Last Updated on November 13, 2025 by Christian Adams
My parents started letting me go to concerts with my friends in 1981, but I only went to a couple of shows, mainly because we lived in the suburbs and hence, needed a driver. Our parents weren’t always cooperative. It sometimes came down to an older sibling with a shared interest in the gig. My friend Kevin’s older sister took us to see John Cougar and ZZ Top because she wanted to see them, not because she was doing us any favors. We were the tag-along baggage.
1983 marked a turning point in my musical taste and range of personal freedom. I grew increasingly fond of alternative bands like The Cure, Adam & The Ants, and The Psychedelic Furs. All my R.E.O. Speedwagon and Styx records were boxed up. Likewise, my parents let me do whatever I wanted because I’d proven responsible. They had an Eagle Scout in the house. I could take care of myself.
Here are the setlists from the top 10 shows I attended in 1983.
The Police at Comiskey Park, Chicago, IL, USA
| Date: | July 23, 1983 |
| Tour: | Synchronicity |
The opening date of the Synchronicity Tour in North America was an all-day festival at the crappiest stadium in a city of lackluster music venues. The Police were arguably the biggest band in the world at this moment. The album, Synchronicity, and “Every Breath You Take” were #1 everywhere in the universe, and rumors were swirling that this was it: If you wanted to see The Police in your lifetime, you needed to see them on the Synchronicity Tour, or in my case, be at Comiskey Park on July 23.
The July 23 bill included Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, A Flock of Seagulls, The Fixx, and Ministry. The following bands opened for The Police during this tour:
- Stevie Ray Vaughan (Montreal, Honolulu)
- Peter Tosh (Montreal, Toronto)
- Talking Heads (Montreal)
- Blue Peter (Toronto)
- King Sunny Adé (Toronto)
- James Brown (Toronto)
- R.E.M. (Hartford, New York City, Norfolk, Philadelphia, Landover)
- Madness (Philadelphia, San Diego, Phoenix)
- Thompson Twins (Fresno, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Phoenix, Tacoma, Inglewood)
- Oingo Boingo (San Diego, Fresno, Oakland)
- The Animals (Orlando, Miami)
- UB40 (Denver, Kansas City, Dallas, Houston, Austin, Oklahoma City, Champaign)
- Passionate Friends (St Austell, Birmingham)
- Bryan Adams (Sydney, Melbourne, Honolulu)
- Australian Crawl (Melbourne)
- Sunnyboys (Sydney, Melbourne)
- Kids in the Kitchen (Melbourne)
- Split Enz (Richfield, OH)
- Berlin (band) (Inglewood, CA)
- Re-Flex (Syracuse, Providence, Memphis, Williamsburg, Buffalo, Carbondale, Cincinnati, Greensboro)
- Kissing the Pink (Baton Rouge, Biloxi)
- China Crisis (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Blackpool)
Half of my high school went to this show. I went with my two buddies, Dave and Mike. Mike’s dad dropped us off at Comiskey Park. Dave’s dad was supposed to pick us up.
The stage was set up in centerfield, and the field of play, including the infield diamond, was open seating. The sound engineer, power supplies, and P.A. equipment took up a lot of on-field space, too. We had mezzanine seats behind home plate. One of our older neighbors warned us to stay off the infield and don’t even think about going near the stage. “It’s a snakepit down there.”
Hometown industrial band, Ministry, opened the festival with an early afternoon, five-song set. They were a last-minute fill-in for Simple Minds, who backed out of the tour for reasons unknown. Ministry opened its set with “Work for Love”, the only song anybody recognized.
The Fixx played a nice set, including “Saved by Zero” and “One Thing Leads to Another”.
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts received a harsh welcome. Kids on the field started booing from the minute she took the stage. Soon, half the crowd was booing, and the other half was confused, palms up, like, “What the fuck are you booing about? Don’t you love rock n’ roll? I love rock n’ roll, buddy.”
