Batten down the hatches Australia, Nickelback will be invading our arenas in November.
Heavily rumoured since April, promoters Live Nation confirmed our worst fears today (well, Nickelback fans will be overjoyed) announcing the band will be visiting our shores for the first time since 2009 for their Here and Now tour.
According to the news article on their website, the band will be “performing hits and chart-topping singles drawing from their seven-album arsenal”.
Nickelback are one of the world’s most loved and hated bands. They’ve sold over 50 million albums worldwide, been nominated for six Grammys, and have won a truckload of Billboard Music Awards and Juno Awards (Canada’s version of the Grammys).
However, their tunes haven’t been everyone’s cup of tea. Late last year, over 75,000 people signed a petition run by the Detroit Lions NFL team to get them pulled off the entertainment bill for their game on Thanksgiving Day. Nickelback made light of the situation by doing a spoof video with the guys from Funny or Die.
The band were also rated as the top sexual turnoff in a survey by music dating site tastebuds.fm. 11.8% of men and 14% of women said they would not date the opposite sex if they were Nickelback fans.
And in 2007, the band quit their set two songs in at a festival in Portugal after fans pelted them with rocks. Watch the video for that below.
Despite all this, we don’t think local fans will be that harsh. The November tour will visit all the major cities – starting in Perth on November 17 and finishing in Melbourne ten days later.
Tickets go on sale July 31 – Nickelback fan club members will get access to a pre-sale from midday tomorrow. Subscribers to the Live Nation and Ticketek websites will get access to a pre-sale on July 26 and 27.
NICKELBACK 2012 AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES:
November 17 – Perth Arena, Perth
November 20 – Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide
November 22 – Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane
November 24 – Allphones Arena, Sydney
November 27 – Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne
