P!nk's longest Tour

Pink's longest tour

Article from: The Sunday Telegraph

 

By Tiffany Bakker

 

May 10, 2009 12:00am

 

SITTING in the back seat of a fancy, dark blue van in Dublin, I find myself holding a Tupperware container full of biscuits baked by Pink¿s mum.

 

An American favourite – cookie sandwiches of marshmallows and chocolate, known as s’mores – they’re a rare taste of home.

 

And home is a place Pink won’t be seeing much of in 2009, as her Funhouse tour circles the globe until December.

 

Pink is in the car ahead, a sleek, black Mercedes-Benz sedan, which is trying to wind its way through hoards of screaming, hysterical fans.

 

Only moments ago, they’d been among thousands more screaming, hysterical fans inside Dublin’s O2 Arena, where the 29-year-old American pop superstar (and Australia’s adopted daughter) played a show.

 

Now they’re banging on the windows of both cars, cameras primed, flashbulbs popping.

 

They’re not sure which car she’s in, and if they gain access to this one, they’ll be vastly disappointed, though charmed by my fellow passengers – Pink’s main wardrobe man, Tony, and her Aussie personal chef, Jason (both of whom seem completely unfazed by the screeching and banging outside).

 

I contemplate waving the biscuits outside the window, bleating, “Cooked by Pink’s mum,” to see what happens, but think it’s probably not a wise move.

 

Earlier the singer confessed she’s been getting stuck into the biscuits, which her mum brought when visiting her on tour in Germany the week before.

 

“It’s unreal, because she never did that when I was a kid,” she explains, that signature laugh out in full force. “She’s turned into a happy homemaker, and I f*ckin’ love it. She’s adorable.”

 

And what does Pink’s mum think when she watches her superstar daughter (born Alecia Moore) onstage in her stadium-filling spectacular?

 

“Her smile grows by about three inches after one of my shows,” says the singer. “She was drained after the first show and had to go back to the hotel to sleep; it was sensory overload for her. The second show, she was like, ‘It’s amazing, I love it!’ then she drank us all under the table.”

 

The show – the Australian leg of which kicks off in Perth on May 21 – is indeed spectacular. It’s a high-energy, two-hour extravaganza, where we see Pink hurtle around the stage using everything from Cirque Du Soleil-style silks to a trapeze (her gravity-defying performance of the hit ‘Sober’, some 40-feet in the air, is a highlight).

 

There are even a few of odes to Australia: AC/DC’s ‘Highway To Hell’ cranks up the audience and a temperature-raising rendition of Divinyls’ ‘I Touch Myself’ is... well, touching.

 

“I have to have a sexy bit in there somewhere,” she laughs. “I’m carrying on from ‘Fingers’ (in 2006’s I’m Not Dead tour) and ‘Oh My God’ (in 2003’s Try This tour) – you know, stripper poles and naked ladies.”

 

Much time and energy went into making the Funhouse show as high-octane as possible.

 

“With the ‘I’m Not Dead’ tour, I nearly had a heart attack. I only had, like, a week to prepare for it, and I wanted to kill everybody, including myself,” Pink explains.

 

“For this one, we took a lot more time getting ready and I had to train for it. I’m a bit worried, though, because a lot of people have been telling me they’re exhausted after it.”

 

When we meet for a proper chat before the show, the singer looks super-fit in a rockstar outfit of expensive-looking cream top, black leggings and towering black heels.

 

“I f*cking worked on it!” she cackles, flexing her muscles. “I feel strong and disciplined. You know, I don’t take much seriously, but this show – particularly the trapeze bits – I had to take seriously. I had to overcome the fear of diving backwards, then hoping on the way down that somebody had checked the harnesses. Like, ‘Um, guys, did someone look at this?’”

 

She’s also on the wagon. Sort of.

 

“I did have a drink four days ago and I might visit the Guinness brewery while I’m here,” she grins, “but I remember the days when I used to go out until 6am the night before a show. I can’t even imagine doing that on this tour.”

 

(Later onstage, when Pink mucks up a song, the crowd roars and she tells them: “If I’d had a drink, this wouldn’t have happened.”)

 

Needing such huge reserves of energy on a day-to-day basis is all part of the life she’s grown used to after more than eight years of touring. She does an hour of yoga and running each day, and throws in the occasional banana and can of Coke to help boost the endorphins.

 

“This is definitely the most physically, emotionally and vocally demanding show I’ve ever done,” she says.

 

“For a minute, I was like, am I going to be able to do this for a-year-and-a-half? Am I still going to be walking by the time I’m done? I figured, if I am, I’ll be that much stronger.”

 

Her strength reservoirs have been tested of late, with Funhouse, the album, laying bare her 2008 split from her husband of two years, motocross racer Carey Hart.

 

Happily, she says, they recently reconciled, but it’s a work in progress. “It’s great we sorted it out, sometimes that’s the way it goes, but it’s been a roller-coaster. When I sing ‘I Don’t Believe You’, I know that would be a lot harder to do had Carey and I not got back together,” she adds.

