The Brothers in Arms Tour was a concert tour by British rock band Dire Straits. The tour promoted and supported the group's fifth album, Brothers in Arms, which was released in May 1985.[1]

Brothers in Arms Tour
World tour by Dire Straits
Location
  • Europe
  • Asia
  • North America
  • Oceania
Associated albumBrothers in Arms
Start date25 April 1985 (1985-04-25)
End date26 April 1986 (1986-04-26)
Legs5
No. of shows248
Dire Straits concert chronology

The tour started on 25 April 1985 in Split, Croatia and ended on 26 April 1986 in Sydney, Australia. It included dates in the Balkans, Israel, Europe, North America, and Oceania. The tour included 248 concerts in 23 countries and 118 cities.[2] More than two and a half million people attended the tour.[3] With 900,000 tickets sold in Australia and New Zealand it was the biggest concert tour in Australasian music history, until it was overtaken in 2017–2018 by Ed Sheeran on his ÷ Tour.[4]

Description

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The tour lineup included Mark Knopfler (guitar and vocals), John Illsley (bass, backing vocals), Alan Clark & Guy Fletcher (keyboards), Terry Williams (drums), Jack Sonni (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), and Chris White (saxophone, flute, tambourine, backing vocals).[1]

During the tour, Dire Straits performed "Money for Nothing" with Sting and "Sultans of Swing" at the Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium on 13 July 1985. Their performance was included on the DVD release of that event. The final concert on 26 April 1986 in Sydney, Australia was broadcast on television. TubeTV also filmed the show in London on 10 July 1985. Neither the Sydney nor the London shows were ever released as commercial videos and are available as bootlegs only. In addition, three soundboard recordings were made in San Antonio, Houston, and Ohio, which have also circulated as bootlegs.[1]

The Brothers in Arms Tour consisted of four legs:

