Born Again Tour


The Born Again Tour was a concert tour by in support of Black Sabbath's Born Again album. Both the album and the tour were the only ones of Black Sabbath's to feature former Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan on lead vocals. Ex-Electric Light Orchestra drummer Bev Bevan was hired to replace Bill Ward, who had returned to the band for the recording of the album after a two-year hiatus, for the tour. This was the final tour to feature original Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler until 1992's Dehumanizer tour.

Background

After recording the Born Again album, drummer Bill Ward left the band before the start of the born Again Tour due to personal problems, and was replaced by Bev Bevan.
Between 7 and 14 August 1983, the band used the National Exhibition Centre, in Birmingham, England, to rehearse. The first leg of the tour consisted of seven European shows in August, followed by a second European leg in September and October, featuring 16 shows.
"We were on flight 666 to Helsinki," recalled Geezer Butler, "and even the baggage label said 'HEL'. We were all shitting ourselves getting on that plane. I got pissed, of course. I was severely boozing then. I was pissed for that whole tour."
Two North American legs consisted of 36 shows from October through November, then 34 shows from January through March 1984.
There were many cancellations during the North American tour owing to problems with an oversized Stonehenge stage set. This was the reason that initial shows in Canada were cancelled, delaying the first North American leg. The crew also got caught in a November blizzard while crossing the Continental Divide, forcing the cancellation of two shows in Salt Lake City and Reno.
There were more difficulties during the second North American leg which delayed their shows for nearly a week. One show in Salisbury, Maryland was beset by local religious protests that were noted in the local papers, but was ultimately cancelled due to poor ticket sales. Of the 96 currently confirmed shows, 30% were likely cancelled for one reason or another. The band did manage to sell out at least a dozen shows including Saginaw, Worcester, Rockford, Providence, Cleveland, Detroit, New Haven, Portland, Philadelphia, Toronto, East Rutherford and Chicago.

Tour dates

DateCityCountryVenue
18 August 1983DrammenNorwayDrammenshallen
19 August 1983StockholmSwedenJohanneshovs Isstadion
21 August 1983HelsinkiFinlandHelsinki Ice Hall
23 August 1983LundSwedenOlympen
24 August 1983CopenhagenDenmarkFalkoner Teatret
27 August 1983ReadingEnglandReading Festival
28 August 1983DublinIrelandDalymount Park
10 September 1983MulhouseFranceHippodrome de Schlierbach
13 September 1983BarcelonaSpainLa Monumental
14 September 1983MadridSpainEstadio Román Valero
15 September 1983San SebastiánSpainVelódromo de Anoeta
18 September 1983OffenbachWest GermanyStadthalle Offenbach
19 September 1983DüsseldorfWest GermanyPhilips Halle
20 September 1983MannheimWest GermanyMannheimer Rosengarten
22 September 1983MunichWest GermanyCircus Krone Building
24 September 1983FrauenfeldSwitzerlandFesthalle Ruegerhols
25 September 1983GenevaSwitzerlandPavillon Des Sports Del Champel Geneve
27 September 1983Neunkirchen am BrandWest GermanyHemmerleinhalle
28 September 1983BöblingenWest GermanySporthalle
30 September 1983ParisFranceEspace Balard
1 October 1983BrusselsBelgiumForest National
2 October 1983ZwolleNetherlandsIJsselhallen
3 October 1983NijmegenNetherlandsConcertgebouw de Vereeniging
13 October 1983MonctonCanadaMoncton Coliseum
15 October 1983HalifaxCanadaHalifax Metro Center
17 October 1983RimouskiCanadaColisée de Rimouski
18 October 1983ChicoutimiCanadaCentre Georges-Vézina
20 October 1983Quebec CityCanadaColisée de Québec
21 October 1983MontrealCanadaMontreal Forum
22 October 1983OttawaCanadaOttawa Civic Centre
24 October 1983SudburyCanadaSudbury Arena
25 October 1983TorontoCanadaMaple Leaf Gardens
26 October 1983LondonCanadaLondon Gardens
27 October 1983BuffaloUnited StatesBuffalo Memorial Auditorium
29 October 1983East RutherfordUnited StatesBrendan Byrne Arena
30 October 1983UniondaleUnited StatesNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
1 November 1983ProvidenceUnited StatesProvidence Civic Center
2 November 1983LandoverUnited StatesCapital Centre
4 November 1983WorcesterUnited StatesWorcester Centrum
5 November 1983PhiladelphiaUnited StatesSpectrum
6 November 1983PortlandUnited StatesCumberland County Civic Center
8 November 1983New HavenUnited StatesNew Haven Coliseum
9 November 1983RochesterUnited StatesRochester Community War Memorial
10 November 1983PittsburghUnited StatesStanley Theater
11 November 1983DetroitUnited StatesCobo Arena
12 November 1983ClevelandUnited StatesPublic Auditorium
13 November 1983CincinnatiUnited StatesRichfield Coliseum
14 November 1983SaginawUnited StatesSaginaw Civic Center
15 November 1983RockfordUnited StatesRockford MetroCentre
16 November 1983AshwaubenonUnited StatesBrown County Veterans Memorial Arena
18 November 1983ChicagoUnited StatesUIC Pavilion
19 November 1983MadisonUnited StatesDane County Coliseum
20 November 1983BloomingtonUnited StatesMet Center
22 November 1983Salt Lake CityUnited StatesSalt Palace
23 November 1983RenoUnited StatesLawlor Events Center
25 November 1983ParadiseUnited StatesAladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts
26 November 1983PhoenixUnited StatesArizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
27 November 1983TucsonUnited StatesTucson Community Center
29 November 1983AlbuquerqueUnited StatesTingley Coliseum
30 November 1983El PasoUnited StatesEl Paso County Coliseum

