TOUR REVIEW: Spring European Tour of 1997

1997 was a massive touring year for Blur, where they toured non-stop from January to December and traveled literally all over the world, including their first (and to date, only) tours of Australia and Southeast Asia. Starting just 12 days after the end of the spring US tour and ending only 10 days before their spring Japanese tour, they sandwiched in this European tour. The tour dates are below, with the available recordings in bold font.

April 1997:

2nd - Brielport, Deinze, Belgium
3rd - Zenith, Paris, France
5th - E-Werk, Cologne, Germany
7th - Solnahallen, Stockholm, Sweden
8th - Valbyhallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
10th - Grosse Freiheit, Hamburg, Germany
11th - Arena, Berlin, Germany
13th - Congreshalle, Stuttgart, Germany
14th - Stadhalle, Offenbach, Germany
15th - Stadhalle, Nuremburg, Germany
16th - Coloseum, Munich, Germany
17th - Messepalast, Vienna, Austria
22nd - Peel Acres, England
29th - MC Vredenburg, Utrecht, Holland

May 1997:

1st - Concerto del Primo Maggio, Rome, Italy
2nd - Volkshaus, Zurich, Switzerland
3rd - Centre Sportif du Bout-du-Monde, Geneva, Switzerland
4th - Transborder, Lyon, France
6th - Theatre de Verdure, Nice, France
8th - Zenith, Valencia, Spain
9th - Pabellon de Real Madrid, Madrid, Spain
10th - Vall D'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain
13th - Teatro, Naples, Italy
14th - Sportshall, Cesena, Italy
15th - Palavobis, Milan, Italy

The typical set list was:

Beetlebum
Movin' On
Jubilee
Stereotypes
Country Sad Ballad Man
M.O.R.
To The End
She's So High
Oily Water
Popscene
Chinese Bombs
Advert
Bank Holiday
Death Of A Party
Girls & Boys
This Is A Low
Song 2
On Your Own
Look Inside America
Parklife
The Universal
Sing

There were slight variations, with Inertia replacing Oily Water during the early part of the tour, and Coping being played earlier in the tour as well. Also, some shuffling of the song order occurred, such as Jubilee being played second a few times, Girls and Boys alternating between the beginning and end of the shows, and other minor variations. The set is a nice cross section of Blur's material up to this point, with only Stereotypes and The Universal surviving from The Great Escape. Most of the songs from Blur were played, although I'm Just a Killer For Your Love was absent and would surface in the set during the summer US tour. This tour shows the band really hitting their stride, although the shows tend to be more "professional" and less manic...the shows are really nice. And they even managed to squeeze in a Peel Acres session at the end of April back in England!

As I mentioned, the bold font shows have known available recordings. I have all of them except for the ones I am currently seeking, which are the Hamburg, Berlin, and Cesena shows. If you have these or any others, please contact me privately.

There are gaps in this tour, especially during mid-April and May, so it would be great to find some to fill in the gaps! Especially some shows from this tour in France and Spain!