25 Live

25 Live

Tour by George Michael
Associated album	TwentyFive
Start date	23 September 2006
End date	1 December 2008
Legs	3
Number of shows	106
George Michael concert chronology

25 Live (also known as the 25th Anniversary Tour) was a concert tour by English singer / songwriter George Michael. The tour was the most commercially successful tour of 2006–2007 in Europe. The tour grossed more than $200 million, with positive reviews from music critics. The 106 tour shows were performed in 41 countries and seen by 2 million fans across the globe.

History

It was Michael's first in over 15 years. The tour, running for 50 dates, began in Barcelona on 23 September and was originally to be ended at Wembley Arena in London in December, but—due to great feedback from fans—continued into 2007 providing more gigs throughout Europe, concluding in Belfast. The tour is described as "a celebration of his 25-year career in music", and was accompanied by a Greatest Hits album, released in late 2006. The news of the tour came amid increased media speculation about Michael's personal life, in particular his drug use and sex life. After the success of the autumn leg, new shows were added for summer 2007, in large arenas and stadiums. Popstar Sophie Ellis-Bextor was announced as the supporting act for six of the eight UK shows. She did not open the show at Wembley Stadium as Michael was the first artist ever to play in the new stadium.

On 25 March 2008, a third Leg of the 25 LIVE Tour was announced for North America. This leg included 21 dates in the United States and Canada. This was Michael's first tour of North America in 17 years. The tour coincided with the 1 April 2008, release of his new Greatest Hits album.

The tour ended with two concerts at Earls Court in London named "The Final Two". Wham! fans would recognise the reference to Wham!'s last gig at Wembley Arena in London in 1986, The Final. Another final concert was later announced. The concert was held in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 30 August and called The Final One. Australian dates were added in November 2009, involving stops in Perth, Sydney, and later Melbourne in February/March 2010.

Ticket Sales

Ticket sales in the UK and Europe were brisk. Within two hours of initial sales, 240,000 tickets were snatched up by eager fans. First to sell out were UK shows in London's Wembley Arena and Earls Court as well as Birmingham's NEC Arena and Manchester MEN Arena. The Manchester show sold out within minutes, and the two 25 Live dates added to the venue were sold out by lunchtime. To meet demand, 14 gigs were added to the tour, including three additional shows in London alone. Michael's dates around Europe were met with equally extraordinary enthusiasm. In Norway, the Oslo show at the Oslo Spektrum sold out in an hour and a half. In Copenhagen, 49,000 tickets sold out at the Parken Stadium in just three hours. The first Rotterdam concert at Ahoy Rotterdam arena sold out in a mere six minutes, and the second saw tickets vanish in 16 minutes. In fact, a third Rotterdam show was added by popular demand that also sold out in 16 minutes. This unprecedented response has stood out as the fastest sell of tickets ever experienced by Barrie Marshall, whose London-based promotion firm, Marshall Arts Limited, has been promoting shows for 30 years.

The 25 Live tour broke several ticket sales records, most notably in Copenhagen. Michael's concert at Parken Stadium sold over 50,000 tickets in the matter of minutes, shattering the previous ticket sales record at the venue, formerly held by U2.

In North America, although ticket sales waren't fast as they were in Europe, every venue was sold out in time for the concert. For a period of 25 hours during the week leading up to the Los Angeles show on 25 June 2008, tickets were sold for a promotional price of $25 (down from $95) in celebration of George Michael's birthday, 25 June 1963.

All the tickets for the Final Two shows in London, England and the Finale One show in Denmark where sold out in 2 hours.

Ticket sales for the Australian leg were also brisk, the concerts in Perth at the 25,000 seat Burswood Dome and the 42,000 seat Sydney Football Stadium both being sellouts.

The Finals

On 11 June 2008, two dates were added, titled "The Final Two", taking place in Earls Court, London on 24 and 25 August 2008. These concerts were filmed for a 25 LIVE DVD release entitled "Live in London".

On 30 June 2008, Michael announced one more last show in Copenhagen at Copenhagen's Parken Stadium on 30 August. This special performance, entitled "The Final One", allowed Michael to say "thank you" to his loyal fans, not only in Scandinavia, but also across Europe.

On 1 November 2008, Michael announced another last concert. This time it was held at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium on 1 December 2008, in Abu Dhabi, UAE. It was the first event to be held at the new stadium and was billed as the biggest concert ever held in the UAE. It was also his first concert in the Middle East. The event also helped to launch National Day celebrations and an outdoor extravaganza of fireworks and lasers gave fans a spectacular and unforgettable experience.

