In the Flesh (Roger Waters tour)

In the Flesh
Tour by Roger Waters
Promotional poster for the tour
Location
  • North America
  • Africa
  • South America
  • Asia
  • Australia
  • Europe
Start date23 July 1999 (1999-07-23)
End date30 June 2002 (2002-06-30)
Legs4
No. of shows105
Roger Waters concert chronology

In the Flesh was a series of worldwide concert tours by Roger Waters that spanned three individual tours over the course of three years (1999, 2000, and 2002).[1] Returning from a 12-year-long hiatus from the road,[2] In The Flesh was a showcase of his best known work from his days with Pink Floyd, with that material dominating shows.[1] Songs were also performed from Waters' most recently released solo album, 1992's Amused to Death, being played live for the first time.[3] The tour's name is an allusion to the 1977 Pink Floyd tour for the Animals album,[4] as well as the two songs so titled on the album The Wall.

The tour was a financial success in the United States.[1] Because of Waters' long absence from the music scene, promoters and other industry figures were unsure of how well a Waters tour would do commercially, and were surprised when tickets began selling rapidly as soon as they were put on sale.[2] In a number of cases, dates booked in smaller venues such as theatres were moved into larger ones such as outdoor amphitheatres or arenas.[2][1] The 1999 portion of the tour ended up grossing $6.7 million from 21 shows, with a total of some 243,000 people attending.[2]

Although Waters himself had no new music being released in conjunction with In the Flesh,[4] the 2000 portion of the tour coincided with the release of Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980–81, commemorating Pink Floyd's historic live performance of The Wall, and the tour and the release were cross-promoted.[2] While the first two years of the tour took place only in North America, the third year stretched across the world.[4] During the tour, Waters played two completely new songs, "Flickering Flame" or "Each Small Candle",[4] often as the final encore to many of the shows.[1] In June 2002, he completed the tour with a performance in front of 70,000 people at the Glastonbury Festival of Performing Arts.[1]

The 27 June 2000 performance at the Rose Garden Arena (Now Moda Center) in Portland, Oregon was later released as the primary source for the CD and DVD In the Flesh – Live.[1][4] Several other shows were filmed as well for use in the CD/DVD,[4] with announcements being made alerting audience members that they were being filmed.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Povey, Glen (2008). Echoes: The Complete History of Pink Floyd (2nd UK paperback ed.). 3C Publishing Ltd. pp. 329–334. ISBN 978-0-9554624-1-2.
  2. ^ a b c d e Waddell, Ray (1 April 2000). "Waters Tour Extended Into 2000". Billboard. p. 106.
  3. ^ Povey, Glen (2008). Echoes: The Complete History of Pink Floyd (2nd UK paperback ed.). 3C Publishing Ltd. pp. 323–324. ISBN 978-0-9554624-1-2.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Mabbett, Andy. Pink Floyd: The Music and the Mystery (Omnibus Press, 2010), pp. 325–326.