1980 marked some major turning points for live rock music, as the biggest bands of the ’70s entered the new decade with new lineups, new musical directions and in the case of both Queen and ZZ Top, new facial hair.
You can read about the 14 most important rock tours of 1980 below:
Ozzy Osbourne: ‘Blizzard of Ozz’ Tour
Within months after being fired from Black Sabbath for being a “pissed, coked-up loser and a waste of time for everybody concerned,” Ozzy Osbourne began assembling a new band in about the most fortunate way possible by hiring guitarist Randy Rhoads. Bassist Bob Daisley and drummer Lee Kerslake soon joined in to record the Blizzard of Ozz album, a title that was originally intended to be the group’s name.
To the surprise of many, the album was a stone-cold masterpiece and commercial hit, paving the way for the group’s successful debut two-month tour of Europe.
The tour found Osbourne and company playing nearly all of their debut album before closing out the set with Sabbath classics such as “Iron Man,” “Paranoid” and “Children of the Grave.”
Contract and credit battles caused Daisley and Kerslake to be fired before 1981’s North American leg of the tour kicked off. They were replaced by Rudy Sarzo and Tommy Aldridge, and the Blizzard of Ozz band name was also jettisoned.
Black Sabbath: ‘Heaven and Hell’ Tour
While Osbourne was still dealing with the shock of being fired and assembling his solo band, Black Sabbath beat their former singer back to the market, recruiting former Rainbow frontman Ronnie James Dio for their April 1980 album Heaven and Hell.
As with Osbourne and Blizzard of Ozz, the new lineup impressively recharged Black Sabbath, giving the group’s longtime fans two excellent albums in just six month’s time. The revamped group spent three months touring Europe, performing a roughly equal mix of classic Sabbath songs and standout Heaven and Hell tracks such as “Neon Knights” and “Children of the Sea.”
Trouble hit the North American leg of the tour when drummer Bill Ward, dealing with substance abuse and missing Osbourne’s presence, abruptly quit the band mid-tour. He was replaced by Vinny Appice, who would also perform on 1981’s Mob Rules.
Read More: 1975’s Most Important Rock Tours
Pink Floyd: ‘The Wall’ Tour
Pink Floyd set a new standard for rock show staging with the high-concept tour in support of their highly conceptual 1979 double album The Wall.
The production – which featured a gigantic wall being built between the audience and the band during the first half of the show, completely obscuring the group – was so complex and expensive that the group was only to perform it 31 times in four cities.
Attempts to capture the show for a concert film were unsuccessful, although in 2000 a live album named Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall: Live 1980-1981 was released.
Between 2010 and 2013, Roger Waters performed his own live production of The Wall 219 times all over the world. The results can be seen on the Roger Waters: The Wall home video.
Led Zeppelin’s Last Tour
Led Zeppelin were feeling pressured from all sides in 1980. The band hadn’t mounted a full-scale tour since their 1977 trek was cut short due to the death of Robert Plant‘s son Karac.
Their two 1979 Knebworth festival appearances were met with a mixed reaction, with some fearing the band had been left behind by the emergence of punk and other new styles.
The band agreed to a brief 1980 spring tour of Europe, in which they cut away extended songs such as “No Quarter” and “Moby Dick” in an effort to reconnect with their earlier energy.
Encouraged by the results, Plant agreed to mount a North American tour in the fall of 1980, but drummer John Bonham died after the first night of rehearsals for that tour, bringing an end to the band entirely.
Van Halen: ‘World Invasion’ Tour
Van Halen‘s rapid ascension continued unabated in 1980, as the group released their third album Women and Children First in April then mounted the eight-month “World Invasion Tour.” The album marked the first time the band wrote new music in the studio – Van Halen and Van Halen II were both comprised of songs from their early demos and pre-fame club touring days. Instant classics such as “And the Cradle Will Rock…” and “Everybody Wants Some!!” were perfectly designed for arena-size crowds, with the former featuring the band’s first use of keyboards.
ZZ Top: ‘Expect No Quarter’ Tour
After returning from a two-year hiatus with their soon-to-be-trademark long beards and a more experimental sound on 1979’s Deguello, ZZ Top hit the road for over a year on the “Expect No Quarter” tour. The trip included their first European dates, and lucky for us their fantastic April 19, 1980 show in Essen, Germany was recorded for the popular Rockpalast television series. It’s been released as a live album and on home video as Live in Germany 1980 and as part of the Double Down Live: 1980 & 2008 collection.
Journey: ‘Departure’ Tour
Journey‘s steady climb to superstardom continued with April 1980’s Departure album, which gave the band their first Top 10 hit, “Any Way You Want It.” The tour was chronicled on the band’s 1981 live album Captured – although the track list skipped several songs that were regularly performed on the tour.
