Reptile World Tour

Reptile World Tour
World concert by Eric Clapton
Associated album Reptile
Start date 3 February 2001 (2001-02-03)
End date 15 December 2001 (2001-12-15)
No. of shows
  • 8 in South America
  • 16 in Asia
  • 36 in Europe
  • 45 in North America

The Reptile World Tour, or sometimes just The Reptile Tour was a global concert tour held by the British Rock musician Eric Clapton in support of his fifteenth studio album Reptile.[1] The tour started on 3 February 2001 at London's Royal Albert Hall and ended on 15 December 2001 at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama. The tour included notable nights like Clapton's first long concert stint at the Royal Albert Hall for the first time since 1996, rare appearances in South America, as well as first-ever performances in Moscow and St Petersburg, Russia, Mexico and Venezuela.

For the tour, Clapton selected a number of musicians who also recorded on the 2001 Reptile album. The basic line-up consisted of Andy Fairweather Low on rhythm guitar, Nathan East on electric and acoustic bass guitar, Steve Gadd on drums and David Sancious on keyboards and rhythm guitar. Other musicians like Billy Preston on Hammond organ, Greg Phillinganes on keyboards and Hammond organ, Paulinho da Costa on percussion as well as The Impressions only appeared on selected dates of the tour. The tour's set list also underwent changes during the tour. In 2001, Clapton said this was going to be his last major world tour.[2] However, he did perform another world tour in 2011 to support his Clapton album.

Background

Europe

Clapton started the Reptile World Tour on 3 February 2001 at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Clapton played five out of six planned shows at the venue on 3, 4, 6, 9 and 10 February 2001. It was Clapton's first long concert stint at the English venue since 1996, when he played a total of 13 shows in a row. The concert on 7 February 2001 was cancelled as Clapton was ill with a sore throat and a cold. It was not rescheduled. Clapton and his band played Sheffield, Manchester and Birmingham on 12, 14 and 16 February 2001 to conclude the leg or performances in the United Kingdom. From mid to late February, Clapton toured Portugal, Spain, France and Italy. On 22 February 2001 David Sancious first began to play the rhythm guitar on the song "Layla" on the tour.

In March 2001, Clapton performed further shows in Italy and France. He also played in Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands. In April, Clapton finished the European leg of the tour with shows in again Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia. The leg featured The Impressions for most of the shows as well as Paulinho da Costa on percussion. Doyle Bramhall II & Smokestack supported Clapton on the tour until 3 April 2001 at the Globen Stockholm. Afterwards, Clapton carried on without support for his final European shows.

North America

On 12 March 2001 Clapton's management and promoters announced the first leg of Clapton's performances in North America.[3] The first leg of his North American tour began on 10 May 2001 in Dallas, Texas and ended on 23 June 2001 in New York City. Clapton played a total of 25 shows during his first leg and extended the North American segment of the tour due to high ticket demand.[4] Clapton played another 20 shows in North America and a total of 45 shows in the continent, including a three-night performance at New York City's Madison Square Garden. The touring band did no longer feature Paulinho da Costa but Billy Preston on Hammond organ and keyboards instead. The Impressions rejoined Clapton for the Southern American shows of the tour. Doyle Bramhall II & Smokestack also supported Clapton for the North American leg of the Reptile World Tour. On 14 May 2001 American Blues guitarist and singer Jimmie Vaughan joined Clapton on stage in Houston, Texas and Clapton changed his set list featuring more Blues tunes than previously on the tour. From 22 May 2001 to 11 June 2001 Billy Preston did not perform with Clapton due to illness.

Clapton began the second leg of his North American tour on 17 July 2001 in St. Paul, Minnesota and played an additional 20 North American shows until the second leg ended on 18 August 2001 at Los Angeles' Staples Center. The second North American leg also featured support from Doyle Bramhall II & Smokestack. On 24 July 2001 Clapton was joined by fellow Blues guitarist Buddy Guy in Chicago, Illinois. On 25 July 2001 Clapton added Billy Preston's "Will It Go Round in Circles" to the set list. On 5 August 2001 Preston again cancelled a concert due to illness. On 13 August 2001 Clapton dedicated the song "Bell Bottom Blues" to Maureen Reagan, who had died a few days previous at age 60 at his Las Vegas concert. The North America legs consisted of 43 shows in the United States and two shows in Canada.

