On this day in 1976, Elton John played the first of seven sold out shows at Madison Square Garden in New York

John and his band began recording a new album called Blue Moves in March, which included the hit song “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”, with the sessions being held in Toronto. This and previous album Rock of the Westies formed the basis of the tour which would be undertaken shortly after, with the band hitting the road on 29 April in the UK, traveling around England and Scotland.

Soon after, the decision was made to extend the tour to the United States, with the new name of the “Louder Than Concorde (But Not Quite As Pretty)” tour. This name was supposedly chosen as it exemplified the onslaught John and his group were giving the States during their Bicentennial celebration. Custom flyers were made for the US leg which included a cardboard pop-out model of an Elton John Concorde Jet, an impressive level of marketing for a tour with such short notice.

Evidently the promotion worked, as the tour would conclude with seven sold out shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City, from the 10th of August through to the 17th, with just the 14th as a break. During these shows, the band would share the stage with the New York Community Choir and feature appearances from Kiki Dee, Divine and Alice Cooper. John would also cover songs from Kiki Dee, The Who, Lesley Duncan and The Beatles. These shows alone would net John $1.25 million, beating out the record previously held by The Rolling Stones from their 1969 tour.

After the Madison Square Garden shows, John announced to the band that he planned to take a break from touring which would eventually lead to the group disbanding, though several members would join him again for future tours in the coming years.