The Rollercoaster Tour was a 1992 co-headlining concert tour by the Scottish noise pop band the Jesus and Mary Chain, the Irish-English alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine, the English Britpop band Blur and the American indie rock band Dinosaur Jr. A two-leg 34-date tour of the United Kingdom and North America, the U.K. tour was in support of all four bands' current releases: Blur's first album Leisure (1991), Dinosaur Jr.s fourth album Green Mind (1991), My Bloody Valentine's second album Loveless (1991) and The Jesus and Mary Chain's fourth album Honey's Dead (1992).
The tour was curated by the Jesus and Mary Chain's vocalist Jim Reid, who "wanted to break the routine" of performing in small, frequently played venues – such as Rock City in Nottingham – and "cater to all strands of independent rock music". Reid was inspired by, and considered the Rollercoaster Tour a British equivalent to, the North American festival Lollapalooza, at which the Jesus and Mary Chain performed at in 1992 and which he considered "fairly disastrous". Each band performed a 45-minute set with no encore and the line-up changed each night of the tour, although the Jesus and Mary Chain performed as the final act on all 11 dates.
My Bloody Valentine ceased live performances in the UK after the tour and did not play again until their 2008 reunion tour. The band's set, which ended with the white noise section of their song "You Made Me Realise", reportedly caused attendees' pint glasses to fall out of their hands due to excessive sound pressure levels. Reflecting on the tour, Jim Reid referred to it as "a lot [like a] competition – who could be the loudest? Whose was the best film show? And then there was, who could be most off their tits and still play a show?" The Rollercoaster EP, containing material from Blur, My Bloody Valentine, Dinosaur Jr. and the Jesus and Mary Chain, was issued in Melody Maker in March 1992 to promote the tour.
The North American leg of the tour took place in fall 1992 and featured the Jesus and Mary Chain, 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 1992North America21 October 1992DeKalbUnited StatesChick Evans Field House22 October 1992ChicagoRiviera Theatre24 October 1992Columbia26 October 1992Cincinnati27 October 1992Columbus28 October 1992ClevelandThe Agora30 October 1992DetroitState Theatre31 October 1992TorontoCanadaSkyDome2 November 1992MontrealMetropolis3 November 1992AlbanyUnited States4 November 1992BostonAvalon5 November 1992New YorkRoseland Ballroom7 November 1992WashingtonLisner Auditorium8 November 1992PhiladelphiaTrocadero Theatre10 November 1992AtlantaThe Masquerade11 November 1992New Orleans13 November 1992Houston14 November 1992DallasDeep Ellum Live15 November 1992AlbuquerqueStudent Union Building16 November 1992DenverGothic Theatre17 November 1992Salt Lake City19 November 1992SacramentoCrest Theatre20 November 1992San FranciscoThe Warfield21 November 1992Los AngelesHollywood Palladium22 November 1992San Diego
Rollercoaster EP
The Rollercoaster EP is an extended play which was distributed free in a March 1992 issue of Melody Maker in support of the Rollercoaster Tour. It includes four songs: individual tracks from Blur's second album Modern Life is Rubbish (1993), My Bloody Valentine's second album Loveless (1991), the Jesus and Mary Chain's fourth album Honey's Dead (1992); and a live version of a song from Dinosaur Jr.'s third album Bug (1987).
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