• Source: Club Fantastic Tour

      • 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.


      Background


      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.
      Halfway through the tour, Michael lost his voice and had to cancel ten consecutive shows; concerts were pushed back and rescheduled.


      Concert synopsis


      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".
      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. 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.
      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.
      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".


      Opening acts


      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.


      Set list



      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.
      The average set list was as follows:

      "Young Guns (Go for It)"
      "Club Tropicana"
      "Blue"
      "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)"
      "A Ray of Sunshine"
      Break
      "Careless Whisper"
      "Bad Boys"
      "Love Machine"
      "Nothing Looks the Same in the Light"
      "Come On"
      "Young Guns (Go for It)"
      "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)"
      "Good Times"


      Tour dates




      Personnel




      Quotes


      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."


      References

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