I’m pretty sure the band finished its set, but they dodged projectiles the whole time. It got pretty ugly up in front. The jeering was so loud we could barely hear the music. I’m not sure if Joan Jett told us to go fuck ourselves from the microphone or if she just flipped off the assholes in the outfield as she left the stage. Either way, it was a shitty experience for everybody involved.
A Flock of Seagulls started their set at twilight. I don’t remember anything except the lead singer’s hair.
The Police came out and crushed it. Plenty of hits and most of the good stuff from the new album. People were singing along to every jam. Dave and I were disappointed they didn’t play “Omegaman”, “Driven to Tears”, or “On Any Other Day”, but we bought the sleeveless tour shirts.
| The Police at Comiskey Park, Chicago, IL, USA July 23, 1983 |
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| Setlist |
| Voices Inside My Head Synchronicity I Synchronicity II Walking in Your Footsteps Message in a Bottle Demolition Man O My God De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da Wrapped Around Your Finger Spirits in the Material World Hole in My Life Invisible Sun One World (Not Three) King of Pain Every Breath You Take Tea in the Sahara Don’t Stand So Close to Me Can’t Stand Losing You Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic Roxanne Next to You So Lonely |
We waited outside Comiskey Park for an hour, but Dave’s dad never showed up. I think we had a set time, like 9:00 p.m. It was now 10:00 p.m., most of the crowd had dispersed, and we were three white teenagers on the south side of Chicago in a notoriously bad neighborhood. So, I went to a pay phone and called my dad, who arrived maybe 30 minutes later. Just as we were pulling away, Dave’s dad pulled up. He apologized for being late. Dave got into his dad’s car. My dad drove me and Mike home.
Adam Ant at Park West, Chicago, IL, USA
| Date: | April 28, 1983 |
| Tour: | Friend or Foe |
Friend or Foe was Adam’s first solo album after disbanding Adam & The Ants. It’s a great album, but he had to give the people what they wanted, and what we wanted was a good mix of A&TA hits and some new stuff. Adam stood and delivered.
Mr. Prince Charming hadn’t played a lot of North American dates up til now. A&TA toured Europe, but only made a few overseas appearances. For most of us, the Friend or Foe Tour was our first chance to see him live. My friends and I were psyched to see this show.
I couldn’t track down the Park West setlist, so I subbed the setlist from the next night in Milwaukee, but this looks and sounds right to me. I remember they opened with “Scorpios” and definitely closed the set with “Car Trouble” and “Physical (You’re So)”.
| Adam Ant at Park West, Chicago, IL, USA April 28, 1983 |
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| Setlist |
| Scorpios Try This for Sighs Goody Two Shoes Ants Invasion Killer in the Home S.E.X. Here Comes the Grump Dog Eat Dog Antmusic Los Rancheros Desperate but Not Serious Friend or Foe Stand and Deliver Kings of the Wild Frontier Car Trouble Physical (You’re So) |
Stray Cats at Park West, Chicago, IL, USA
| Date: | October 28, 1983 |
| Tour: | Rant n’ Rave |
Rant n’ Rave with the Stray Cats came out a few months before this show, and it didn’t generate the same enthusiasm as Built for Speed (1982). However, my friends and I didn’t get the memo because we were jumping out of our skins about this gig.
The Park West rarely hosted all-ages shows, and when they did, the headliner had to be off stage by 10:00 p.m. sharp. The Adam Ant gig was all-ages, and I remember him saying, “We’ve gotta be out of here by ten p.m.” or something like that.
