Popmart [Video/DVD]

About Popmart [Video/DVD]

The PopMart Tour was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Launched in support of the group's 1997 album Pop, the tour's concerts were performed in stadiums and parks in 1997 and 1998. Much like the band's previous Zoo TV Tour, PopMart was elaborately staged. Its lavish stage design had a 165-foot-wide (50 m) LED screen, a 100-foot-high (30 m) golden arch, and a large mirror-ball lemon. As with the Zoo TV tour, the band delivered an image and performance that were ironic and self-mocking, deviating from its earnest performances of the 1980s; the band performed in costumes that, along with the PopMart stage design, poked fun at the themes of consumerism and pop culture. The PopMart Tour's five legs and 93 shows attracted about 3.9 million fans. The tour took U2 to South America, South Africa and Israel for the first time. The tour was booked while the band were still completing Pop, which was planned for release in the 1996 holiday season. However, the recording sessions went long, delaying the release until March 1997 and cutting into rehearsal time for the tour. PopMart, although the second-highest-grossing tour of 1997, was marred by technical difficulties and mixed reviews from critics and fans particularly in the United States. The tour was depicted on the concert film PopMart: Live from Mexico City more »