Set list

First leg

1. "Waiting (Reprise)"
2. "Flawless (Go to the City)"
3. "Fastlove"
4. "Father Figure"
5. "Star People '97"
6. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"
7. "Praying for Time"
8. "Too Funky"
9. "You Have Been Loved"
10. "Everything She Wants"
11. "My Mother Had a Brother"
12. "Shoot the Dog"
    Break
13. "Faith"
14. "Spinning the Wheel"
15. "Jesus to a Child"
16. "An Easier Affair"
17. "A Different Corner"
18. "Amazing"
19. "I'm Your Man"
20. "Outside
    Encore
21. "Careless Whisper"
22. "Freedom! '90"

Second leg

1. "Waiting (Reprise)"
2. "Flawless (Go to the City)"
3. "Fastlove"
4. "Precious Box"
5. "Father Figure"
6. "Everything She Wants"
7. "Ticking"
8. "Praying for Time"
9. "Too Funky"
10. "Star People"
11. "Shoot the Dog"
    Break
12. "Faith"
13. "Spinning the Wheel"
14. "An Easier Affair"
15. "Jesus to a Child"
16. "Amazing"
17. "I'm Your Man"
18. "Outside"
    Encore
19. "Careless Whisper"
20. "Freedom! '90"

Third leg

1. "Waiting (Reprise)"
2. "Fastlove"
3. "I'm Your Man"
4. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"
5. "Father Figure"
6. "Hard Day"
7. "Everything She Wants"
8. "One More Try"
9. "A Different Corner"
10. "An Easier Affair"
11. "Too Funky"
12. "Star People'97"
    Break
13. "Faith"
14. "Feeling Good"
15. "Roxanne"
16. "Spinning the Wheel"
17. "Kissing a Fool"
18. "Amazing"
19. "Flawless (Go to the City)"
20. "Outside
21. "Praying For Time"
    Encore
22. "Careless Whisper"
23. "Freedom 90"

The Finals

1. "Waiting (Reprise)"
2. "Fastlove"
3. "I'm Your Man"
4. "Father Figure"
5. "You Have Been Loved"
6. "Everything She Wants"
7. "Precious Box"
8. "One More Try"
9. "Jesus to a Child"
10. "An Easier Affair"
11. "Too Funky"
12. "Shoot the Dog"
    Break
13. "Faith"
14. "Spinning the Wheel"
15. "Feeling Good"
16. "Roxanne"
17. "My Mother Had a Brother"
18. "Kissing a Fool"
19. "Amazing"
20. "Flawless (Go to the City)"
21. "Fantasy"
22. "Outside"
    Encore
23. "Careless Whisper"
24. "Freedom! '90"

Personnel

The band

• George Michael - vocals
• Chris Cameron - musical director/arranger
• Lea Mullen - percussion
• Phil Palmer - guitars
• Andy Hamilton - sax, keyboards, Ewi
• Steve Walters - bass
• Mike Brown - guitars
• Carlos Hercules - drums
• Graham Kearns - guitars
• Luke Smith - keyboards
• Shirley Lewis - backing vocals
• Jay Henry - backing vocals
• Lincoln Jean-Marie - backing vocals
• Lori Perry - backing vocals
• Sharon Perry - backing vocals
• Lucy Jules - backing vocals

Management and production

• Michael Lippman - artist manager
• Andy Stephens - artist manager
• Ken Watts - tour director
• Lisa Johnson - assistant tour director
• Looloo Murphy - GM tour manager
• Sharon Ashley - band tour manager
• Ronnie Franklin - security consultant
• Mark Spring - production manager
• Di Eichorst - production coordinator
• Scott Chase - stage manager
• James Kelly - show manager
• Willie Williams - video staging designer and director
• Vince Foster - set and lighting design and operator
• Gary Bradshaw - front of house sound
• Andy Bramley - video director
• Barrie Marshall and Doris Dixon - agents

Promoters

• Belgium - Live Nation
• Denmark - DKB & Motor
• France - Interconcerts
• Germany - Peter Rieger Konzertagentur
• Greece - Cosmote
• Netherlands - MOJO Concerts
• Hungary - Live Nation Hungary (previously Multimedia Concerts)
• Ireland - Aiken Promotions
• Italy - D'Alessandro E Galli
• Norway - Gunnar Eide
• Spain - Sagliocco Group
• Sweden - EMA Telstar
• Switzerland - Good News
• UK - Marshall Arts
• USA - Live Nation
• Australia - Paul Dainty

