Ten: The Hits Tour (also known as The 10th Anniversary Tour) was the sixth concert tour by British-Irish girl group Girls Aloud in support of the greatest hits album Ten (2012). It was the group's first tour in four years, following a three-year hiatus.[2][3] The tour ranked on Pollstar's annual "Top 100 Mid Year Worldwide Tours". It earned £7.8m ($13.5m) from 20 shows.[4][1] This was the group's last tour to feature Sarah Harding due to her death in September 2021.

Ten: The Hits Tour
Tour by Girls Aloud
Promotional poster for the tour
LocationUnited Kingdom
Associated albumTen
Start date21 February 2013
End date20 March 2013
Legs1
No. of shows20
Box officeUS$13.5 million[1]
Girls Aloud concert chronology

Background

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Following their Out of Control Tour in 2009, Girls Aloud announced they would take a year-long hiatus before returning for a new album in 2010. The plans never came to be.[5] On 19 October 2012, they held a press conference where they announced their reunion and their plans to release a "greatest hits" album, Ten, in November, followed by a tour in early 2013. The tour's first fourteen dates in the United Kingdom and Ireland were announced the same day. Due to popular demand, extra dates were added in London, Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow, Manchester, Belfast and Dublin.[6][7]

Critical reception

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Kate Mossman of The Guardian wrote "Girls Aloud are still a formidable pop engine – 10 legs and a beat – with a natural sense of economy, which extends to their emotions on stage. Maybe if the farewells – such as they are – come from the less powerful members then they might be easier to go back on." Joanne Dorken said in her review for MTV "Girls Aloud's tour had it all – tears and emotions, mixed with glitter and sparkle, proving that these girls are definitely the leaders of the pack and know how to put on an impressive show."[8] Diane Bourne wrote for the Manchester Evening News "Sadly, by the end, with group hugs and teary eyes from the girls, you get the sense that this tenth anniversary tour is a farewell, rather than a comeback. But with such palpable love from this audience, you certainly wouldn't bet against their return again. Just don't wait another ten girls..."[9] Simon Gallagher from WhatCulture! wrote "If this is indeed the end, and the tearful goodbyes (especially from hometown girl Cheryl [Cole]) would suggest so, the world of pop will be missing one of its crown jewels. And while there are now some new girl groups on the block, there are very few out there, whether "manufactured" or otherwise, who can match Girls Aloud for their performance or the staging of their tours."[10] Andre Paine wrote for The Evening Standard "Crucially, they also liked their fans and got up close to the crowd after being transported to the middle of the venue for a sequence including the bracing electropop tune "Call the Shots". "The Promise" was a rousing finale to a celebration of their first 10 years — a lifetime in pop, yet Girls Aloud looked like a group in their prime and hungry for hits."[11]

Broadcast and recordings

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The shows in London on 1 and 2 March 2013 were recorded for a DVD release. It was broadcast on MTV freeview channel Viva on Saturday 30 March 2013. The show was then repeated on MTV Music and MTV Live HD the following day. The broadcast omitted two songs, "Call Me Maybe" and "Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me". A DVD titled Ten – The Hits Tour featuring the full-length show except "Call Me Maybe" was released on 11 November 2013.[12]

Set list

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Girls Aloud performing "Sound of the Underground" in London
Section 1
  1. "Sound of the Underground"
  2. "No Good Advice"
  3. "Life Got Cold"
  4. "Wake Me Up"
  5. "Jump"
Section 2
  1. "The Show" (Contains elements of "Models")
  2. "Love Machine"
  3. "Whole Lotta History"
  4. "Can't Speak French"
  5. "Biology"
Section 3
  1. "Sexy! No No No..."
  2. "Untouchable"
  3. "On the Metro"
  4. "Call the Shots"
Section 4
  1. "Something Kinda Ooooh"
  2. "Call Me Maybe" (Carly Rae Jepsen cover)
  3. "Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me"
  4. "Something New"
Encore
  1. "I'll Stand by You"
  2. "The Promise"

Source:[13]

Tour dates

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Date City Country Venue Opening Act
21 February 2013 Newcastle England Metro Radio Arena Amelia Lily[14][15]
22 February 2013
23 February 2013
25 February 2013 Sheffield Motorpoint Arena
26 February 2013 Birmingham LG Arena
27 February 2013
1 March 2013 London The O2 Arena
2 March 2013
3 March 2013
5 March 2013 Manchester Manchester Arena
6 March 2013
7 March 2013
9 March 2013 Glasgow Scotland SECC Concert Hall 4
10 March 2013
11 March 2013
13 March 2013 Belfast Northern Ireland Odyssey Arena
14 March 2013
16 March 2013 Dublin Ireland The O2
19 March 2013 Nottingham England Capital FM Arena
20 March 2013 Liverpool Echo Arena
Cancellations and rescheduled shows

17 March 2013

Dublin, Ireland

The O2

Cancelled due to transportation issues.[16]

Notes

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  • ^ Data from study is collected from all worldwide concerts held between 1 January and 30 June 2012. All monetary figures are based in U.S. dollars. All information is based upon extensive research conducted by Pollstar.

References

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  1. ^ "Pollstar Top 100 Worldwide Tours: Mid-Year 2013" (PDF). Pollstar. 12 July 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  2. ^ "Girls Aloud 2013 Tour Dates". girlsaloud.com. 19 October 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  3. ^ "Girls Aloud Announce 2013 Tour Dates & Greatest Hits". MTV UK. 19 October 2012. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  4. ^ "Pollstar Top 100 Worldwide Tours: Mid-Year 2013" (PDF). Pollstar. 12 July 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  5. ^ "Girls Aloud deny split rumours". IPC Media. 16 July 2009. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  6. ^ "Girls Aloud add third London O2 Arena date to tour". Digital Spy. 26 October 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
  7. ^ "Nicola Roberts twitter". Twitter. 26 October 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
  8. ^ "Lolene – MTV UK". Archived from the original on 4 March 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  9. ^ Bourne, Dianne (6 March 2013). "The glamour girls are back". Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  10. ^ "Girls Aloud Live Review: Ten - the Hits Tour". Archived from the original on 8 March 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  11. ^ "Girls Aloud, O2 Arena – music review". 4 March 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  12. ^ "Girls Aloud Ten, The Hits Tour 2013". 11 November 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2017 – via Amazon.
  13. ^ Dorken, Joanne (2 March 2013). "Girls Aloud 'Ten – The Hits' Tour: Review". MTV UK. Viacom International Media Networks. Archived from the original on 4 March 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  14. ^ "Amelia Lily to support Girls Aloud UK arena tour". Digital Spy. 19 October 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  15. ^ "Amelia Lily twitter". Twitter. 19 October 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  16. ^ "Girls Aloud cancel Dublin tour date over 'production transportation'". Digital Spy. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2022.