The Back in the Saddle Tour was a comeback concert tour by American

rock group A musical ensemble, also known as a music group, musical group, or a band is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumen ...

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

, which had been relatively inactive for several years. The tour began on June 22, 1984, in

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the county seat, seat of Merrimack County, New Hampshire, Merrimack County. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 43,976, making it the List of municipalities ...

and ended on January 18, 1985, in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

Background

Formed in 1970, Aerosmith was on hard times by the early 1980s.

Vocalist Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

Steven Tyler Steven Victor Tallarico (born March 26, 1948), known professionally as Steven Tyler, is an American singer and songwriter. Tyler is best known as the lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the keyboards, h ...

had been drinking heavily, and his voice had suffered. Lead

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

Joe Perry was addicted to

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

. The relationship between the two most prominent members of the band had deteriorated to "hostility". Discussing his relationship with Perry, Tyler said "I hated his guts. I said 'I never want to fucking play on the same stage with you again'." Joe Perry quit the band in 1979 and embarked on solo career with

The Joe Perry Project The Joe Perry Project is an American rock band formed by Aerosmith lead guitarist Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry shortly before his departure from Aerosmith in 1979. They almost immediately signed a record deal with Aerosmith's label, Columbia ...

. Guitarist

Brad Whitford Bradley Ernest Whitford (born February 23, 1952)Putterford, Mark (1991) ''The Fall and Rise of Aerosmith'', Omnibus Press, Strong, Martin C. (2001) ''The Great Metal Discography'' (2nd edn.), MOJO Books, , p. 11-13 is an American musician who ...

also quit to work with Derek St. Holmes and later joined Perry's band. Most of Aerosmith's ventures without Perry and Whitford were unsuccessful. Many fans believed that this was the end of Aerosmith.

Reunion

In 1983, the original band members "started drifting back together". Perry had kicked his heroin habit, and although Tyler was still drinking, he was in somewhat better control of himself. Tyler had concluded that "Time heals all wounds. Joe is nothing without me, and I'm nothing without him." They faced problems, however, as the "group had no current album or record deal." To jump start their career, the band decided on a tour of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, considering as many as 70 performances. In its final form, the tour consisted of 58 performances.

Tour

Doubts were expressed as to whether Aerosmith could make a comeback. "Cynics may suggest that the reunion dubbed the Back in the Saddle Tour is all the band has going for it. Aerosmith hasn't had a new album in two years." The tour consisted of two legs with a three-month break at the midpoint. The tour "got a roar of approval from loyal fans", and it was described as "a rousing success". The band's tour income was "estimated as high as $3 million".

Setlist

# " Rats In The Cellar" # " Back In The Saddle" # "Bone To Bone (Coney Island White Fish Boy)" # " Big Ten Inch Record" # " Movin' Out" # " Last Child" # "

Let The Music Do The Talking ''Let the Music Do the Talking'' is the first of three studio albums by The Joe Perry Project, released in 1980. It was the band's most successful, selling approximately 250,000 copies in the United States. The title track was later re-recorded ...

" (On 12/31, Aerosmith performed the Joe Perry Project version) # " Red House" "(The Jimi Hendrix Experience Cover)" # " Dream On" # " Sweet Emotion" # " Same Old Song And Dance" Encore: # "

Walk This Way "Walk This Way" is a song by the American rock band Aerosmith. Written by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, the song was originally released as the second single from the album '' Toys in the Attic'' (1975). It peaked at number 10 on the ''Billboa ...

" # " Train Kept A-Rollin'"

Record contract

The success of the tour "piqued the interest" of

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

and "resulted in a new deal with Geffen."

Legacy

The tour was "deemed a success". It did "what it was meant to do. Fans welcomed them back with open arms." The tour "proved to be exactly what Aerosmith needed, launching the reunion on just the right note of organized mayhem." Six of the eight tracks on the album '' Classics Live II'' were recorded at the Orpheum Theater in the band's home town of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...

, December 31, 1984 in the final weeks of the ''Back In The Saddle Tour''. This album has been called "far more worthy than its nondescript packaging suggested".

Tour dates

References

External links

Aero Force One: Back In The Saddle Tour
{{Aerosmith 1984 concert tours 1985 concert tours Aerosmith concert tours Reunion concert tours