Rollercoaster Tour
Tour by Blur, Dinosaur Jr., My Bloody Valentine and The Jesus and Mary Chain
A monochrome image of the word "rollercoaster" in large warped text. Other text reads "Blur", "Dinosuar Jr", "My Bloody Valentine" and "The Jesus and Mary Chain". A logo for Melody Maker is seen in the top right corner.
Official tour poster
LocationUnited Kingdom
Associated album
Start date24 March 1992 (1992-03-24)
End date7 April 1992 (1992-04-07)
Legs1
No. of shows11

The Rollercoaster Tour was a 1992 co-headlining concert tour by the Scottish noise pop band the Jesus and Mary Chain, the Irish-English alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine, the English Britpop band Blur and the American indie rock band Dinosaur Jr.[1] A two-leg 34-date tour of the United Kingdom and North America, the U.K. tour was in support of all four bands' current releases: Blur's first album Leisure (1991), Dinosaur Jr.'s fourth album Green Mind (1991), My Bloody Valentine's second album Loveless (1991) and The Jesus and Mary Chain's fourth album Honey's Dead (1992).

The tour was curated by the Jesus and Mary Chain's vocalist Jim Reid, who "wanted to break the routine" of performing in small, frequently played venues — such as Rock City in Nottingham — and "cater to all strands of independent rock music".[2] Reid was inspired by, and considered the Rollercoaster Tour a British equivalent to, the North American festival Lollapalooza,[3][4] at which the Jesus and Mary Chain performed at in 1991 and which he considered "fairly disastrous".[2] Each band performed a 45-minute set with no encore and the line-up changed each night of the tour, although the Jesus and Mary Chain performed as the final act on all 11 dates.[5]

My Bloody Valentine ceased live performances in the UK after the tour and did not play again until their 2008 reunion tour.[6] The band's set, which ended with the white noise section of their song "You Made Me Realise", reportedly caused attendees' pint glasses to fall out of their hands due to excessive sound pressure levels.[7] Reflecting on the tour, Jim Reid referred to it as "a lot [like a] competition — who could be the loudest? Whose was the best film show? And then there was, who could be most off their tits and still play a show?"[2] The Rollercoaster EP, containing material from Blur, My Bloody Valentine, Dinosaur Jr. and the Jesus and Mary Chain, was issued in Melody Maker in March 1992 to promote the tour.[8]

The North American leg of the tour took place in fall 1992 and featured the Jesus and Mary Chain, Curve and Spiritualized.[9]

Tour dates

Date City Country Venue
United Kingdom[2]
24 March 1992 Manchester England Manchester Apollo
25 March 1992 Glasgow Scotland SECC[10]
27 March 1992 Whitley Bay England Whitley Bay Ice Rink
28 March 1992 Sheffield Sheffield Arena
30 March 1992 Plymouth Plymouth Pavilions
1 April 1992 Brighton Brighton Centre
3 April 1992 Cardiff Wales Wales National Ice Rink
4 April 1992 Birmingham England National Exhibition Centre
5 April 1992 London Brixton Academy
6 April 1992
7 April 1992
North America[11]
21 October 1992 DeKalb United States Chick Evans Field House
22 October 1992 Chicago Riviera Theatre
24 October 1992 Columbia
26 October 1992 Cincinnati
27 October 1992 Columbus
28 October 1992 Cleveland The Agora
30 October 1992 Detroit State Theatre
31 October 1992 Toronto Canada SkyDome
2 November 1992 Montreal Metropolis
3 November 1992 Albany United States
4 November 1992 Boston Avalon
5 November 1992 New York Roseland Ballroom
7 November 1992 Washington Lisner Auditorium
8 November 1992 Philadelphia Trocadero Theatre
10 November 1992 Atlanta The Masquerade
11 November 1992 New Orleans
13 November 1992 Houston
14 November 1992 Dallas Deep Ellum Live
15 November 1992 Albuquerque Student Union Building
16 November 1992 Denver Gothic Theatre
17 November 1992 Salt Lake City
19 November 1992 Sacramento Crest Theatre
20 November 1992 San Francisco The Warfield
21 November 1992 Los Angeles Hollywood Palladium
22 November 1992 San Diego

Rollercoaster EP

Rollercoaster EP
EP by
Various artists
ReleasedMarch 1992 (1992-03)
GenreAlternative rock
Length16:04
LabelMelody Maker

The Rollercoaster EP is an extended play which was distributed free in a March 1992 issue of Melody Maker in support of the Rollercoaster Tour.[8] It includes four songs, which are individual tracks from Blur's second album Modern Life is Rubbish (1993), My Bloody Valentine's second album Loveless (1991), the Jesus and Mary Chain's fourth album Honey's Dead (1992) and a live version of a song from Dinosaur Jr.'s third album Bug (1987).[12]

No.TitleWriter(s)PerformerLength
1."Resigned" (from Modern Life is Rubbish)Albarn, Coxon, James, RowntreeBlur5:14
2."The Post" (live, originally from Bug)MascisDinosaur Jr.3:59
3."Only Shallow" (edit, from Loveless)Butcher, ShieldsMy Bloody Valentine3:43
4."Teenage Lust" (from Honey's Dead)Reid, ReidThe Jesus and Mary Chain3:06
Total length:16:04

References

  1. ^ Brook & Buckley 2003, p. 710.
  2. ^ a b c d Perry, Andrew (April 2013). "Eyewitness – The Rollercoaster Tour, 1992, Part 1: Like Minds United". Mojo (233). Bauer Media Group: 29–30.
  3. ^ Morris, Damien (19 February 2013). "News | Live Report: Dinosaur Jr". The Quietus. Archived from the original on 14 July 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  4. ^ Hawkes, Deborah (2003). "Music – Review of The Jesus and Mary Chain: Live in Concert". BBC Music. British Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  5. ^ The Rollercoaster Tour, 1992 (TV). London: Beat UK (ITV). September 1992.
  6. ^ Bennett, Ross (16 November 2007). "My Bloody Valentine: Tour Sold Out!". Mojo. Bauer Media Group. Archived from the original on 21 May 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  7. ^ Dogliani, Zaki (18 February 2013). "Live: My Bloody Valentine at Electric Brixton". Epigram. University of Bristol. Archived from the original on 8 August 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  8. ^ a b Strong 2002, p. 292.
  9. ^ Augusto, Troy J. (24 November 1992). "Jesus & Mary Chain; Curve; Spiritualized; Medicine". Variety. Archived from the original on 10 November 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  10. ^ "gigs by year". April Skies. Archived from the original on 25 November 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
    - "The Jesus and Mary Chain Concert Setlist at S.E.C.C., Glasgow on March 25, 1992". setlist.fm. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  11. ^ "1992 CURVE Rollercoaster Vintage Tour Band Tee Shirt 90s 1990s". Etsy Inc. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  12. ^ Rollercoaster EP (Liner notes). Melody Maker. 1992. SAM 986.

Bibliography

  • Brook, Chris; Buckley, Peter (2003). Rough Guide to Rock (Revised, 3rd ed.). Rough Guides. ISBN 978-1-858284-57-6.
  • Strong, Charles Martin (2002). The Great Scots Musicography: The Complete Guide to Scotland's Music Makers. Mercat Press. ISBN 978-1-841830-41-4.