| Concert Tour Name: | Club Fantastic Tour |
| Border: | yes |
| Artist: | Wham! |
| Location: | United Kingdom |
| Album: | Fantastic |
| Number Of Shows: | 29 (30 scheduled) |
| Support Act: | Gary Crowley |
| This Tour: | Club Fantastic Tour (1983) |
| Next Tour: | The Big Tour (1984–85) |
The Club Fantastic Tour (also advertised as the Club Fantastic '83 Tour) was the debut concert tour by English pop duo Wham!, launched in support of their first studio album Fantastic (1983). It was sponsored by Fila sportswear and spanned two months from October to late November 1983, comprising 30 sold-out shows across England, Scotland and Wales.[1] [2]
Wham! announced a tour in August 1983. Their co-manager Simon Napier-Bell had a plan to raise some revenue; if little money was to be made from records, then it was time for the duo to begin performing with a 30-date tour of the UK. Napier-Bell secured a £50,000 sponsorship deal with the sportswear manufacturer Fila, with George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley wearing the company's clothing on stage throughout the tour.[1]
Halfway through the tour, Michael lost his voice and had to cancel ten consecutive shows; concerts were pushed back and rescheduled.[3]
The show started with Michael entering the stage right-side in yellow Fila sports gear, and Ridgeley entering the stage left-side in red Fila sports gear while the band played "Bad Boys". Pepsi & Shirlie, backing singers and dancers, ran on stage for "Club Tropicana".[4]
Ridgeley then announced the next song, "Blue", a slow love ballad. He held a plectrum in his mouth and shook hands. They then sang "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)", dancing as a foursome. They continued with "A Ray of Sunshine", which ended the first part of the set.[4] During the break a screen appeared and the crowd were shown family photos such as Ridgeley in pyjamas, and a young Michael in glasses. A mixed compilation of the group's music videos was played.[5]
Then Michael sang "Careless Whisper" to a backing track on his own. He and Ridgeley changed into white Wham! singlet T-shirts and sang "Bad Boys". "Love Machine" followed, then "Nothing Looks the Same in the Light". "Come On" ended the set, with the two playing a mock game of badminton, occasionally whacking a shuttlecock out to the crowd.[6]
The encore was "Young Guns (Go for It)" with the duo wearing camp cowboy outfits, "Wham Rap!" with them wearing white, and finally Chic's 1979 disco hit "Good Times".[4]
The group decided to go back to their clubbing roots and had Gary Crowley (of Capital Radio) as the opening DJ act. Also included were some body-poppers called Eklypse who did dance routines for over an hour before the show.[2]
The first set saw the band play most of the hits from the Fantastic album before Michael was on stage alone singing songs like "Careless Whisper", a then-unreleased track.[2]
The average set list was as follows:[7]
| City | Country | Venue | |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | |||
| 9 October 1983 | Aberdeen | Scotland | Capitol Theatre |
| 10 October 1983 | |||
| 11 October 1983 | Edinburgh | Playhouse Theatre | |
| 13 October 1983 | Glasgow | Apollo Theatre | |
| 14 October 1983 | Blackpool | England | Opera House |
| 15 October 1983 | Newcastle | City Hall | |
| 16 October 1983 | Manchester | Apollo Theatre | |
| 18 October 1983 | Liverpool | Royal Court Theatre | |
| 19 October 1983 | Sheffield | City Hall | |
| 21 October 1983 | Leicester | De Montfort Hall | |
| 22 October 1983 | St Austell | Coliseum | |
| 23 October 1983 | Bristol | Studio | |
| 24 October 1983 | Swansea | Wales | Top Rank |
| 27 October 1983 | London | England | Hammersmith Odeon |
| 28 October 1983 | |||
| Brighton | Centre | ||
| Nottingham | Royal Centre | ||
| Poole | Arts Centre | ||
| Crawley | Leisure Centre | ||
| Leeds | University | ||
| Birmingham | Odeon Theatre | ||
| London | Lyceum | ||
| Brighton | Centre | ||
| 13 November 1983 | London | Lyceum | |
| 14 November 1983 | |||
| 15 November 1983 | |||
| 16 November 1983 | |||
| 17 November 1983 | |||
| 19 November 1983 | Whitley Bay | Ice Rink | |
| 20 November 1983 | Swansea | Wales | Top Rank |
| 21 November 1983 | Poole | England | Arts Centre |
| 24 November 1983 | Birmingham | Odeon Theatre | |
| 25 November 1983 | Leeds | University | |
| 26 November 1983 | London | Hammersmith Odeon | |
| 28 November 1983 | Nottingham | Royal Centre | |
| 29 November 1983 | Brighton | Centre | |
| 30 November 1983 | |||
| Denotes cancelled concert dates that were rescheduled. |
Musicians
Sponsor
Gary Crowley described the tour as "some of my bestest bestest memories ... The nearest I'll ever get to being in the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night."[8]