 

“After I recorded it for the first time, I remember sitting in Stockholm (where she laid down some of the tracks) listening to the song, sobbing, tears streaming down my face. I can still go to that place, but every day is a different day and we’re working through it.”

 

Backstage before the show, it’s a strangely calm affair. Many of Pink’s behind-the-scenes team, and many members of her band, have been with her for years, and there’s a sense of camaraderie.

 

The crew say they’ve all started to get into a groove, and the show has been running smoothly.

 

“They’re all great people,” she says of her team. “The way we looked at this tour when we first went out on the road was, it’s going to be a long run, but if you ever reach a point where you’re feeling ungrateful or lost, or lonely or bored, or tired or sad, just remember the world is a shambles right now and people need entertainment to feel better, so you’re (providing) a service. It’s bigger than you, so appreciate it every day. And I think that’s helped some people on the road.”

 

The world may be an economic mess, but those who’ve forked out hard-earned cash to see Pink are having a blast. At her shows in Glasgow a few days earlier, the crowds were just as raucous as their Irish counterparts and, on closer inspection, just as drunk.

 

“Oh my God,” a woman in a pink leopard-print top screeched in my ear in her thick Glaswegian brogue.

 

“I love Pink. She’s amaaazing. I sang every word to every song, except for the ones I didn’t know, but I sang them anyway. Can you tell her I love her?”

 

The singer seems to elicit such emotions from female fans, both gay and straight. At one show, a black satin bra came hurtling out of the crowd and landed at her feet.

 

“I must be the only chick who gets stuffed toys and women’s underwear thrown at her,” she giggled, picking it up and inspecting the bra size closely. “Yeah, I think we can all assume this won’t fit me – whoever owns this, you’re very lucky...”

 

Pink has the x-factor of a pop icon in the same vein as David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Annie Lennox or Madonna. She has the ability to connect with everyone. The global gay population anointed her as one of their own from the start.

 

“I think struggle recognises struggle,” she says. “I figure the reason people like me is because they’re going through the same sh*t or have gone through it, or can empathise. It’s just a group of cool people all over the world – people that get it. Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always been attracted to minorities or people who’ve struggled, and I think that’s part of the connection.”

 

And connecting with people is her top priority. In Glasgow, she tells me, she sat in her dressing room and cried after receiving a book made by a fan, which not only chronicled the singer’s own musical history, but also contained photos and messages from fans around the world. “I balled, but I found her in the audience later,” Pink recalls. “That was a good moment.”

 

That’s the cool thing about Pink. In a world obsessed with celebrity and fame, she’s managed to remain resolutely down-to-earth. For her, a good night is a barbecue and plenty of beer and wine with her mates.

 

“I don’t know how to be otherwise,” she laughs. “My life hasn’t really changed much. I tour, I write songs, I’m going through the same sh*t as everybody else. I’ve never enveloped myself in that whole, ‘I’m a f*ckin’ rockstar, I’m important’ thing. I don’t get it. Either you’re a good person or you’re not.

 

"Maybe that’s why I’m still here after 10 years, because I’m not affected by what people think of me. People have hated me as much as they’ve loved me, and I’m not losing sleep over either. I mean, it’s nice to be invited places,” she laughs, “and then actually be let in.”

 

The singer recently found herself seated front-row at Stella McCartney’s show at Paris Fashion Week, after the designer used the opportunity to launch PETA’s Stolen For Fashion campaign (for which Pink and comedian Ricky Gervais added their voices to a commercial, playing a skinned alligator and rabbit, respectively, who try to recover their skin and fur from guests at a party).

 

“I was blown away by (McCartney). She really put her neck on the line to do that in Paris, of all places,” says Pink.

 

“She and her dad are awesome. I had fun, and I usually can’t be around things like (Fashion Week). Everyone cares so much. I’m looking around, going, ‘Dude, where are my Uggs? My feet hurt.’”

 

This year brings another significant event in Pink’s life – her 30th birthday.

 

“Sometimes people have to remind me I’m getting older. It’s like, f*ck, I’m not 17 any more. What happened to the past 10 years?” she sighs.

 

“But then, on the other hand, I feel old. No, I shouldn’t say I feel old, but sometimes I feel ancient. I’m the most immature ancient person in the world. I’m like a combination of 12 and 80.”

 

And, in recent years, she’s started noticing her audience ageing alongside her. “It’s cool, I love it because they’re growing with me.”

 

Now, she says she’s counting down the days until she can see her four dogs. At the end of this European jaunt (the first of two stints), she’ll have a few weeks at home in Malibu – during which her best friend will get married in her backyard – before she re-packs her bags and heads our way.

 

Despite the demand for almost three months’ worth of shows, Pink says she’s still gobsmacked that Australians love her so much.

 

“On the last tour, I remember going, ‘This is a fluke, this is never going to happen again. I’m not going to sell even a single ticket next time.’”

 

Some 50 sold-out shows later, that’s probably not a concern. “I may as well live there,” she laughs. “I’ve been saying that to people for years. What do you think, would you guys have me?”

 

Pink and her Funhouse tour will be in Australia from May to August. For dates, visit www.pinkspage.com. Funhouse (Sony Music) is out now.

SOURCE