Founding keyboardist and one-time lead singer Gregg Rolie left the group after the Departure tour, paving the way for Jonathan Cain‘s arrival and the completion of the lineup which gave the group their greatest commercial success on albums such as 1981’s Escape and 1983’s Frontiers.
Kiss: ‘Unmasked’ Tour
Kiss were in free-fall in 1980. Just two years earlier they were capable of selling out multiple nights at the biggest arenas in America, but the limp reception to 1980’s (underrated!) Unmasked left them unable to even tour in their home country.
The band was also forced to dismiss founding drummer Peter Criss, who had only performed one song on their last two albums.
Luckily for them, Australia and New Zealand didn’t get the memo about Kiss being out of favor. They sent the album and the syrupy single “Shandi” to the top of the charts and generally treated the masked group like the second coming of the Beatles during their month-long tour of the countries.
It gave the group a much-needed shot of confidence, and although they still had one more gigantic mistake to make, in 1982 they began a very impressive comeback with 1982’s Creatures of the Night.
Judas Priest: ‘British Steel’ Tour
After honing their sound to razor-sharp perfection on 1980’s masterful British Steel, Judas Priest set out on a six-month world tour that included both headlining and supporting dates. They opened for artists such as Sammy Hagar, Journey, Heart and Ted Nugent, and welcomed opening acts including Def Leppard, Scorpions and a young Iron Maiden, whose lead singer might have stepped over the line…
Iron Maiden: ‘Iron Maiden’ Tour
When Iron Maiden singer Paul Di’Anno declared his intention to “blow Judas Priest off the stage every night” while opening for the band on their 1980 UK tour, Priest guitarist K.K. Downing was reportedly furious and demanded that the band be kicked off the tour. Singer Rob Halford and the rest of his bandmates felt differently. “I wasn’t remotely bothered by this,” Halford recalled in his autobiography. “…We had tried to do it to every major band we had supported, so why shouldn’t they? I found it funny.”
Iron Maiden’s Dec. 21, 1980 show at London’s Rainbow Theatre – one of their first with guitarist Adrian Smith – was released in March 1981 as Live at the Rainbow. It can be found on The History of Iron Maiden – Part 1: The Early Days collection as well.
Queen: ‘The Game’ Tour
The ever-evolving Queen sounded notably different on 1980’s The Game thanks to their first use of synthesizers and their Chic-inspired hit single “Another One Bites the Dust.”
The band launched an 80-date world tour in support of the album on June 30 in Vancouver, wrapping it up on Oct. 18, 1981 in Puebla, Mexico. Singer Freddie Mercury changed up his look on this tour, cutting his hair short and growing out his soon-to-be-famous mustache. In 2023 his mustache comb sold for $189,000 at auction.
Bob Dylan: Gospel Tour
After reportedly having a religious epiphany onstage at a November 1978 concert in San Diego, Bob Dylan turned to Christianity, releasing the first of three faith-based and gospel music-influenced albums with 1979’s Slow Train Coming.
His six-month tour in support of the album found him completely abandoning his back catalog in favor of his new religious-themed songs, with his backing singers performing an opening set of traditional gospel songs at the start of the show. Some fans were less than thrilled with this decision, but of course that kind of reaction never stopped Dylan from following his muse.
He recorded 1980’s Saved during a break between tour legs, and concluded the trilogy with 1981’s more rock-oriented Shot of Love. The era and tour were chronicled on the 2017 Bootleg Series collection Trouble No More: 1979-1981.
Bruce Springsteen: ‘The River’ Tour
1980’s The River was Bruce Springsteen‘s first record to top the charts – an especially remarkable feat for a double album. His nearly year-long tour in support of The River found him expanding his already generous set lists to marathon lengths, with shows running up to four hours long. (Bet his road crew loved that.)
Two-thirds of Springsteen’s Nov. 5, 1980 show in Tempe was released on home video as part of 2015’s. The Ties That Band: The River Collection box set, with audio of the whole show available as a free download. Four other shows from the tour have been made available via his archive live series.
In 2016 Springsteen launched a 35th anniversary tour for The River, featuring the entire album played in sequence at each show.
Fleetwood Mac: ‘Tusk’ Tour
Fleetwood Mac supported their incredibly ambitions (and initially somewhat underappreciated) 1979 double album Tusk with a excess-filled, exhausting 112-show tour that kicked off in October and concluded Sept. 1, 1980.
They were all getting pretty sick of each other, with some members turning to substance abuse to get through the tour. “I used to go onstage and drink a bottle of Dom Perignon, and drink one offstage afterwards,” Christine McVie recalled. “It’s not the kind of party I’d like to go to now.”
The tour was captured on the December 1980 album Live, which received an expanded release in 2021.
46 Farewell Tours: When Rock Stars Said Goodbye
They said it was the end, but it wasn’t really.
Gallery Credit: Matt Wardlaw