The Stray Cats gig was definitely not all-ages. We scored adult tickets, so we needed an adult to vouch for us. My older sister, who didn’t give a shit about rockabilly, agreed to go, but we still had a hard time at the door. They made us stand off to the side, and we had to leave at 10:00 p.m., so we missed the best part of the set, from “Stray Cat Strut” to “Rock This Town”.
| Stray Cats at Park West, Chicago, IL, USA October 28, 1974 |
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| Setlist |
| Your Baby Blue Eyes (Johnny Burnette cover) Double Talkin’ Baby (Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps cover) Rumble in Brighton Drink That Bottle Down Built for Speed Something’s Wrong With My Radio Look at That Cadillac Runaway Boys Lonely Summer Nights Too Hip, Gotta Go Stray Cat Strut (She’s) Sexy + 17 I Won’t Stand in Your Way Rock This Town |
Def Leppard at Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, WI, USA
| Date: | July 10, 1983 |
| Tour: | Pyromania |
If there was a bigger rock band in 1983 than the Police, it had to be Def Leppard. Pyromania sold 100,000 copies per week for most of the year.
This was a tricky gig because Alpine Valley was a two-hour drive from Chicago, and nobody wanted to take us. We were all 15, so nobody had a driver’s license.
Dave was friends with a crew of older dudes who were going to the show, but they hated me (for no good reason—I wasn’t “cool enough” for them, I dunno). I won’t name names, but all those guys turned out to be deadbeats. Anyhow, Dave talked them into letting me come along.
I was ostracized for the entire trip, and they almost left me at the venue. Again, Dave intervened. It was a good show, but I didn’t really enjoy it, and for once, I didn’t buy a T-shirt. It wasn’t their fault, but I kinda hated Def Leppard after that.
| Def Leppard at Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, WI, USA July 10, 1983 |
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| Setlist |
| Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop) Rock Brigade High & Dry (Saturday Night) Another Hit and Run Billy’s Got a Gun Mirror, Mirror (Look Into My Eyes) Foolin’ Photograph Rock of Ages Bringin’ On the Heartbreak Switch 625 Guitar Solo Let It Go Guitar Solo Wasted Stagefright Travelin’ Band (Creedence Clearwater Revival cover) |
Peter Gabriel at Poplar Creek Music Theater, Hoffman Estates, IL, USA
| Date: | August 3, 1983 |
| Tour: | Security |
My friend Dominick had an extra ticket for this show. The Call (“Let the Day Begin”) opened. I was a moderate fan of Peter Gabriel before the gig and a massive fan afterward. I guess I didn’t know what to expect. I wasn’t ready for the costume changes or video screens, and he had a headset microphone, which was a novelty. It was easily the best rock show I’d seen. Simply amazing.
| Peter Gabriel at Poplar Creek Music Theater, Hoffman Estates, IL, USA August 3, 1974 |
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| Setlist |
| Across the River I Have the Touch Not One of Us The Family and the Fishing Net Shock the Monkey Family Snapshot Intruder Humdrum Games Without Frontiers Lay Your Hands on Me Solsbury Hill I Go Swimming San Jacinto On the Air Biko Here Comes the Flood |
U2 at Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, IL, USA
| Date: | May 21, 1983 |
| Tour: | War |
I’m pretty sure this was my second show at the legendary Aragon Ballroom. I don’t remember much about the show except a kid’s dad from the wrestling team drove us to and from the gig. I bought a T-shirt. Next year’s show at the Rosemont Horizon was much more memorable.
| U2 at Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, IL, USA May 21, 1983 |
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| Setlist |
| Out of Control I Fall Down October New Year’s Day A Day Without Me I Threw a Brick Through a Window Two Hearts Beat as One Seconds Sunday Bloody Sunday Trash, Trampoline and the Party Girl 11 O’Clock Tick Tock I Will Follow 40 |
Talking Heads at Poplar Creek Music Theater, Hoffman Estates, IL, USA
| Date: | August 14, 1983 |
| Tour: | Speaking in Tongues |
We’re back at Poplar Creek for another great show! David Byrne opened the first set in his goofy oversized suit, doing an acoustic version of “Psycho Killer” with a boom box.
If you’ve ever seen their tour film, Stop Making Sense (1984), then you have an idea of how things played out. I didn’t buy a T-shirt.