DateCityCountryVenue
16 January 1984CalgaryCanadaTBA
17 January 1984EdmontonCanadaNorthlands Coliseum
19 January 1984VancouverCanadaTBA
20 January 1984SeattleUnited StatesSeattle Center Coliseum
21 January 1984SpokaneUnited StatesSpokane Coliseum
23 January 1984PortlandUnited StatesMemorial Coliseum Complex
25 January 1984Daly CityUnited StatesCow Palace
26 January 1984Long BeachUnited StatesLong Beach Arena
28 January 1984El PasoUnited StatesEl Paso County Coliseum
29 January 1984Salt Lake CityUnited StatesSalt Palace
31 January 1984DenverUnited StatesUniversity of Denver Arena
1 February 1984AmarilloUnited StatesAmarillo Civic Center
2 February 1984LubbockUnited StatesLubbock Memorial Civic Center
3 February 1984Corpus ChristiUnited StatesMemorial Coliseum
4 February 1984San AntonioUnited StatesHenry B. Gonzalez Convention Center
7 February 1984HoustonUnited StatesSam Houston Coliseum
8 February 1984DallasUnited StatesReunion Arena
10 February 1984BeaumontUnited StatesBeaumont Civic Center
11 February 1984Little RockUnited StatesBarton Coliseum
12 February 1984New OrleansUnited StatesLakefront Arena
13 February 1984BirminghamUnited StatesBoutwell Auditorium
14 February 1984JacksonvilleUnited StatesJacksonville Memorial Coliseum
16 February 1984LakelandUnited StatesLakeland Civic Center
17 February 1984SunriseUnited StatesSunrise Musical Theater
18 February 1984SavannahUnited StatesSavannah Civic Center
20 February 1984AtlantaUnited StatesFox Theatre
22 February 1984St. LouisUnited StatesKiel Auditorium
24 February 1984ToledoUnited StatesToledo Sports Arena
25 February 1984TrotwoodUnited StatesHara Arena
26 February 1984KalamazooUnited StatesWings Stadium
28 February 1984SalisburyUnited StatesWicomico Youth and Civic Center
29 February 1984UticaUnited StatesThe Stanley Center for the Arts
1 March 1984AlbanyUnited StatesPalace Theatre
3 March 1984PittsburghUnited StatesStanley Theater
4 March 1984SpringfieldUnited StatesSpringfield Civic Center