The secret life OF A TOUR MANAGER
From backstage disasters to glam parties, and every diva demand in between
Touring season has officially begun. And no, we don’t mean taking the camper van for a nice trip down to Devon. We mean A-lister musicians descending on the UK and blowing our minds with their pyrotechnics and epic performances. Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé and Jay Z, and Britney Spears are just a few of the names performing on the country’s biggest stages.
Now imagine being the person that has to get them there. Yes, the job includes world travel, five-star accommodation and hanging out with celebs, but you can also expect limited contact with your loved ones and zero sleep. Fancy it?
GRUELLING BUT GLAM
The life of a tour manager may seem glamorous on the surface, but in reality, it’s a gruelling and stressful job that completely takes over your life. A typical tour manager could be on the road for around three quarters of a year, working 16-20 hours a day. They will begin planning a tour months before it hits the road – depending on the star power of the artist – and will be in charge of speaking to agents and promoters, booking accommodation for the tour’s crew and arranging all travel.
Just like planning an epic family holiday, then. Except when they arrive in the exotic location, their work is only just beginning…
Alice Martin, 31, (pictured right) is currently a tour assistant for an international act. She exclusively tells heat, “There are many layers to planning a tour – from staging and crew, to travel, hotels, visas and budgets. Most of our workload happens way before each gig, and on show days, you’re partly planning the next.”
Alice has worked with Leona Lewis, Emeli Sandé and icelandic rockers Sigur Rós, and tells us she mainly works in America, but the most obscure place she’s visited with an artist was Brunei.
schmoozing With THE STARS
There’s no denying the perks, as Alice affirms. “I was working with an artist a while back and got invited to an after-party where I was greeted by Mick Jagger, then U2 turned up,” she says. “It was surreal being in one room with all these big names. It’s part of my job to be around celebs, so I don’t really get starstruck these days, but we thought we were just going for a casual drink.”
But it’s not all glitzy parties – when something goes wrong on show days, it’s up to the tour management to find a solution. “I was once at a show and the entire sound desk went down, because people got too rowdy and threw beer all over it,” says Alice. “We’ve had a tour bus break down in the desert of New Mexico, and we once had a lead singer go missing all day and only turn up at the venue during the intro of the first song.
“And when I was an assistant in the early years, I once left the entire band’s stage suits in a venue and left town for the next show eight hours away! I got them back without them noticing.”
Alice’s job also means she has to be ready to provide the artist with whatever they need at any hour of the day. And dealing with riders – a list of demands from the artist – is one of the biggest parts of her job. “I help put them together,” she says. “They’re rarely as extravagant as people imagine. I did recently have to carry around a stuffed squirrel as part of our everyday dressingroom items, though. His name was Igor – I miss him.”
nothing Less Than PERFECT
Someone who knows about more extravagant riders is Alan Floyd. And while you might walk past him on the street, his client is a tad more recognisable – he has been working as Beyoncé’s tour manager for more than 18 years, although he says the job was “only supposed to be for a little while.”
Alan is the one who has to make sure Bey’s dressing room is kept at 78ºf at all times, and stocked with “brand-new white towels” and – most importantly – “juicy baked chicken: legs, wings and breast only (please season with fresh garlic, season salt, black pepper, and Cayenne pepper HEAVILY SEASONED)”. Alan himself says, “While there are definitely perks to working for Beyoncé, it is stressful.” After a tour, when Bey and Jay are sat at home with their feet up, Alan is already working on the next big show. “Everything has to be perfect,” he says.
We think we’ll just stick to watching the shows – you guys can do the organising.