TINA! is a compilation album, released just in time for Tina Turner's long awaited 50th Anniversary Tour, which started on October 1 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City (USA). The tracklist includes some of her greatest hits and most of the songs she performed live at the tour. As a special bonus, it features also two live songs, recorded at the Amsterdam Arena in 1996, released for the first time on CD and two previously unreleased tracks. The American version comes with a gatefold sleeve with some different pictures as the European jewel case version. In 2009, the album was expanded to a three-disc Platinum Collection in Europe to coincide with the European leg of the tour. The digital release of the album features alternative versions of two songs: The original 1966 version of River Deep, Mountain High was replaced with the 1973 re-recording and the Acid Queen original soundtrack version with the version from Tina’s Acid Queen solo album.
Photographer: Andrew Macpherson
Release: September 2008 (USA) / October 2008 (Europe)
Label: Capitol / EMI
Format: CD / Digital
Charts: Germany: #21 / USA: #61 (Pop), #28 (R&B)
This was the very last concert tour from Tina Turner, exactly 50 years after Anna Mae Bullock stepped on to an East St. Louis stage for her first professional performance.
After Tina’s performance at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2008, everybody wanted her back on stage, but Tina wasn’t sure. At a Giorgio Armani fashion show in Milan soon after the Grammys, Sophia Loren greeted Tina: „Why aren’t you working? You’ve had enough time off. You owe it to the people, go back to work!“ That was the moment Tina realised it was now or never. Eventually at a special Oprah Winfrey show in Las Vegas, Tina announced that she will embark once again on a world tour later that year.
The setlist included some of Tina's greatest solo hits as well as some classics from Ike & Tina Turner and a Rolling Stones medley. The concerts started with an updated version of the Beatles Get Back and was divided in two segments, with a video intermission showing the most memorable moments of Tina’s career with I Don’t Wanna Fight in the background. As special guests, the Ninjas, a group of four martial artists introduced some songs in a very artistic way.
Opening Night: October 1, 2008 / Kansas City (USA)
Closing Night: May 5, 2009 / Sheffield (UK)
Regions: North America, Europe
Concerts: 90+
Visitors: 1.2 Mio.
The Band: Warren McRae: Bass / Laurie Wisefield: Guitars, Vocals / Euge Groove: Saxophone, Percussion, Keyboards / Jack Bruno: Drums / Joel Campbell: Keyboards, Vocals / Ollie Marland: Musical Director, Keyboards, Vocals / John Miles: Guitar, Vocals / Lisa Fisher: Vocals / Stacy Campbell: Vocals / Djeneba Aduayom: Dancer / Ferly Prado: Dancer / Solange Guenier: Dancer / Clare Turton: Dance Captain / Ninjas: Xin Wuku, Philip Sahagun, Jesse "Justice" Smith, Danny Sre
The American promo for the album comes in a jewel case with a front and back inlet. The tracklist and the description features an additional live track with The Best, recorded at Wembley Stadium. Unfortunately, this must be a mistake, because it's the same studio version from the Foreign Affair album as on the official release.
Additionally, three promotional singles were released in Europe for radio stations. The single edit of Private Dancer was issued in Ireland to promote the forthcoming concerts at the O2 arena in Dublin and also the two new tracks It Would Be A Crime and I’m Ready have been released just in time for the European leg of the 50th Anniversary Tour.