Tour dates

Date	City	Country	Venue	Tickets sold / available	Gross revenue
Europe
23 September 2006	Barcelona	Spain	Palau Sant Jordi	19,836 / 19,836	$2,062,948
26 September 2006	Madrid		Palacio de Deportes	14,590 / 14,590	$1,517,364
29 September 2006	Toulouse	France	Zenith de Toulouse	6,192 / 6,192	$643,692
30 September 2006	Toulon		Zenith Omega	6,487 / 6,487	$674,638
2 October 2006	Lyon		Halle Tony Garnier	8,082 / 8,082	$840,531
5 October 2006	Milan	Italy	Forum Milano	22,936 / 22,936	$2,385,346
6 October 2006
9 October 2006	Paris	France	Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy	30,106 / 30,106	$3,522,408
10 October 2006
13 October 2006	Metz		Galaxie Amnéville	12,659 / 12,659	$1,569,174
14 October 2006	Stuttgart	Germany	Schleyerhalle	9,124 / 9,124	$1,040,136
16 October 2006	Leipzig		Arena Leipzig	11,047 / 11,047	$1,358,788
17 October 2006	Oberhausen		Oberhausen Arena	14,000 / 14,000	$1,453,036
20 October 2006	Gothenburg	Sweden	Scandinavium	13,825 / 13,825	$1,492,102
21 October 2006	Oslo	Norway	Oslo Spektrum	12,264 / 12,264	$1,287,726
22 October 2006	Stockholm	Sweden	Globen	16,511 / 16,511	$1,717,142
25 October 2006	Frankfurt	Germany	Festhalle Frankfurt	12,275 / 13,034	$1,264,359
26 October 2006	Zürich	Switzerland	Hallenstadion	13,000 / 13,000	$1,376,050
29 October 2006	Munich	Germany	Olympiahalle	14,736 / 14,736	$1,583,206
1 November 2006	Rotterdam	Netherlands	Ahoy Rotterdam	59,412 / 59,412	$6,416,499
2 November 2006
4 November 2006
6 November 2006	Berlin	Germany	Velodrom	7,026 / 7,026	$955,530
7 November 2006	Hamburg		Color Line Arena	9,275 / 9,275	$1,317,053
9 November 2006	Mannheim		SAP Arena	9,673 / 9,673	$1,102,726
11 November 2006	Copenhagen	Denmark	Parken	46,918 / 46,918	$6,052,422
13 November 2006	Cologne	Germany	Cologne Arena	12,124 / 12,124	$1,757,920
14 November 2006	Antwerp	Belgium	Sportpaleis	15,030 / 15,030	$1,337,672
17 November 2006	Manchester	England	Manchester Arena	65,292 / 65,292	$9,271,547
18 November 2006
21 November 2006
22 November 2006	Glasgow	Scotland	SECC Arena	26,145 / 26,145	$3,294,273
25 November 2006	London	England	Earls Court	36,228 / 36,228	$3,840,169
26 November 2006
28 November 2006
2 December 2006	Birmingham		NEC Arena	50,523 / 50,523	$6,669,042
3 December 2006
4 December 2006
7 December 2006	Dublin	Ireland	The Point	7,368 / 7,368	$1,369,025
8 December 2006
11 December 2006	London	England	Wembley Arena	41,180 / 41,180	$5,806,283
12 December 2006
14 December 2006
15 December 2006
12 May 2007	Coimbra	Portugal	Estádio Cidade de Coimbra	39,639 / 39,639	$4,439,568
18 May 2007	Aarhus	Denmark	NRGi Park	44,966 / 44,966	$2,080,026
19 May 2007
23 May 2007	Budapest	Hungary	Ferenc Puskás Stadium	52,047 / 52,047	$2,133,947
25 May 2007	Bratislava	Slovakia	Inter Football Stadium	6,875 / 15,801	$855,295
28 May 2007	Sofia	Bulgaria	Lokomotiv Stadium	25,003 / 25,003	$1,125,184
31 May 2007	Bucharest	Romania	Lia Manoliu	13,902 / 13,902	$2,432,846
2 June 2007	Prague	Czech Republic	Strahov Stadium	183,729 / 183,729	$33,438,683
2 June 2007	Katowice	Poland	Spodek	10,603 / 10,603	$434,723
6 June 2007	Dublin	Ireland	RDS Arena	64,154/ 64,154	$7,698,459
7 June 2007
9 June 2007	London	England	Wembley Stadium	172,458 / 172,458	$24,490,995
10 June 2007
12 June 2007	Norwich		Carrow Road	54,275 / 54,275	$7,869,385
15 June 2007	Manchester		Etihad Stadium	60,195 / 60,195	$8,728,294
17 June 2007	Glasgow	Scotland	Hampden Park	53,024 / 53,024	$7,751,504
19 June 2007	Plymouth	England	Home Park	38,402 / 38,402	$5,491,886
22 June 2007	Paris	France	Stade de France	63,583 / 63,583	$9,473,837
23 June 2007	Antwerp	Belgium	Sportpaleis	14,230 / 14,230	$2,020,550
26 June 2007	Amsterdam	Netherlands	Amsterdam Arena	55,384 / 55,384	$8,085,064
29 June 2007	Stockholm	Sweden	Globe Arena
1 July 2007	Helsinki	Finland	Hartwall Arena
5 July 2007	Moscow	Russia	Olympisky Stadium
6 July 2007
9 July 2007	Kiev	Ukraine	Olympic Stadium
10 July 2007	Warsaw	Poland	Służewiec
12 July 2007
13 July 2007	Vienna	Austria	Stadthalle
15 July 2007	Nuremberg	Germany	EasyCredit-Stadion
17 July 2007	Padua	Italy	Stadio Plebiscito
19 July 2007	Lucca		Stadio Porta Elisa
21 July 2007	Rome		Stadio Olimpico
26 July 2007	Athens	Greece	OAKA Olympic Stadium
4 August 2007	Belfast	Northern Ireland	Odyssey Arena
North America
17 June 2008	San Diego	United States	San Diego Sports Arena
19 June 2008	San Jose		HP Pavilion
21 June 2008	Las Vegas		MGM Grand Garden Arena
22 June 2008	Phoenix		U.S. Airways Center
25 June 2008	Inglewood		The Forum
27 June 2008	Anaheim		Honda Center
2 July 2008	Seattle		KeyArena
4 July 2008	Vancouver	Canada	General Motors Place
7 July 2008	Saint Paul	United States	Xcel Energy Center
9 July 2008	Chicago		United Center
13 July 2008	Dallas		American Airlines Center
14 July 2008	Houston		Toyota Center
17 July 2008	Toronto	Canada	Air Canada Centre
18 July 2008	Montreal		Bell Centre
21 July 2008	New York City	United States	Madison Square Garden
23 July 2008
26 July 2008	Philadelphia		Wachovia Center
27 July 2008	Boston		TD Banknorth Garden
29 July 2008	Washington, D.C.		Verizon Center
31 July 2008	Atlanta		Philips Arena
2 August 2008	Tampa		Times Forum
3 August 2008	Fort Lauderdale		BankAtlantic Center
The Finals
24 August 2008	London	England	Earls Court
25 August 2008
30 August 2008	Copenhagen	Denmark	Parken
1 December 2008	Abu Dhabi	United Arab Emirates	Zayed Sports City Stadium

