Heartbreak Tour

Heartbreak Tour

Tour by New Edition
Associated album	Heart Break
Start date	September 21, 1988
End date	July 29, 1989
Legs	3
No. of shows	112
New Edition concert chronology

The Heartbreak Tour was a concert tour by American boy band New Edition. The tour supported their fifth studio album, Heart Break (1988).

Background

On their previous tour, New Edition had to perform as a four-piece act after Bobby Brown's departure, but in the spring of 1987, Johnny Gill was added to the group. The five-member group went back to the studio to record what is now considered their most influential album: Heart Break, released June 20, 1988. By the beginning of fall, the album had reached platinum status and New Edition were ready to hit the stage again. Bobby Brown, who had released Don't Be Cruel on the same day as Heart Break, and Al B Sure!, who had found success with his first album In Effect Mode, both joined as opening acts.

The Heartbreak Tour was the 16th most popular tour of 1988 with the first leg grossing $14.1 million in ticket sales, according to Pollstar. Arenas in cities like Inglewood, Chicago and Detroit were sold out two or thee times. They even achieved sell-outs in certain Southern cities that had not sold out in over a decade. The five members were awarded a gold ticket by Madison Square Garden for sales of over 100,000 tickets.

The group was involved in a school dropout prevention campaign. They sponsored "What School Means to Me", a nationwide essay contest at elementary schools. The winner of the competition was invited to attend a New Edition concert and meet the group backstage.

Incidents

New Edition extended their schedule by headlining "Kiss Concert" in Mansfield, Massachusetts, and then performed a few shows for Budweiser Superfest. Their engagement with Budweiser was cut short when, on July 8 in Greensboro, as Guy was ending its act, members of New Edition came on stage, upset that Guy might have played too long. A member of Guy was reported to have kicked or pushed a piece of New Edition's equipment off stage. New Edition confronted Guy, a fight occurred, the groups' bodyguards joined in the scuffle as band members threw microphones and kicked music equipment, before officers and Coliseum security guards stepped in. New Edition band members later returned to the stage to play. Before they started, one of them apologized to the crowd of 13,755 people and tried to explain the fight, saying Guy staff members were "messing with their instruments", which almost caused them to not be able to perform. New Edition members said that Karyn White loaned them equipment to perform with, because theirs had been damaged in the scuffle. After the concert, the members of Guy allegedly threatened New Edition saying they were going to "get them". According to a witness, members of New Edition flew several men from New York to Pittsburgh to provide the band with "muscle, to do whatever they had to do". While the three members of Guy were preparing to leave the Coliseum in a limousine, an unidentified person began shouting insults and threats at the band. The three members left the vehicle and followed the unidentified person back to the Coliseum floor behind the stage, but police moved in to restrain band members. Police in Greensboro said that no arrests were made, and Coliseum officials declined to comment on the fighting.

The next day in Pittsburgh, while stagehands of New Edition and Guy were setting up equipment for the concert, two Guy "roadies" attacked a crew member of New Edition near the Civic Arena stage. One man pounded another man with a baseball bat, and other crew members pulled out guns and knives. New Edition's production manager, 30-year-old Ronald Byrd, chased Guy's security manager Anthony Bee, 32, out of the arena and across the street into the Hyatt Hotel at about 4:30 p.m. and shot him twice outside the hotel. Bee died at the Mercy Hospital. Ronald Byrd was charged with criminal homicide. Four members of Guy's crew were jailed on assault charges in the beating of New Edition crew member Michael Clark. It has been said that the crew members had been feuding over stage arrangements and other matters for weeks, according to stagehands.

Following this incident, Tom Pagano (spokesman for Anheuser-Busch) announced that Anheuser-Busch had dropped New Edition and Guy from the tour roster.

Opening acts

• Bobby Brown (September 1988-February 1989)
• Al B Sure! (September 1988-February 1989)
• The Gyrlz (in Saginaw, January 17, 1989)

Setlist

1. "That's the Way We're Livin'"
2. "Count Me Out"
3. "Cool It Now"
4. "Crucial"
5. (Jealous Girl Interlude)
6. "Is This the End"
7. "Lost in Love"
8. "You're Not My Kind of Girl"
9. "Boys to Men"
10. "Can You Stand the Rain"
11. (DJ Spinbad Interlude)
12. "N.E. Heartbreak"
13. "If It Isn't Love"

Notes

• "Mr. Telephone Man" was performed in the 1989 shows, Bobby Brown joined the group on stage to sing lead.
• "I'm Coming Home" was often performed.

