Miguel Bosé heats up Murcia: Two and a half hours of concert kicking off his ‘Importante Tour’ in Spain.

It’s nine-thirty in the evening, the thermometer at the bullring in Murcia shows 32 degrees, and the atmosphere is one of anticipation: Miguel Bosé, the groundbreaking singer who was the musical (and sexual) idol of an entire generation in the 80s, is about to take the stage again after an eight-year musical hiatus.

An illness severely affected his voice in 2017, and rumors about other possible ailments and health problems have been constant since then. The wait has been long, and his followers are equally excited and anxious in the moments leading up to the show. “We have loved him our whole lives, and with what happened to his voice, we think this tour might be his final chapter,” says Ana Jacobo, who traveled from Elche with her friend Asun Martínez to see a concert in which they trust Bosé “will give it his all” because he is “an artist,” “a rebel,” and “a professional.”

Also accompanying them is Javier Vidal, who has his reservations about whether Bosé will use playback. A few meters ahead, Isabel Truque shares those fears: “We are a bit doubtful about whether he will be able to sing. He is a showman; it’s a show he will definitely put on, he’s very artistic on stage. Let’s see how he holds up.” Bosé performs for almost two and a half hours, reviewing a total of 24 songs, the first of which is a clear declaration of intent: “Move forward until the heart can take it / without caring about anything or anyone,” the lyrics of Mírame, the song chosen to open the concert, declare.

Doubts among the audience seem to dissipate: although all tickets are seated (7,000 chairs have been installed on the floor, with another 8,000 seats in the stands), the spectators start dancing from the first song.

“He looks very good, very excited, with a lot of energy. He’s funny, entertaining. He seems comfortable,” comments Cipri Huerga, a devoted fan of Bosé, like his wife, Maleni Estébanez, who has attended dozens of the artist’s concerts. He is undergoing dialysis treatment but has tickets to four more dates of this Important Tour: Madrid, Alicante, Valencia, and Marbella. “I was in the ICU, and they played his concerts for me. He gives me life,” he says, moved. The couple travels from concert to concert with a group of about 30 people from different parts of Spain. “We are neither a club nor fans. Fans come from fanatic. We are devoted supporters,” clarifies Rosi Cordero from Extremadura. She met Bosé at the estate the artist had in Badajoz and treasures dozens of photos with him on her phone. She plans to go to almost the entire tour: she will attend 10 of the 12 scheduled concerts until July 26. She bought VIP tickets for 143 euros. On top of that, there are travel, hotel, and food expenses. And time: “We take vacations to be with Bosé,” points out Cecilia Mora, who estimates she has attended over 60 shows by the artist. “With what I’ve spent on him, I could have renovated my kitchen,” she jokes.

The Important Tour kicked off in Mexico, where the singer has resided for over a decade and where he performed around twenty concerts, and now begins its Spanish leg. After Murcia, next week it will continue in Madrid (Tuesday), Barcelona (Thursday), and Seville (Saturday), covering 10 cities in July. It is not accompanied by the release of a new album. “Tonight we are going to pick up the journey of memories from where we left off many years ago,” says Bosé in Murcia, dressed in white from head to toe, literally: a floor-length coat with impossible shoulder pads, a vest, a shirt, pants, and socks. A total white look that is also worn by the eight musicians who back him on stage, under the direction of producer Mikel Irazoki, a regular in his recent tours. Even the instruments, microphones, and lights are white.

Bosé doesn’t remove his coat until the fifth song, Aire. In the arena, the audience holds fans to keep dancing to the rhythm of songs like Bambú, Hacer por hacer, or Como un lobo. The concert reaches its midpoint, and Bosé transitions from white to red, appearing atop a pedestal, wrapped in a massive flower cape, to sing Olvídame tú and the well-known Sevilla, which is welcomed by the audience with shouts of “bullfighter,” his father’s profession, Luis Miguel Dominguín.

The emotion of the moment, of returning to the stage and “the chill in the air in Murcia” takes its toll on the artist, who starts a speech about first kisses that he abruptly cuts short. “I’ve jumped ahead four songs; my mind wandered,” he confesses, and the audience erupts into a thunderous applause, which intensifies even more when the singer launches into the emotional Amiga.

For the final stretch of the concert, Bosé defies superstition in a yellow suit and still has energy left to continue singing (and dancing, with choreographed moves down to the last detail, repeated by his choir) songs like Morena mía, Amante bandido, and Don Diablo. “Everything I’ve said tonight, I’ve said for you,” he says before introducing that song, Por ti, with which he closes the show. “He has come back much better than he left,” comment Cipri and Maleni. It’s a quarter past twelve at night. The thermometer still reads 30 degrees. It could be the heatwave. Or it could be the Bosé effect.