  • Europe and Israel
  • North America
  • Europe
  • Australia and New Zealand

Tour dates

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Date[1] City Country Venue
Europe
25 April 1985 Split Yugoslavia Gripe
Asia
30 April 1985 Jerusalem Israel Sultanpool
1 May 1985 Tel Aviv City Park
2 May 1985
Europe
6 May 1985 Athens Greece Sportspalace
7 May 1985
8 May 1985 Montreux Switzerland Golden Rose Festival
9 May 1985
10 May 1985 Belgrade Yugoslavia Pioneer Hall
11 May 1985
12 May 1985 Zagreb Dom Sportova
13 May 1985 Ljubljana Tivoli Hall
14 May 1985 Graz Austria Eishalle
15 May 1985 Vienna Stadthalle
16 May 1985 Brno Czechoslovakia Stadion Za Lužánkami
17 May 1985 Budapest Hungary Sportshall
18 May 1985
19 May 1985
20 May 1985
22 May 1985 Eindhoven Netherlands P.O.C.
23 May 1985 Arnhem Rijnhal
24 May 1985 Amsterdam Jaap Edenhal
25 May 1985 Rotterdam Ahoy
26 May 1985 Genk Belgium Limburghal
27 May 1985 Brussels Forêt Nationale
28 May 1985 Caen France Palais Des Sports
29 May 1985 Brest Parc De Penfeld
30 May 1985 Nantes La Beaujoire
31 May 1985 Bordeaux Patinoire
1 June 1985 Bilbao Spain Plaza De Toros Vista Alegre
3 June 1985 Madrid Estadio Román Valero
5 June 1985 Barcelona Municipal Velodrome
6 June 1985
7 June 1985 Toulouse France Palais Des Sports
8 June 1985
10 June 1985 Monaco Stade Louis II
11 June 1985 Orange France Theatre antique d'Orange
12 June 1985 Grenoble France Palais Des Sports
13 June 1985 Geneva Switzerland Patinoire
14 June 1985
15 June 1985
16 June 1985 Zürich Hallenstadion
17 June 1985
18 June 1985 Basel St. Jakob Sporthalle
19 June 1985
20 June 1985 Dijon France Palais Des Sports
21 June 1985 Luxembourg Luxembourg Patinoire De Kockelscheuer
22 June 1985 Deinze Belgium Brielpoort
23 June 1985 Paris France Palais Omnisports De Bercy
24 June 1985
25 June 1985
28 June 1985 Birmingham England National Exhibition Centre
29 June 1985
30 June 1985
1 July 1985
2 July 1985 Brighton Conference Centre
3 July 1985
4 July 1985 London Wembley Arena
5 July 1985
6 July 1985
7 July 1985
8 July 1985
9 July 1985
10 July 1985
11 July 1985
12 July 1985
13 July 1985 Wembley Stadium, Live Aid [6pm] Wembley Arena [evening]
14 July 1985 Wembley Arena
15 July 1985
16 July 1985
North America
23 July 1985 Montreal Canada Forum
24 July 1985 Ottawa Civic Centre
25 July 1985
26 July 1985 Toronto Varsity Arena
27 July 1985
28 July 1985
29 July 1985
1 August 1985 Saint Paul United States Roy Wilkins Auditorium
2 August 1985 Milwaukee Auditorium
3 August 1985 Hoffman Estates Poplar Creek
4 August 1985 Clarkston Pine Knob
5 August 1985 Cuyahoga Falls Blossom Music Center
6 August 1985 Pittsburgh Syria Mosque
7 August 1985 Philadelphia Mann Music Center
8 August 1985 Columbia Merriweather Post Pavilion
10 August 1985 Atlanta Fox Theatre
11 August 1985 Nashville Tennessee Performing Arts Center
13 August 1985 Oklahoma City Zoo Amphitheater
14 August 1985 Dallas Reunion Arena
15 August 1985 Austin Coliseum
16 August 1985 San Antonio Municipal Auditorium
17 August 1985 Houston Southern Star Amphitheatre
3 September 1985 Morrison Red Rocks Amphitheatre
4 September 1985
6 September 1985 Tempe Activity Centre
7 September 1985 San Diego State University
8 September 1985 Costa Mesa Pacific Amphitheatre
9 September 1985 Los Angeles Greek Theatre
10 September 1985
11 September 1985
12 September 1985
13 September 1985 San Francisco Concord Pavilion
14 September 1985
15 September 1985 Sacramento California Exposition
17 September 1985 Portland Civic Auditorium
18 September 1985
19 September 1985 Seattle Seattle Center Coliseum
20 September 1985
21 September 1985 Vancouver Canada War Memorial Gym
22 September 1985 Victoria Memorial Arena
23 September 1985 Vancouver Pacific Coliseum
24 September 1985 Edmonton Northlands Coliseum
25 September 1985 Calgary Olympic Saddledome
26 September 1985 Edmonton Northlands Coliseum
27 September 1985 Calgary Olympic Saddledome
1 October 1985 New York City United States Radio City Music Hall
2 October 1985
3 October 1985
4 October 1985 Providence Civic Center
5 October 1985 Boston Wang Theatre
6 October 1985
7 October 1985 Portland Cumberland County Civic Center
8 October 1985 Boston Boston Garden
9 October 1985 Hartford Civic Center
10 October 1985
11 October 1985 Uniondale Nassau Coliseum
12 October 1985 New York City Madison Square Garden
13 October 1985 East Rutherford Meadowlands Arena
Europe
22 October 1985 Drammen Norway Drammenshallen
23 October 1985
24 October 1985 Stockholm Sweden Café Opera
25 October 1985 Johanneshov
26 October 1985
28 October 1985 Helsinki Finland Ice Hall
29 October 1985
31 October 1985 Brøndbyvester Denmark Brøndbyhallen
1 November 1985
2 November 1985 Hamburg West Germany Alsterdorfer Sporthalle
3 November 1985 Groningen Netherlands Martinihal
4 November 1985 Hanover West Germany Eilenriedehalle
5 November 1985 West Berlin Deutschlandhalle
7 November 1985 Vienna Austria Stadthalle
8 November 1985 Munich West Germany Basketball-Halle
9 November 1985 Wels Austria Eishalle
10 November 1985 Graz Eishalle
11 November 1985 Linz Sporthalle
12 November 1985 Innsbruck Olympic Hall
14 November 1985 Lyon France Parc Des Expositions
15 November 1985 Clermont-Ferrand Maison Des Sports
18 November 1985 Nuremberg West Germany Frankenhalle
19 November 1985 Stuttgart Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle
20 November 1985 Frankfurt Festhalle
21 November 1985 Cologne Sporthalle
22 November 1985 Essen Grugahalle
23 November 1985 Leiden Netherlands Groenoordhal
24 November 1985
25 November 1985 Brussels Belgium Forêt Nationale
27 November 1985 Paris France Palais Omnisports De Bercy
28 November 1985
29 November 1985
30 November 1985
3 December 1985 Newcastle upon Tyne England City Hall
4 December 1985
5 December 1985
6 December 1985
7 December 1985 Manchester Apollo
8 December 1985
9 December 1985
10 December 1985
11 December 1985 Deeside Leisure Centre
12 December 1985
13 December 1985 Shepton Mallet Showering Pavilion
14 December 1985
15 December 1985 Birmingham National Exhibition Centre
16 December 1985
17 December 1985 London Hammersmith Odeon
18 December 1985
19 December 1985
20 December 1985
21 December 1985
22 December 1985
23 December 1985
29 December 1985 Edinburgh Scotland Playhouse
30 December 1985
31 December 1985
Oceania
7 February 1986 Hobart Australia King George V Oval
8 February 1986
12 February 1986 Adelaide Football Park
14 February 1986 Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Centre
15 February 1986
16 February 1986
17 February 1986
18 February 1986
19 February 1986
20 February 1986
21 February 1986
22 February 1986
23 February 1986
24 February 1986 Myer Music Bowl
25 February 1986
26 February 1986 Olympic Park Oval No. 1
1 March 1986 Auckland New Zealand Mount Smart Stadium
2 March 1986 Western Springs
4 March 1986 Wellington Athletic Park
7 March 1986 Christchurch Lancaster Park[5]
10 March 1986 Sydney Australia Entertainment Centre
11 March 1986
12 March 1986
13 March 1986
14 March 1986
15 March 1986
16 March 1986
17 March 1986
18 March 1986
19 March 1986
20 March 1986
21 March 1986
22 March 1986
23 March 1986 Sydney Cricket Ground
24 March 1986 Entertainment Centre
25 March 1986
27 March 1986 Brisbane QE2 Stadium
29 March 1986 Rockhampton Rugby Park
31 March 1986 Mackay Showgrounds
2 April 1986 Townsville Showgrounds
4 April 1986 Cairns Showgrounds
8 April 1986 Darwin Showgrounds
11 April 1986 Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park Uluru
13 April 1986 Perth Entertainment Centre
14 April 1986
15 April 1986
16 April 1986
17 April 1986
18 April 1986
19 April 1986
20 April 1986
23 April 1986 Sydney Entertainment Centre
24 April 1986
25 April 1986
26 April 1986

