| Concert tour name | Candy Girl Tour |
|---|---|
| Artist | New Edition |
| Album | Candy Girl (album) |
| Start date | February 5, 1983 |
| End date | July 28, 1984 |
| This tour | Candy Girl Tour (1983–84) |
| Next tour | Fantasy Tour (1984–85) |
The Candy Girl Tour was a concert tour by the boy band New Edition, launched to support their first album Candy Girl.
Background
New edition dropped their first single Candy Girl in February 1983. The song was played by local radio stations around Boston and later became a smash hit, this marked an opportunity for them to perform professionally.
In the beginning, they started doing track dates in nightclubs and Skating rink parties in the Northeastern region on weekends performing few minute sets on a pre-recorded tape. When summer came, they performed at some festivals, the Indiana Black Expo[1] and by august became an opening act for Rick James on his four-month Cold Blooded Tour.[2] It is on this tour in Prividence that Rick James thought it would be better for them to perform their set with a live band, providing them with his own musicians, the Stone City Band.[3][4]
August also marked their first trip oversea, as the group appeared on TV Show performing live version of their hits "Popcorn Love" and "Candy Girl" on Switch in England[5] and Vorsicht, Musik! on August 15 in Germany lip-synching "Candy Girl".[6] During the trip in London, they shot the videos for Popcorn Love and "She Gives Me a Bang" on the same day.[7] Coming back to the United States, New edition received their first royalty check for an amount of $1.87 each. Frustrated by this situation, they acquired new management in September and parted ways with Streetwise by November. Two months later, they crossed paths with Jerhyl Busby who signed them on MCA Records.[8] They spent the rest of the year opening for Rick James and other R&B acts like the Gap Band and Stacy Lattisaw.
In 1984, the group was headlining 45-minute concert backed by the Q-Band in theaters around the country. While the group was performing in the Bahamas in February, Jheryl Busby invited Ray Parker Jr. to attend one of their concert, Parker met the group members who explained to him that they were already including the cover of "Mr. Telephone Man" by Junior Tucker on their show and wanted to record a studio version of it.[9] In the spring, New Edition were part of the line-up of the "Kool Jazz Festival" with Luther Vandross, Patti LaBelle, and others artists.[10]
Setlist
Songs are not in order:
- December 1983 - 1984[11]
- Popcorn Love
- Should Have Never Told Me[12]
- The Jackson 5 Medley: I Want You Back/ABC/The Love You Save
- Jealous Girl
- Is This the End
- Mr. Telephone Man (by Junior Tucker)
- Pass the Beat
- Candy Girl
Personnel
- Musicians
The Q-Band (Questarr Band):[13]
- Drexel "BOOTS" Anderson – guitar/MD/Bkrd vocals
- Robert "Suave Bob" Cepeda – percussions
- Ralph "Da Phunky Drumma" Vargas – drums,Bkrd vocals
- Anthony "T-Bone" McEwan – bass and keyboards, Bkrd vocals
- Carl T. "The Smooth" Smith – keyboards
- John Steiner – keyboards
- Rick Roberts – band manager
Tour dates
1983
- 1984
| Date | City | Country | Venue | Act(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 16 | Springfield | United States | Springfield Symphony Hall | |
| February 4 | Elizabeth | The Ritz Theater | The Fearless Four, Run-DMC, The Breakers | |
| February 6 | Paterson | Dreamland Roller Rink | The Fearless Four, Run-DMC | |
| February 25 | Davenport | Danceland Ballroom | Appeal | |
| February | Minneapolis | Duffy's Door | ||
| March 2 | New York City | Beacon Theater | Shannon | |
| March 3 | ||||
| March 4 | Buffalo | Shea's Performing Arts Center | ||
| March 10 | Dayton | Dayton Memorial Hall | Run DMC, Shannon | |
| March 11 | Devon | Valley Forge Music Fair | Grandmaster Flash, Shannon | |
| March 31 | Gainsville | Sun Skate Center | ||
| April 7 | Philadelphia | Uptown Theater | Newcleus, Run-DMC, The Amazing Breakers | |
| May 25 | Einfield | 190 East Lounge | ||
| June 1 | San Diego | Jack Murphy Stadium | Teena Marie, Cameo, Ashford & Simpson, Kool & the Gang | |
| June 20 | Upper Darby | Tower Theater | ||
| July 7 | Atlanta | Fulton County Stadium | Luther Vandross, Patti Labelle, Bobby Womack, KC and the Sunshine Band | |
| July 28 | Cincinnati | Riverfront Stadium | Bobby Womack, Patti LaBelle, Frankie Beverly & Maze, Luther Vandross |
References
- ^ "100,000 expected for expo'83", Indianapolis recorder, July 9, 1983
- ^ "Rick James & Stone City Band w/special guests...New Edition", facebook, 1983-11-17
- ^ Bill Flanagan (November 28, 1983). "James riding high RICK JAMES with the MARY JANE GIRLS, the NEW EDITION and the S.O.S. BAND at the Providence Civic Center Saturday"
- ^ "$1.87 IS ALL WE GOT!!!" MIKE BIV TALKS ABOUT GETTING JERKED OUT ON TOUR AS NEW EDITION!!!. August 11, 2023.
- ^ "New Edition - "Popcorn Love" & "Candy Girl" - Rare - Live on Switch", youtube.com, 1983
- ^ "New Edition - Candy Girl Vorsicht Musik German TV Show 1983", youtube.com, 1983-08-15
- ^ Tannenbaum, Rob & Marks, Craig (2011-10-27). I Want My MTV: Uncensored Story of Music Video Revolution. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-101-52641-5.
- ^ "Bell v. Streetwise Records, Ltd., 640 F. Supp. 575 (D. Mass. 1986)", Law.justia.com, 1986-06-11
- ^ "R&B/Pop Legend Ray Parker Jr. Talks About Writing His Big Hit "Ghostbusters" And Other Classic Songs". SongwriterUniverse.com. 2016-12-18.
- ^ "SAN DIEGO STADIUM JAZZ FESTIVAL". May 31, 1984.
- ^ "The Boston Phoenix". August 30, 1983.
- ^ "Shea's Buffalo New Edition Is Old Copy of Jackson Five". May 5, 1984.
- ^ 1983-84 on the road with NE & 'Q" Video made by Q band drummer Ralph Vargas
- ^ "Jun 03, 1983, page 43 - The Miami Herald at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2025-07-23.
- ^ "Jul 01, 1983, page 232 - The Miami Herald at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2025-07-23.