Tour dates

Date	City	Country	Venue
1988
September 21	Greenville	United States	Greenville Memorial Auditorium
September 22	Augusta		Augusta Civic Center
September 23	Tampa		USF Dome
September 24	Atlanta		The Omni
September 25	Greensboro		Greensboro Coliseum
September 28	Albany		Albany Civic Center
September 29	Savannah		Savannah Civic Center
September 30	Birmingham		Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Coliseum
October 1	Jacksonville		Memorial Coliseum
October 2	Miami		Miami Arena
October 5	Louisville		Louisville Gardens
October 6	Milwaukee		MECCA Arena
October 7	Chicago		UIC Pavilion
October 8
October 9	Memphis		Mid-South Coliseum
October 12	Oklahoma City		Myriad Convention Center
October 13	Kansas City		Kemper Arena
October 16	Indianapolis		Market Square Arena
October 17	Detroit		Joe Louis Arena
October 18
October 19	Pensacola		Pensacola Civic Center
October 21	New Orleans		Louisiana Superdome
October 23	Dallas		Reunion Arena
October 24	Austin		Travis County Expo Center
October 27	New York		Madison Square Garden
October 28	Philadelphia		Spectrum
October 29	Buffalo		Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
October 30	Bosoton		Boston Garden
October 31
November 2	Philadelphia		Spectrum
November 4	Hartford		Hartford Civic Center
November 6	Landover		Capital Center
November 9	Pittsburgh		Pittsburgh Civic Arena
November 11	Hampton		Hampton Coliseum
November 12	Richmond		Richmond Coliseum
November 13	Cincinnati		Riverfront Coliseum
November 16	Denver		McNichols Sports Arena
November 20	Inglewood		The Forum
November 23
November 24
November 25	Sacramento		ARCO Arena
November 26	San Bernardino		Orange Pavilion
November 27	Fresno		Selland Arena
November 29	Portland		Memorial Coliseum
November 30	Seattle		Seattle Center Coliseum
December 2	Oakland		Oakland Coliseum Arena
Deceember 3
December 4
December 6	Tucson		Tucson Convention Center
December 7	Shreveport		Hirsch Memorial Coliseum
December 11	Columbia		Carolina Coliseum
December 13	Cleveland		Public Hall
December 14	Chicago IL		UIC Pavilion
December 17	Hampton		Hampton Coliseum
December 18	New York City		Madison Square Garden
1989
January 16	Louisville	United States	Louisville Gardens
January 17	Saginaw		Wendler Arena
January 18	Columbus		Celeste Center
January 20	Charlotte		Charlotte Coliseum
January 21	Richmond		Richmond Coliseum
January 26	Greenville		Greenville Memorial Auditorium
January 27	Roanoke		Civic Center
January 28	Chattanooga		UTC Arena
January 29	Macon		Macon Coliseum
January 31	Philadelphia		Spectrum
February 1	Rochester		War Memorial
February 3	Providence		Providence Civic Center
February 4	New York City		Madison Square Garden
February 7	Pittsburgh		Civic Arena
February 9	Dayton		Hara Arena
February 10	Montgomery		Garrett Coliseum
February 11	Detroit		Joe Louis Arena
February 13	Orlando		Orlando Centroplex Arena
February 14	Atlanta		The Omni
February 16	Kalamazoo		Wings Stadium
February 17	Bloomington		Met Center
February 19	Memphis		Mid-South Coliseum
February 21	Worcester		Worcester Centrum
February 24	Las cruces		Pan American Center
February 25	Gary		Genesis Convention Center
February 26	Daly City		Cow Palace
February 27	Inglewood		The Forum

Summer 1989

Date	City	Country	Venue
1989
May 24	West Allis	United States	Wisconsin State Fair Grandstand
June 2	Austin		Frank Erwin Center
June 3	Mansfield		Great Woods Center For The Performong Arts
June 17	Washington DC		RFK Stadium
June 18	Charlotte		Carowinds Paladium
June 23	Little Rock		Barton Coliseum
June 24	Houston		The Summit
June 25	Dallas		Reunion Arena
June 27	Honolulu		Blaisdell Arena
July 1	Los Angeles		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
July 4	Portland		Veterans Memorial Coliseum
July 8	Greensboro		Greensboro Coliseum
August 27	Santa Clara		Universal Amphitheater