2005
| |
January |
Brian embarks on a short, four date tour of Japan on the 30th. He also appears on "Grief Never Grows Old", a various artists fundraising single in aid of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami disaster. It makes #4 in the UK. |
February |
Brian's Japan tour ends on the 3rd. At the UK Brit awards on the 10th, he is nominated for the Best International Solo Artist gong, loosing out to Eminem. On the 11th, Brian is named MusiCares Man Of The Year for 2005 in recognition of his accomplishments as a musician and humanitarian. At the 47th Grammy Awards two days later, he wins his first Grammy, for best rock instrumental performance ("Mrs. O'Leary's Cow") and is nominated in two more categories: best pop vocal album and best engineered album (non-classical). On the19th, the touring Beach Boys play a one-off gig in Adelaide, Australia. |
April |
Brian plays the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on the 24th. The touring Beach Boys play three dates in South America from the 22nd to the 26th: Argentina, Uruguay & Peru (a show in Chile is cancelled). Lola Sophia Bonfiglio, daughter of Carnie Wilson and husband Rob, and Brian's first grand-daughter, is born on the 22nd.. |
May |
The Platinum Collection, a 3CD 60 track compilation comprising mostly non-US Top 40 hits, is released in overseas markets, charting at #30 in the UK. On the 20th, a monument and historic landmark marker is dedicated at the site of the Wilson's Hawthorne home. Brian, Alan & David Marks attend and perform (seperately) at the event, but are briefly reunited at the unveiling. |
June |
Brian tours the British Isles from the 22nd, playing the legendary Glastonbury festival in Somerset on the 26th, by general acclaim the best set of the entire three days. Other venues are Hampton Court Palace, Bristol, Liverpool, Dublin and Cork. These and other European dates are all non-Smile shows. |
July |
The touring Beach Boys play a festival in Tokyo, Japan. Brian continues his European tour with dates in Denmark, Spain, Switzerland, Holland, back to the UK, Monaco and finally Italy. On the 2nd Brian performs in Berlin as part of Bob Geldof's Live 8 mega-concert (his scheduled Berlin show on that day was cancelled). On the 11th, the Brian Wilson Presents Smile 2 DVD set is certified gold and platinum, with sales in excess of 50,000 copies. |
August |
Brian tours Smile in the USA and Canada once more, an 17 date trek commencing in Boston MA on the 9th. Mike & Bruce play two shows in Portugal on the 30th and 31st. |
September |
Brian closes out his US tour with a hometown show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on the 4th. On the 10th he appears in a televised benefit in aid of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, while on the 25th, Mike & Bruce appear a similar benefit in LA. In posts on his website message board, Brian drops hints about taking a lengthy break from touring. |
October |
The touring Beach Boys play two shows in the far east, Manilla (Philipines) on the 6th and Hong Kong on the 8th. Brian releases What I Really Want For Christmas, on Arista: it charts for one week at #200. Following a challenge from a fan on his message board, Brian announces that he will personally phone anyone who donates $100 or more to the Hurricane Katrina relief fund, and match their donation: as a result, over $210,000 is raised. During some of these calls, Brian drops more heavy hints that he will not tour in 2006, and is considering retirement. Late in the month, rumors start circulating that Alan has dropped his lawsuit against BRI, and that some kind of reunion may be in the air. |
November |
Reunion hopes are dashed on the 3rd when Mike files suit against Brian for "shamelessly misappropriating Mike Love's songs, likeness and the Beach Boys trademark, as well as the Smile album itself" during his promotion on Brian Wilson Presents Smile. The suit further holds that the release of BWPS undercut sales of Beach Boys albums. On the 4th, Brian releases a CD single, "Walking Down The Path Of Life/Love & Mercy" in aid of the Katrina relief fund. Also on the 4th, Sounds Of Summer is certified double platinum. |
December |
"What I Really Want For Christmas" is released as a single in the UK, and charts at #66. On the 20th, Brian attends Elton John's wedding to David Furnish in the UK. In a BBC Radio 2 interview broadcast on New Years Eve in the UK, Brian states that he's considering reitring from touring in 2006. |