The Retro Futura Tour Comes to The Wilbur
Featuring: Thompson Twin’s Tom Bailey, Howard Jones, Ultravox’s Midge Ure, China Crisis and Katrina (ex-Katrina & The Waves)
WHAT: On Sunday, August 24th, 2014, the Retro Futura Tour is coming to The Wilbur in Boston’s historic Theatre District.
Thompson Twins’ TOM BAILEY will play Thompson Twins hits live for the first time in 27 years as part of the Retro Futura Tour 2014. Howard Jones, Ultravox’s Midge Ure, China Crisis and Katrina (ex-Kartina & The Waves) will join Tom on his first tour since 1987.
For nearly three decades fans of the Thompson Twins have been waiting for more live performances from one of the most iconic bands of the eighties. Now Tom Bailey, with a new band, will be touring and performing most of the big Thompson Twins hits in 2014.
The Thompson Twins had huge hits on both sides of the Atlantic. Songs such as ‘Hold Me Now’, ‘Doctor Doctor’, ‘You Take Me Up’ and ‘Love On Your Side’ provided the soundtrack for so many people’s lives worldwide in the mid-eighties. The Thompson Twins also enjoyed big success on the US dance chart with ‘Lies”, ‘In the Name of Love’ and ‘Hold Me Now’ all reaching the No 1. In 1988 they had another No 1 dance chart hit in the US with ‘In the Name of Love 88”. The music and videos of the Thompson Twins became a fixture on hit radio and music television throughout the eighties. Tom Bailey will at last be bringing those songs which meant so much to so many, back live in 2014.
It was in 1983 that Howard Jones first burst upon the contemporary music scene with his very English song-writing and pioneering synthesizers. His first two albums Human’s Lib and Dream into Action garnered numerous hits, including “New Song,” “What is Love?,” “Things Can Only Get Better,” “Everlasting Love” and the quintessential “No One is To Blame,” which reached No.1 in the US. June 2012 Howard made a Kaleidoscope documentary in ‘The Song that Changed my Life’ BYUTV series. The documentary premiered on 8th October 2012 in USA and has subsequently received great reviews.
An artist who has received Ivor Novello, Grammy, BASCAP awards along with a flotilla of gold and platinum records, really needs very little introduction. By 1985, Midge Ure’s single “If I Was” went to No1 and he had already crammed several musical lifetimes into a 10 year professional career – Slik, The Rich Kids, Thin Lizzy, Visage, Ultravox and of course the most famous one off group in musical history Band Aid had by then all had the guiding hand of his musical navigation. Ultravox’s chart catalogue tracks like ‘Reap the Wild Wind’, ‘Dancing With Tears in My Eyes’, ‘Love’s Great Adventure’ and 1981’s timeless ‘Vienna’ were all massive hits the world over as they charted with awesome regularity. Midges solo gigs continue in late 2012 and into 2013 with a varied set list drawing on his Ultravox and solo catalogue, plus songs that have influenced him both old and new.
China Crisis are an English pop/rock band. Formed in 1979 with vocalist/keyboardist Gary Daly and guitarist Eddie Lundon. Their output was pop music similar in style to that of New Wave but with strong similarities to the post-punk movement of the early 1980s, namely inclusion of a broader range of musical influences and occasional flirtation with political commentary. Throughout their career, China Crisis has seen moderate success in the United Kingdom with ten hit singles between August 1982 and January 1987 and six albums, as well as commercial success in Western Europe, Australia and the Americas.
Former lead singer from the Grammy nominated band, Katrina and The Waves, Katrina now has a career both as a solo artist and with her new band. Katrina and The Waves had their first big break in 1984 when The Bangles covered their song ‘Going Down To Liverpool’. This drew attention to the group and lead to an international deal with Capitol Records. The first Capitol album, ‘Katrina & The Waves’ released in 1985, was a substantial critical and commercial success and ‘Walking on Sunshine was a worldwide hit earning top ten spots around the globe. (No. 9 US, No.8 UK, No.3 Canada, No.4 Australia). Since then, the song has been broadcasted over 2,500,000 times in the U.S. and was the highest played track on radio in the Summer of 2008. In 2001, Katrina began a solo career, performing live in the UK and in Europe and resumed writing and recording. Her first solo album, ‘Katrina Leskanich’ was released in October 2005.
This year will mark the continued touring of one of the true eighties icons and godfathers of modern electronic dance music in full electric mode. If you were too young the first time around it’ll be a chance to find out where all those beats and sounds came from, and if you were around it’ll bring all those memories flooding back. For tickets and more information about The Wilbur and other great events visit https://wilburboston.wpengine.com.
WHEN: Sunday, August 24th , 2014 – 8:00PM
COST: $35-$65
WHERE: The Wilbur | 246 Tremont Street | Boston, MA 02116 | 617.248.9800
TICKETS: Visit www.wilburboston.wpengine.com, or call the box office at 617.248.9800
About The Wilbur:
Celebrating 100 years, The Wilbur, nestled in Boston’s historic Theatre District, is the premiere destination for comedy and music in Boston, MA. Built in 1914 by The Shubert Brothers, The Wilbur opened in 1915 and was named for The Shubert Theatre’s manager A.L. Wilbur. Recently revitalized by former Comedy Connection owner Bill Blumenreich in July of 2008, The Wilbur has become a first-class venue showcasing A-list comedians and musicians. A Comedy Central verified venue, the theater has attracted the best of the best in comedy including Aziz Ansari, Louis CK, Kevin Hart, Katt Williams and Jim Gaffigan. They also boast award-winning musicians from all genres such as Boyz II Men, Lauryn Hill, Lyle Lovitt and Smoky Robinson. Offering an intimate show setting, The Wilbur provides the perfect environment for enjoying comedy sensations and chart topping artists in the heart of Boston’s historic Theater District.
The Wilbur is located at 246 Tremont Street in Boston, MA. For more information, please visit www.wilburboston.wpengine.com, or call 617.248.9700.
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