Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison Holograms to 'Co-Headline' Tour This Fall

Buddy Holly died in a plane crash in 1959, and Roy Orbison succumbed to a heart attack in 1988

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Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty; Harry Hammond/V&A Images/Getty

Holograms depicting late rock legends Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison will be paired together on tour this fall.

On Wednesday BASE Hologram announced the Rock ’N’ Roll Dream Tour will kick off in Dublin this October and continue on to the U.K. later that month. U.S. dates have yet to be announced, but they will run concurrently as the European trek.

Holograms of the bespectacled icons will be supported by a live band and backing vocalists.

“Both Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly set the stage for what was to come down the road in the music industry,” BASE Hologram CEO and chairman Brian Becker said in a release. “These two men were forward-thinkers who understood what new forms of technology could do for their craft. They defined the genre of Rock and Roll, from writing to recording to the standard band configuration, and they influenced everyone from Elvis to The Beatles. Now to be able to recapture that magic on a grand scale and let their fans see them together will be something truly special.”

Orbison’s son, Roy Orbison Jr., spoke about his father’s relationship with Holly. “Dad jammed with Buddy in Lubbock, Texas and helped change music history by turning Buddy on to Norman Petty Studios,” he said in a statement to Rolling Stone. “Buddy later returned the favor by recording two of Dad’s songs on his first Cricket’s album. How beyond cool and special that these two great friends, now get to tour the world together.”

Holly’s wife Maria Elena Holly also spoke to the outlet, adding that the pair were “Texans who shared a mutual respect and admiration for each other’s creative musical genius and brilliant songwriting abilities. Their long-time fans and a new generation of fans will now have the opportunity to see these great legends perform together in a unique setting, showcasing two of the finest, most influential, and beloved artists in music history.”

Holly died on Feb. 3, 1959 in an Iowa plane crash that also claimed the lives of rock pioneers Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson. The tragedy has been mythologized in rock lore as “The Day the Music Died.” Orbison succumbed to a heart attack on Dec. 6, 1988.

Tickets for the Rock ‘N’ Roll Dream Tour will go on sale this Friday, March 29th.

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