Setlists

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  • 25 April 1985 (Split) - "Ride Across the River", "Expresso Love", "So Far Away", "Romeo and Juliet", "Private Investigations", "Sultans of Swing", "Walk of Life", "Why Worry", "Six Blade Knife", "The Man's Too Strong", "Two Young Lovers", "Money for Nothing", "Portobello Belle", "Wild West End", "Tunnel of Love", "Brothers in Arms", "Solid Rock"[6]
  • 13 May 1985 (Ljubljana) - "Ride Across the River", "Expresso Love", "So Far Away", "Romeo and Juliet", "Private Investigations", "Sultans of Swing", "Why Worry", "Walk of Life", "Two Young Lovers", "The Man's Too Strong", "Money for Nothing", "Wild West End", "Tunnel of Love", "Solid Rock", "Going Home: Theme from Local Hero"[6]
  • 16 May 1985 (Brno) - "Ride Across the River", "Expresso Love", "So Far Away", "Romeo and Juliet", "Private Investigations", "Sultans of Swing", "Why Worry", "Walk of Life", "Two Young Lovers", "The Man's Too Strong", "Money for Nothing", "Wild West End", "Tunnel of Love", "Brothers in Arms", "Solid Rock", "Going Home: Theme from Local Hero"[6]
  • North American Leg - "Ride Across the River", "Expresso Love", "One World", "Romeo and Juliet", "Private Investigations", "Sultans of Swing", "Why Worry", "Walk of Life", "Two Young Lovers", "Money for Nothing", "Wild West End", "Tunnel of Love", "Brothers in Arms", "Solid Rock", "Going Home: Theme from Local Hero"
  • 26 April 1986 (Sydney) - "Ride Across the River", "Expresso Love", "Industrial Disease", "So Far Away", "Romeo and Juliet", "Private Investigations", "Sultans of Swing", "Why Worry", "Your Latest Trick", "Walk of Life", "Two Young Lovers", "Money for Nothing", "Tunnel of Love", "Brothers in Arms", "Solid Rock", "Going Home: Theme from Local Hero"

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Live in 85/6". Mark Knopfler Info. Archived from the original on 20 December 2011. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  2. ^ "An 80s experience to remember". Stuff.nz. 15 December 2017.
  3. ^ "SA gigs for Dire Straits frontman". News 24. 26 September 2014. Archived from the original on 16 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  4. ^ "Ed Sheeran adds final Australian shows; breaking all records". No. 26 May 2017. News.com.au. 15 December 2017.
  5. ^ "Lancaster Park". Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  6. ^ a b c "Dire Straits:Brothers in Arms Tour". Setlist.com. Retrieved 14 December 2015.