BOSTON -- Animosity between singers Anita Baker and Luther Vandross, now touring nationally, prompted separate stages and special backstage curtains at the Boston Garden to totally separate their entourages, officials said Friday.
Vandross, the soulful crooner of 'Give Me The Reason' and other pop hits, also 'brought in his own personal toilet seat' rather than use the weathered oval fixtures at the 60-year-old home of the Boston Celtics, a Garden official said.
'We were also informed by the local promoter that Anita Baker guest-list tickets were in one section and the Luther Vandross tickets were in another section,' the official said.
Curtains were reportedly erected so Baker and Vandross could walk around backstage without having to see each other.
Baker's new album, 'Giving You the Best That I Got,' reached No. 1 this week on the Billboard pop chart, while Vandross's 'Any Love' checked in at No. 14.
On stage, both performers made a point of praising an opening-act comedian while carefully avoiding any mention of the other singer.
'It's absolutely ridiculous,' said Boston radio personality Sunny Joe White, emcee for Tuesday night's concert.
Careful arrangements have apparently been made throughout the highly successful national tour by Vandross and Baker.
'We were informed beforehand that they didn't particularly get along well with each other,' said a spokesman for the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, which played host to the tour earlier this month.
The national promoter of the tour, Stage Right Productions of Lutherville, Md., declined to comment on reports of animosity, referring calls to the performers' personal managers.
The East Coast manager for Alive Enterprises, which represents Vandross, said any comment would have to come from the singer's personal manager, who could not be reached.
An official of B&B Associates, the management for Baker, said of the Boston situation, 'I wouldn't call it special arrangements. It's been that way since Day 1. Anita doesn't want anyone except her small group backstage in her area.'