In North America alone, Clapton grossed a total of 44,346,504 million US dollar, making the Reptile World Tour the 7th best-selling concert tour of 2001.[5]

South America

The South American leg of the tour consisted of eight shows, the British rock musician held with his standard touring band, except Billy Preston who was replaced by Greg Phillinganes on the Hammond organ and keyboards for the performances. Clapton started the leg in Chile, with Miguel "Botafogo" Vilanova as the supporting act. On October 6, 2001, Clapton performed in Argentina, supported by the La Mississippi Blues Band and Memphis La Blusera and performed in Uruguay two days later. For Clapton's three shows in Brazil on 10, 11 and 13 October 2001, Roberto Frejat served as the opening act for Clapton. The British rock musician performed in Venezuela for the first time in his career with Biella Da Costa as the supporting act on 16 October 2001 during the tour and ended the South American leg of the tour on 19 October 2001 in Mexico City in support of the band Toto. The Reptile World Tour marked Clapton's second tour through South America since the 1990 Journeyman World Tour.

Asia

Clapton started the final leg of his massive Reptile World Tour on 19 November 2001 in Osaka, Japan where he played three nights in a row at the Osaka-jō Hall. On 24 and 26 November 2001 Clapton travelled to Nagoya and Fukuoka for another two shows in Japan. From 28 November to 11 December 2001 Clapton played eight shows at the Nippon Budokan; only interrupted by a performance in Sendai on 8 November 2001. The British singer performed two more shows on 14 and 15 December 2001 in Yokohama, where the Reptile World Tour ended. All the Asian shows had no supporting act and again featured Greg Phillinganes on keyboards and Hammond organ instead of Billy Preston.

Set lists

  1. "Key to the Highway"
  2. "Reptile"
  3. "Got You on My Mind"
  4. "Tears in Heaven"
  5. "Bell Bottom Blues"
  6. "Change the World"
  7. "My Father's Eyes"
  8. "River of Tears"
  9. "Going Down Slow"
  10. "She's Gone"
  11. "I Want a Little Girl"
  12. "Badge"
  13. "(I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man"
  14. "Have You Ever Loved a Woman"
  15. "Cocaine"
  16. "Wonderful Tonight"
  17. "Layla"
  18. "Sunshine of Your Love"
  19. "Over the Rainbow"

Sometimes Clapton performed songs like "It's Alright", "Finally Got Myself Together" and "I Ain't Gonna Stand for It" just when The Impressions were included on concert dates. If the vocal group had not appeared on a gig with Clapton, he did not perform the song. For dates in the North American tour, Billy Preston sang Will It Go Round in Circles.

Tour Dates

Date City Country Venue
Europe[6]
3 February 2001 London United Kingdom Royal Albert Hall
4 February 2001
6 February 2001
7 February 2001
9 February 2001
10 February 2001
12 February 2001 Sheffield Sheffield Arena
14 February 2001 Manchester Manchester Evening News Arena
16 February 2001 Birmingham National Exhibition Centre
20 February 2001 Lisbon Portugal Pavilhão Atlântico
22 February 2001 Madrid Spain Palacio de Los Deportes
23 February 2001
25 February 2001 Barcelona Palau Sant Jordi
26 February 2001 Toulose France Zénith Toulouse Métropole
28 February 2001 Florence Italy Palasport
2 March 2001 Milan Fila Forum
3 March 2001 Pesaro BPA Palas
5 March 2001 Zurich Switzerland Hallenstadion
6 March 2001 Stuttgart Germany Schleyerhalle
8 March 2001 Cologne Cologne Arena
9 March 2001 Frankfurt Festhalle

References

  1. ↑ Mancini, Rob (26 October 2000). "Eric Clapton Dedicates 2001 To World Tour – MTV". MTV Music. Viacom. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  2. ↑ Wiederhorn, John (29 May 2001). "Clapton Says Current World Tour Likely His Last". MTV Network. Viacom. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "Clapton Unveils North American Tour Plans | Billboard". Billboard Magazine. Prometheus Global Media. 12 March 2001. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  4. ↑ "Clapton Confirms Second North American Tour Leg | Billboard". Billboard Magazine. Prometheus Global Media. 9 April 2001. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  5. ↑ Allen, Bob (29 December 2001). "Top 25 U.S. Tours". Billboard Magazine. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 113 (52): YT-4. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  6. ↑ "2001 ERIC CLAPTON TOUR AND SET LIST ARCHIVE". whereseric.com. Retrieved 2018-03-26.
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