Honestly, with two sets and two encore, it was a marathon. I thought it was super cheesy that they played “Burning Down the House” twice. Me and my buddy Otto got into an argument about it.
| Talking Heads at Poplar Creek Music Theater, Hoffman Estates, IL, USA August 14, 1983 |
|---|
| Setlist |
| Set 1: Psycho Killer (David solo with acoustic guitar and boom box) Heaven (David and Tina) Thank You for Sending Me an Angel (David, Tina, and Chris) Love> Building on Fire The Book I Read Slippery People Cities Big Blue Plymouth (Eyes Wide Open) (David Byrne song) Burning Down the House Life During Wartime Set 2: Making Flippy Floppy Swamp What a Day That Was (David Byrne song) This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) Once in a Lifetime Big Business / I Zimbra Houses in Motion Genius of Love (Tom Tom Club cover) Girlfriend Is Better Take Me to the River (Al Green cover) Encore: Crosseyed and Painless Encore 2: Burning Down the House |
AC/DC at Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, IL, USA
| Date: | November 9, 1983 |
| Tour: | Flick of the Switch |
This was the first and only time I got to see AC/DC, and it was a great show, but the band was on somewhat of a downturn. Flick of the Switch was not a great record, and they’d lost all that Back in Black momentum. I’m pretty sure this wasn’t a sold-out show because I remember seeing a lot of empty seats.
Nevertheless, they played a bunch of hits. It seemed sort of perfunctory. I wasn’t terribly impressed, and neither was my buddy, John.
| AC/DC at Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, IL, USA November 9, 1983 |
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| Setlist |
| Guns for Hire Shoot to Thrill Sin City Badlands Back in Black Bad Boy Boogie Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution Flick of the Switch Hells Bells The Jack Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap Highway to Hell Whole Lotta Rosie Let There Be Rock Encore: You Shook Me All Night Long For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) |
Cheap Trick at Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, IL, USA
| Date: | November 25, 1983 |
| Tour: | Next Position Please |
This was my third show at the Aragon and my third Cheap Trick show.
They played a good mix of hits, but I thought they should have skipped the cuts from Next Position Please and concentrated on the jams from earlier records. They didn’t play anything from the debut album, and that left a sour taste in my mouth. I could sit here and rattle off all the glaring omissions from the setlist: “ELO Kiddies”, “He’s a Whore”, “Auf Weidersein”, “Big Eyes”, etc.
Overall, it was a good show. I never saw them put on anything but a good show. But it wasn’t great.
| Cheap Trick at Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, IL, USA November 25, 1983 |
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| Setlist |
| Hello There California Man (The Move cover) Reach Out Southern Girls I Want You to Want Me Voices On Top of the World Heaven’s Falling Everything Works If You Let It If You Want My Love Stop This Game Next Position Please Ain’t That a Shame (Fats Domino cover) She’s Tight Dream Police Surrender I Can’t Take It Day Tripper |
The Psychedelic Furs at Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, IL, USA
| Date: | March 26, 1983 |
| Tour: | Forever Now |
This had to be my first Aragon Ballroom show, and I’m pretty sure it was my first “alternative rock” show.
My parents stopped paying attention to my musical tastes when I stopped listening to Kiss. However, they wanted to know the Who, What, Where, and When? of my concert schedule. This was the only show I didn’t tell my parents about. They would not have liked the “psychedelic” part of the band name. I could have just said I was going to see The Furs, which we (the fans) called them, but I didn’t.
The show took place on a Saturday night, and I don’t remember what I told my parents, but they didn’t ask any questions. Our older high school friend from the radio station organized the trip, bought the tickets, and drove us both ways. Pretty fuckin’ cool.
| The Psychedelic Furs at Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, IL, USA March 26, 1983 |
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| Setlist |
| Into You Like a Train President Gas Only You and I Pretty in Pink Run and Run Love My Way Sister Europe Sleep Comes Down Danger No Easy Street Mr. Jones Forever Now Encore: Imitation of Christ India |
So, what do you think of my list of Great Rock Set Lists in 1983? Leave me a note in the comments!
