Alan Parsons' A Walk Down Abbey Road was a concert tour that was launched in North America in 2001 to pay tribute to The Beatles and promote the hits of various headlining band members. Similar to Ringo Starr's All Starr Band tours, each successive year the band members swapped out and featured the songs of the new line-up.
The first set included all band members assembled to play each other's hits. The second set featured all Beatles songs performed by various band members depending on the specific tune and the strength and style of the performer.
An obvious play on concert-goers expectations with Who bassist John Entwistle in the group, the second song of the opening set was "Open My Eyes" from Todd Rundgren's first band, The Nazz. The chord pattern at the beginning is lifted directly from The Who's "I Can't Explain". It was one of Entwistle's last concert series as he died on 27 June 2002, one day before the scheduled first show of The Who's 2002 US tour.
2001 tour Band Alan Parsons: vocals, guitar, keyboards Todd Rundgren: vocals, guitar, vocals Ann Wilson: vocals, guitar, vocals John Entwistle: bass guitar, vocals David Pack: guitar, vocals
Additional musicians: Godfrey Townsend: guitar, backing vocals (from John Entwistle Band) Steve Luongo: drums (from John Entwistle Band) John Beck
Set list: Set 1 "Magical Mystery Tour (Pack, Wilson) "Open My Eyes" (Rundgren) "Eye In The Sky" (Parsons) "Crazy On You" (Wilson) "My Wife" (Entwistle) "Hello, It's Me" (Rundgren) "Don't Answer Me" (Parsons) "Biggest Part Of Me" (Pack) "How Much I Feel" (Pack) "Bang the Drum All Day" (Rundgren) "The Real Me" (Entwistle) "Dreamboat Annie" (Wilson) "Games People Play" (Parsons) "Barracuda" (Wilson) "My Generation" (Pack, Rundgren)
Set list: Set 2 "Back in the U.S.S.R." (Pack) "Lady Madonna" (Rundgren) "I'm Down" (Wilson) "The Fool on the Hill" (Pack) "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (Rundgren, Wilson) "Here Comes the Sun" (Entwistle) "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (Pack, Wilson) "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" (Rundgren acoustic solo) "Maybe I'm Amazed" (Wilson) "Rain" (Rundgren) "Blackbird" (Parsons acoustic solo) "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey" (Wilson) "Revolution" (Rundgren) "Day Tripper" (Pack, Rundgren) "Ticket to Ride" (Pack, Rundgren) "I Want to Hold Your Hand" (Pack, Rundgren) "Hey Jude" (Wilson)
Encore "Birthday" (All) "Golden Slumbers" / "Carry That Weight" / "The End" (Wilson)
Tour dates
DateCityCountryVenueNorth AmericaJune 13, 2001RedmondUnited StatesDeschutes County FairgroundsJune 15, 2001KelseyvilleKonocti HarborJune 16, 2001AnaheimSun TheaterJune 17, 2001June 18, 2001SaratogaVilla MontalvoJune 19, 2001June 20, 2001June 22, 2001San DiegoHumphrey's Concerts By the BayJune 23, 2001PhoenixCelebrity TheaterJune 24, 2001MescaleroInn of the Mountain Gods CasinoJune 26, 2001HoustonArena TheaterJune 27, 2001MobileSaenger TheaterJune 29, 2001ClarkstonDTE Energy Music TheaterJune 30, 2001Seven SpringsSeven Springs Mountain ResortJuly 2, 2001Saint PaulHarriet Island Regional ParkJuly 3, 2001MilwaukeeHenry W. Maier Festival ParkJuly 5, 2001ChicagoGrant ParkJuly 6, 2001DaytonFraze PavilionJuly 7, 2001Big FlatsTag's Summer StageJuly 8, 2001HamiltonCanadaCopps ColiseumJuly 9, 2001VeronaUnited StatesTurning Stone Resort & CasinoJuly 10, 2001MontvilleMohegan Sun CasinoJuly 11, 2001BostonFleet PavilionJuly 13, 2001Waikoloa VillageHilton Waikoloa VillageJuly 16, 2001BarnstableCape Cod Melody TentJuly 17, 2001ViennaFilene CenterJuly 19, 2001Oyster BayWestbury Music FairJuly 21, 2001StanhopeWaterloo VillageJuly 22, 2001WallingfordOakdale TheaterJuly 25, 2001YorkYork Expo CenterJuly 26, 2001New York CitySeaside ParkJuly 27, 2001Mantua TownshipWashington Township High SchoolJuly 28, 2001MarionCarolina AmphitheaterAsiaNovember 9, 2001TokyoJapanTokyo Kousei Nenkin KaikanNovember 10, 2001November 12, 2001OsakaOsaka Kousei Nenkin KaikanNovember 13, 2001FukuokaFukuoka Sun PalaceNovember 14, 2001NagoyaNagoya Shimin Kaikan
2002 tour Band Alan Parsons: vocals, guitar, keyboards Todd Rundgren: vocals, guitar, backing vocals (Selected dates) Christopher Cross: vocals, guitar, backing vocals Jack Bruce (of Cream): bass guitar, backing vocals Mark Farner (of Grand Funk): vocals, guitar, backing vocals Eric Carmen (of The Raspberries): vocals, guitar, backing vocals (Eric Carmen was originally scheduled to take part, and perform at the shows where Todd Rundgren was not available, he only plays on the first show)
Additional musicians: Godfrey Townsend: Guitar, backing vocals John Beck: keyboards Steve Murphy: drums
References