Taylor Swift in Toronto: These are the concerts that rocked the city before The Eras Tour

November 8, 2024 Canuck

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is coming to Toronto this month and will likely be the most commercially successful concert series the city has ever seen.

Experts have estimated that the six sold-out dates at Rogers Centre will leave in its wake $282 million in economic impact, a whopping figure that any other current act visiting the city would likely struggle to match.

But concertgoers in Toronto know this isn’t the first time that the city has hosted a major music event. So what are some of the biggest tours that have passed through and how do they compare to the “Swiftmania” that’s literally taken over the downtown core?

CTV News Toronto spoke with veteran music publicist Eric Alper to find out.

Elvis performs at Maple Leaf Gardens

Elvis Presley only performed five shows outside of the United States throughout his storied career, and two of those shows were in Toronto on April 2, 1957.

The concerts, one at 6 p.m. and another at 8 p.m., were held at the historic Maple Leaf Gardens, and marked the last time the “King” would wear his signature full gold suit.

“Ticket prices were $1.25 and $3.50 for those shows, and they sold out within 48 hours,” Alper said, noting that fans were lined up the night before in hopes of getting in.

Some 20,000 fans are estimated to have attended the pair of concerts, and Presley would go on to play two additional shows in Ottawa, before playing a single set in Vancouver later that year.

Some of the 23,000 persons in attendance at Maple Leaf Gardens to see and hear Elvis Presley in 1957. (Getty Images)

The Beatles touch down in Toronto

A few years after Elvis, the Beatles visited Toronto for the first time on Sept. 7, 1964 at the height of “Beatlmania.”

The “Fab Four” returned a year later, but it wasn’t until1966 that the group would turn Maple Leaf Gardens into a rock and roll “Mecca,” as Alper describes it.

“They did 11 songs totaling about 50 minutes,” Alper explained. “So, when you think about the Beatles, and you think about the legendary status of them, the fact that they were able to perform a full-on show in less than an hour — compared to the three hours that Taylor Swift does — now that’s wild to me.”

Like Elvis, the Beatles performed two shows in one night in Toronto, one at 4 p.m. for 15,000 fans and one at 8 p.m. for 17,000. Legend has it that the concerts, like many played by the group, were so loud due to screaming fans that the audience – and band members– struggled to hear the music.

The Beatles, from left to right, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison and John Lennon speak to reporters at a news conference prior to their 1964 concert at Maple Leaf Gardens. The Toronto Maple leafs will play their last game at the Gardens on Feb. 13. (CP PHOTO)

The Rolling Stones play secret show at the El Mocambo

Die-hard fans of the Rolling Stones will likely already know about March 4 and March 5, 1977. That’s when a fake band, billed as the Cockroaches, was set to open up for Canadian rock outfit April Wine at the legendary El Mocambo in Toronto’s Chinatown.

What fans didn’t know was that the Cockroaches were actually The Rolling Stones.

“Nobody knew about the Cockroaches, nobody knew about fake shows with fake massive performers, really, until this kind of came along,” Alper said

A radio contest was held in the lead up to the shows and lucky winners would get a ticket to see either performance at the Toronto club. On the night of the concerts, however, fans would be in for a real treat as the roles were reversed and April Wine opened up for the actual headliner.

“The Rolling Stones were on fire that night,” Alper said of the concert venue, that only held 300 people at the time before it was sold and later revamped in 2021.

The group released recordings from those concerts in 2022, and thanked the city of Toronto in the liner notes.

“And that’s why, kind of thereafter, whenever the Rolling Stones would kick off a tour, they would do it in most cases here in Toronto. They would rehearse here, and they would stay here in Yorkville or in other places. So they’ve had a really great love affair with the city of Toronto since then.”

SARSfest

While Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour will likely make the biggest economic splash in the city, Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto – more commonly known as SARSstock – likely has her beat in terms of total crowd size.

It’s estimated that 500,000 people attended the outdoor event at Downsview Park on July 30, 2003, which came after the deadly SARS pandemic left the city in rough financial shape.

“This was a time that the city was absolutely being devastated by SARS, and the tourism dollars were greatly affected. The hotels were empty. The bars and restaurants were sparse,” Alper recalled.

But once the World Health Organization said the global outbreak was contained and travel advisories to the city were lifted, the stage was set for the largest outdoor ticketed event in Canadian history.

The star-studded lineup featured Rush, AC/DC, the Rolling Stones, The Guess Who, Blue Rodeo, and Justin Timberlake, who faced some disdain from the rock and roll-leaning crowd.

Tickets for the show went for $21.50 and sold out “immediately,” Alper said.

“The reason why they kept that price really low, when they could have gone a little bit higher… [was because] they really wanted as many people as possible to be there, and that’s why they sold those tickets at that price. They really did want to make it accessible for everybody.”

A fan holds a Canadian flag with SARSTOCK written on it at the Concert for SARS Relief at Downsview Park in Toronto Tuesday July 30, 2003. Twenty years after Toronto celebrated SARSfest, the concert’s legacy and Jumpin’ Jack Flash still ring in the ears of its attendees, performers and organizers.On July 30, 2003, an estimated 450,000 to 500,000 people descended upon Downsview Park in Toronto for what was officially called the Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto concert but more well-known as SARSstock or SARSfest. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Kevin Frayer

The last Tragically Hip show in Toronto

The Air Canada Centre (now Scotiabank Arena) was packed with fans and emotion on Aug. 14, 2016 when The Tragically Hip played their final show in Toronto.

Fans rushed to get tickets for the 15-date tour after it was announced that frontman Gord Downie had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.

The Hip played three sold-out nights in Toronto before ending the tour in their hometown of Kingston, Ont.

“Before the Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, I’m going to venture to say that this might have been the most emotional connection that the city of Toronto has had with an artist performing,” Alper said.

Then Toronto mayor John Tory would declare Aug. 10 “Tragically Hip Day” to kick off the three-night stay in the city. Their final show in Kingston was broadcast across the country.

Downie died on Oct. 17, 2017. He was 53.

Gord Downie, center, and Gord Sinclair of The Tragically Hip perform on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP)