Stage and concerts

The sticker or laminate that opens the doors behind the stage, with a strict hierarchy that ends at Access All Areas.

Being passed over a crowd on raised hands: a rock tradition with hazy origins, and one that many venues simply ban.

Ticket prices that rise and fall with demand, an airline trick that met concert fans and caused a national argument.

The extra songs after the fake goodbye, named with a French word that the French themselves never shout.

The annual song contest where Europe votes, argues about key changes and once watched a conductor dressed as Napoleon.

An organised band of devoted admirers, once run by post and rewarded, in The Beatles' case, with a Christmas record.

The last tour ever, announced with great emotion and, in rock history, frequently followed by another last tour.

The waiting room for performers and TV guests, named after a colour nobody can explain and often not even painted green.

A long run of shows in one Las Vegas theatre, where the star stays put and the fans do the flying.

Mouthing the words to a recording instead of singing live: once a backstage secret, now an entire television genre.

The artist who plays before the headliner to a crowd still queuing for drinks: a launch pad, and a lesson in humility.

Thousands of smartphone lights raised during a slow song, the heirs of lighters and of a rainy evening at Woodstock.

The backstage wish list in a performer's contract, where the snacks get the headlines and the safety clauses do the real work.

The touring crew member who lugs, builds and tunes everything, and occasionally graduates to stardom.

A gig played on top of a building, free to anyone in earshot and, by tradition, a surprise to the neighbours.

Italy's national song festival, which began as background music for a casino dinner and became a winter obsession.

The running order of a show, taped to the stage floor and later fought over, logged and analysed by fans like sacred scripture.

The afternoon rehearsal in an empty venue, usually a chore for the band and, for a few lucky ticket holders, a secret extra gig.

A tour played in football and baseball grounds, born amid Beatlemania screams and now measured in billions.

The mini-concert in the middle of American football's final, watched by more than 100 million people and paid at union scale.

The famous face who walks on unannounced during someone else's show and turns an ordinary night into a legend.

The rolling hotel of touring life, with bunks the size of a shelf and, in Dolly Parton's case, a place in a theme park.

Playing with acoustic instruments instead of electric ones, the format that made turning the volume down a huge hit.

The polite name for an outfit that gives up in public, a phrase so tidy it ended up in the dictionary.