Critical reception

The tour received positive reviews, with praise for the set list and all over production of the show.

Features

• 25 Live Tour features the first time a 3000 piece LED screen has been used.
• 25 Live Tour features a three dimensional video wall. The video screen isn't just a backdrop to the stage, it also lies on the stage surface. Paul McCartney used a similar concept in his 2005 US Tour.
• 25 Live tour features the first time that motion tracking comes from the artist to video.
• 25 Live Tour features the first time 490 frequency channels are transmitted to the audio mixing board, producing dynamic, richer sound for the performance
• 25 Live Tour features the first time that on-screen visuals respond to the musicians performing.

Trivia

• On 31 December 2006 George Michael was paid $3 million for a 75-minute private concert in Moscow, Russia, which made him the highest paid entertainer in Russian history.
• George Michael became the first music artist to perform at the new Wembley Stadium when he played two shows at the venue on 9 June 2007 and 10 June 2007 during his 25 Live tour.
• During his concert in Sofia, Bulgaria George Michael devoted to the Bulgarian nurses prosecuted in the HIV trial in Libya.
• On 17 June 2008 George Michael launched the NA leg of his final world tour by congratulating lawmakers for legalising gay marriage in California.
• On 25 June 2008, during the L.A. concert, George celebrated his 45th birthday. The band played "Happy Birthday", while Bo Derek walked on stage with a huge birthday cake.
• On 27 July 2008, George Michael's concert at TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, Massachusetts was delayed 1½ hours due to weather conditions and flight delays. He later apologized for the delay and despite the holdup, played a full 3 hour set.

External links

• Official website
• 25Live Archives on George Michael Forums
• Concert Photos
• George Michael Tour Archive