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- Dubbed Cover To Cover '91, the tour will hit only seven cities in North America. Toronto is the first.
- None of the venues is larger than 4,300 seats. (Massey holds about 2,750.)
- The show will consist of Michael's interpretations of his favorite songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s, plus a few of his own compositions.
- All of the proceeds from the Toronto date will be donated to the Hospital for Sick Children.
A spokesperson at the hospital said yesterday that preliminary discussions had been held with Michael's people, but no one knew about the concert or why Sick Kids had been chosen as the recipient of Michael's largesse. "It's wonderful, though," the spokesperson said.
The other cities on the tour are Boston, Washington, D.C., New York, Chicago, Oakland, and Los Angeles, where the North American portion ends on Feb. 20.
Among the other charities that will benefit are The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Washington, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, and New York's United Negro College Fund.
Although no details are available about the inspiration for the unusual tour, the idea apparently has been in the works for several months.
No information is available as to when tickets for the Toronto date will go on sale. There is also no word on ticket prices, although it's probably safe to assume that they'll reflect the charity nature of the event, which could mean several hundred dollars apiece.
Neither is there any word about the possibility of a second show, although there is a day between the Toronto date and the next show, which is in Boston.
After the North American dates are finished, he goes to England, where Cover To Cover '91 will wind up at London's Royal Albert Hall.
Michael's second album, Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. One, is currently No. 5 in both Canada and the U.S.
At the time of its release, Michael said he had no plans to tour, and even resisted shooting a video for the LP's first single, Praying For Time.
The second single, Freedom '90, has just been released. Michael is now shooting a video for the song in L.A.
Needless to say, the nature of the Cover To Cover outing is guaranteed to attract a huge amount of interest in both Michael and the album.