After recording the
Born Again album, drummer
Bill Ward left the band before the start of the
born Again Tour due to personal problems, and was replaced by
Bev Bevan. Between 7 and 14 August 1983, the band used the
National Exhibition Centre, in
Birmingham,
England, to rehearse. The first leg of the tour consisted of seven European shows in August, followed by a second European leg in September and October, featuring 16 shows. "We were on flight 666 to Helsinki," recalled
Geezer Butler, "and even the baggage label said '
HEL'. We were all shitting ourselves getting on that plane. I got
pissed, of course. I was severely boozing then. I was pissed for that whole tour." Two North American legs consisted of 36 shows from October through November, then 34 shows from January through March 1984. There were many cancellations during the North American tour owing to problems with an oversized
Stonehenge stage set. This was the reason that initial shows in Canada were cancelled, delaying the first North American leg. The crew also got caught in a November blizzard while crossing the Continental Divide, forcing the cancellation of two shows in Salt Lake City and Reno. There were more difficulties during the second North American leg which delayed their shows for nearly a week. One show in Salisbury, Maryland (28 February 1984) was beset by local religious protests that were noted in the local papers, but was ultimately cancelled due to poor ticket sales. Of the 96 currently confirmed shows, 30% were likely cancelled for one reason or another. The band did manage to sell out at least a dozen shows including Saginaw, Worcester, Rockford, Providence, Cleveland, Detroit, New Haven, Portland, Philadelphia, Toronto, East Rutherford and Chicago. ==Tour dates==