Rollercoaster Tour
| Company type | Concert tour |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Founder | Jim Reid |
Area served | United Kingdom, North America |
| Products | Live music performances |
The Rollercoaster Tour was a co-headlining concert series in 1992 that brought together the Scottish noise pop group the Jesus and Mary Chain, the Irish-English alternative rock ensemble My Bloody Valentine, the English Britpop outfit Blur, and the American indie rock band Dinosaur Jr.. Spanning two legs and comprising 34 shows across the United Kingdom and North America, the UK segment showcased each band's latest albums: Blur's inaugural release Leisure (1991), Dinosaur Jr.'s fourth studio album Green Mind (1991), My Bloody Valentine's sophomore album Loveless (1991), and The Jesus and Mary Chain's fourth record Honey's Dead (1992).
Organized by Jim Reid, lead vocalist of The Jesus and Mary Chain, the tour was designed to move beyond the usual small-scale venues such as Nottingham’s Rock City and to represent a broad spectrum of independent rock music styles. Reid intended the event to serve as a British equivalent to the North American festival Lollapalooza, where his band had previously performed earlier that year. Each performer delivered a 45-minute set without encores, with the order of acts changing nightly; notably, The Jesus and Mary Chain consistently closed all 11 UK performances.
After completing this tour, My Bloody Valentine refrained from live shows in the UK until their reunion in 2008. Their performance was particularly memorable for concluding with the white noise segment of "You Made Me Realise", which allegedly caused pint glasses in the audience to vibrate and fall due to intense sound pressure. Jim Reid later described the tour as a contest centered around volume levels, visual presentation on stage, and stamina during performances. To support the tour's promotion, the Rollercoaster EP, featuring tracks from all four bands, was distributed through Melody Maker magazine in March 1992.
The North American portion of the tour took place in autumn 1992, featuring The Jesus and Mary Chain alongside Curve and Spiritualized.
Tour dates
| Date | City | Country | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | |||
| 24 March 1992 | Manchester | England | Manchester Apollo |
| 25 March 1992 | Glasgow | Scotland | SECC |
| 27 March 1992 | Whitley Bay | England | Whitley Bay Ice Rink |
| 28 March 1992 | Sheffield | Sheffield Arena | |
| 30 March 1992 | Plymouth | Plymouth Pavilions | |
| 1 April 1992 | Brighton | Brighton Centre | |
| 3 April 1992 | Cardiff | Wales | Wales National Ice Rink |
| 4 April 1992 | Birmingham | England | National Exhibition Centre |
| 5 April 1992 | London | Brixton Academy | |
| 6 April 1992 | |||
| 7 April 1992 | |||
| North America | |||
| 21 October 1992 | DeKalb | United States | Chick Evans Field House |
| 22 October 1992 | Chicago | Riviera Theatre | |
| 24 October 1992 | Columbia | ||
| 26 October 1992 | Cincinnati | ||
| 27 October 1992 | Columbus | ||
| 28 October 1992 | Cleveland | The Agora | |
| 30 October 1992 | Detroit | State Theatre | |
| 31 October 1992 | Toronto | Canada | SkyDome |
| 2 November 1992 | Montreal | Metropolis | |
Rollercoaster EP
The Rollercoaster EP was released as a complimentary extended play included with the March 1992 edition of Melody Maker, serving to advertise the Rollercoaster Tour. This EP comprises four tracks, each representing different artists: one from Blur's sophomore album Modern Life is Rubbish (1993), a selection from My Bloody Valentine's Loveless (1991), a piece from the Jesus and Mary Chain's Honey's Dead (1992), and a live recording taken from Dinosaur Jr.'s Bug (1987).