. 19 October 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  62. ↑ "Girls Aloud add third London O2 Arena date to tour". Digital Spy. 26 October 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
  63. ↑ "Nicola Roberts twitter". Twitter. 26 October 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
  64. ↑ http://www.newsletter.co.uk/lifestyle/weekend/music/new-tour-dates-for-girls-aloud-1-4548336
  65. ↑ "Coming soon... The Girls Aloud Party and The Priests, ITV1". TV Scoop. Shiny Media. 28 November 2008. Retrieved 30 November 2008.
  66. ↑ Jen Blackburn (11 November 2008). "Girls on film". The Sun (London: News International). Retrieved 11 November 2008.
  67. ↑ Holmwood, Leigh (15 December 2008). "TV ratings: The X Factor hits five-year entertainment ratings high". The Guardian (London).
  68. ↑ "A Girls Aloud Setlist at Wembley Stadium 18/9/09". Girls Aloud Blog. 18 September 2009. Retrieved 19 September 2009.

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