Buddy Holly. Hulton Archive/Getty Images - Roy Orbison. David Farrell/Redferns.
Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly will tour together as holograms this year, for the Rock ‘N’ Roll Dream Tour, as Billboard reports. Accompanied by a live band and live back-up singers, the holographic performance will give audiences the chance to immerse themselves in Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly’s greatest hits, performed by the artists themselves. This might just be the closest thing to a time-machine in existence so far!
Eric Schaeffer, who shepherded the 2018 holographic In Dreams: Roy Orbison in Concert tour will return as the director. Check out footage of Roy Orbison performing as a hologram below:
And, if reincarnating rock stars isn’t quite ambitious enough for the production company, BASE Hologram; The Rock ‘N’ Roll Dream Tour will, for the very first time, run concurrent dates for the same hologram, meaning that fans in North America and Europe will theoretically be able to catch the Orbison and Holly holograms on the same night with different live bands accompanying them.
Roy Orbison died from a heart attack in 1988 and Buddy Holly tragically passed away in 1959 in a freak plane crash that also claimed the lives of musicians Ritchie Valens, and J. P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson. Holly’s death has been remembered as the “The Day the Music Died”. With their combined 16 platinum records, 19 gold records, nearly two dozen Top 40 hits and 10 combined Grammy awards, the duo make an ideal pair to hit the road together for fans who never got to see them perform in the stars’ lifetimes.
“Both Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly set the stage for what was to come down the road in the music industry,” said chairman and CEO of BASE Hologram Brian Becker in a release. “These two men were forward-thinkers who understood what new forms of technology could do for their craft. They defined the genre of Rock and Roll, from writing to recording to the standard band configuration, and they influenced everyone from Elvis to The Beatles. Now to be able to recapture that magic on a grand scale and let their fans see them together will be something truly special.”
“Buddy and Roy were Texans who shared a mutual respect and admiration for each other’s creative musical genius and brilliant songwriting abilities,” said Holly’s wife Maria Elena Holly in a release.
“Dad jammed with Buddy in Lubbock Texas and helped change music history by turning Buddy on to Norman Petty Studios; Buddy later returned the favor by recording two of Dad's songs on his first Cricket's album. How beyond cool and special that these two great friends, now get to tour the world together," said Roy Orbison, Jr., president of Roy Orbison Music.
The tour dates for the U.K. schedule have been announced, with U.S. dates yet to be confirmed. Considering the possibility of the same show running concurrently in two different countries, let’s hope some Aussie dates will be added too!
Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly:
10-07 Dublin, Ireland - 3 Arena
10-08 Belfast, Ireland - Waterfront Hall
10-10 Newcastle, England - Utilita Arena
10-11 Manchester, England - Apollo
10-12 Liverpool, England - M&S Arena 2
10-13 Leeds, England - First Direct Arena
10-14 Hull, England - Bonus Arena
10-16 Glasgow, Scotland - Armadillo
10-17 Birmingham, England - Resorts World Arena
10-18 Bournemouth, England - International Centre
10-21 Nottingham, England - Royal Centre
10-22 Brighton, England - Brighton Centre
10-23 Cardiff, England - Motorpoint Arena
10-24 London, England - Hammersmith Apollo
Catch up on all your Roy Orbison favourites on Spotify:
Listen to Buddy Holly on Apple Music:
