The Fantasy Tour was the third concert tour of New Edition. The tour supported the group's second studio albums New Edition. It was their first major tour where they headlined theaters as well as arenas throughout the United States. It was also the last tour with the five original members: Ronnie, Bobby, Ricky, Michael and Ralph.
Overview After the success of their eponymous album, New Edition embarked in a tour of theaters, arenas, state fairs and several theme parks across the country. By May 1985, the group had already played 50 concerts to more than 350,000 people.
On May 20 the group performed in Boston for the 6th anniversary of Kiss 108 in front of 15,000 fans. The next day they performed at a Kiss 108 Private Party held at "The Metro". Ronnie just had a tonsillectomy so he was missing during those shows.
For the 4th of July they performed at "The Beach Boys Love Concert" at the mall of Washington with several other entertainers, the event drew an estimated crowd of 550,000.
On August 9, the group gave a concert at Six Flags Over Texas in Performing for more than 15,000 people. By 4pm, the temperature rose to 80 degrees and 50 pecent humidity and the crowd had been standing in the park's concert area for 3 to 5 hours. The concert scheduled was halted briefly at about 9pm to administer first-aid to some in the crowd. More than 200 young people were treated for heat-related ailments, 36 fans were treated at an Arlington hospital and 11 others at a hospital in nearby Grand Prairie for dehydration and hyperventilation. No serious injuries were reported, concert resumed after a brief interruption.
Setlists
Supporting acts Force MD's (December 1984) Evelyn "Champagne" King (December 1984) Whodini (December - March 1985) The Fat Boys (February - March 1985) UTFO (March - July 1985) Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam (July 20)
Tour dates DateCityCountryVenueNo. of performancesNorth America1984October 27Lake Buena VistaUnited StatesDisney World Magic Kingdom1November 23 AnaheimDisneyland1November 241November 271December 30Hampton Hampton Coliseum1December 1WestburyWestbury Music Fair2December 4CharlestonGaillard Center1December 7CharlotteCharlotte Coliseum1December 15ColumbiaTownship Auditorium2December 16RichmondRichmond Coliseum1December 27Upper DarbyTower Theater21985February 9Lake Buena VistaUnited StatesTomorrowland Terrace2February 14West Palm BeachWest Palm Beach Auditorium1February 15TampaCurtis Hixon Hall1February 16MiamiKnights center1February 17JacksonvilleCivic auditorium1February 18Daytona BeachBethune-Cookman college1February 21GreenvilleGreenville memorial auditorium1February 22Montgomery Garrett Coliseum2February 23BirminghamBoutwell Auditorium1February 24TallahasseeLeon County Civic Arena1February 28AugustaAugusta Civic Center1March 1MaconMacon City Auditorium1March 2AtlantaFox theater2March 3GreensboroGreensboro Coliseum1March 7HuntsvillePropst Arena1March 8NashvilleNashville Municipal Auditorium1March 9MemphisOrpheum Theater2March 10Saint LouisKiel Auditorium1March 13AllendaleGrand Valley State College1March 14DetroitMasonic Temple Theater2March 15Highland HeightsFront Row Theater2March 16ChicagoArie Crown Theater1March 17St.LouisFox Theater1March 19Monroe Monroe Civic Center1March 21New orleansLakefront Arena1March 22Baton RougeCentroplex Arena1March 23HoustonArena Theatre1Mach 24DallasMusic Hall at Fair Park1March 30AnaheimDisneyland1April 6San CarlosCircle Star Theater1April ?ShreveportHirsch Memorial Coliseum1April 18Jackson Mississippi Coliseum1April 20St. LouisKiel Auditorium1May 2Cleveland Public Hall1May 3IndianapolisIndiana Convention Center1May 5CharlestonCharleston Coliseum & Civic Center1May 8East LansingMSU Auditorium1May 10CincinnatiCincinnati Gardens1May 11DetroitFox Theater1May 20BostonBoston Garden1May 21BostonThe Metro1May 24New York CityThe Roxy1May ??AnaheimDisneyland Tom Sawyer Island1June 1CharlotteCarrowinds Palladium2JuneDoswellKings Dominion2June 6JacksonSix Flags Great Adventure1June 16Las VegasThomas & Mack Center1June 19VenturaMajestic Ventura Theater1June 20Del MarDel Mar Fairgrounds1June 21Los AngelesUniversal Amphitheater1June 22OaklandParamount Theater1June 22EurekaSix Flags Over Mid-America1June 26Kansas CityWorlds Of Fun Forum Amphitheater2June 27UrbandaleMetro Ice Sports Arena1June 28MilwaukeeHenry W. Maier Festival Park1June 29ClarkstonPine Knob Theater1June 30Hoffman EstatesPoplar Creek Music Theater1July 2New York CityPier 841July 4WashingtonNational Mall1July 19WashingtonConvention Center1July 20SalisburyWicomico Youth and Civic Center1July 21PittsburghSyria Mosque1July 26PhiladelphiaSpectrum1July 27WestburyWestbury Music Fair1July 281July 31ProvidenceProvidence Civic Center1August 1ColumbiaMerriweather Post Pavilion1August 3BirminghamFair Park1August 3New OrleansTad Gormley Stadium1August 4AtlantaOmni Coliseum1August 8Little RockBarton Coliseum1August 9ArlingtonSix Flags Over Texas1August 10HoustonSix Flags AstroWorld1August 11ArlingtonSix Flags Over Texas1August 16MerillvilleHoliday Star Theater2August 17ColumbusOhio Expo Center and State Fairgrounds1August 18Highland HeightsFront Row Theater2August 19VaughanCanadaWonderland1August 23Kansas CityUnited StatesWorlds Of Fun Forum Amphitheater1September 6YorkYork Fair GrandStand1September 7Rochester War Memorial1September 8 WorcesterCentrum in Worcester1September 13ChicagoUIC Pavilion1September 141September 15ClevelandPublic Auditorium1September 22GreensboroGreensboro Coliseum1September 29BerkleyHearst Greek Theater1
Personnel Vocalists/Dancers Ralph Tresvant – lead vocals, dancer Bobby Brown – lead vocals, dancer Ricky Bell – vocals, dancer Michael Bivins - vocals, dancer Ronnie DeVoe – vocals, dancer
Musicians Carl smith - Keyboards John Steiner - Keyboards Dan "Zoro" Donnelly - Drums Bob Cepeda - Percussions Louis Metoyer - Guitar Anthony McEwan - Bass Don Hermanson - Keyboard Technician Gary Spence - Drum Technician
Security Jeff Dyson - Security Calvin Hubbard - Security Larry Cole - Bus Driver Chuck Glagola - Bus Driver Pay Lynes - Bus Driver Jim Fahlgren - Truck Driver Mark Olson - Truck Driver
Management and Production Mark Billes - Tour Manager Khalil Roundtree - Road Manager Geoff Perren - Production Manager David Troy - Merchandiser Jim stone - Merchandiser Winterline Productions - Merchandising Company Christine Sauers - Tour Book Design Jim Shea - Photography Pacific Lithograph/Michael John - Color separation, Lithography J.Beaver Saunders - Wardrobe Bob Oberdorston - Carpenter Larry Miller - Rigger Randy Bare - Sound & Light Steve Dabbs - Sound & Light Tony Dowley - Sound & Light Billy Johnson - Sound & Light Mick Berg - House engineer Pops Houghton - Lighting Director Brendan Higgs - Monitor Mixer
References