A Spicier Lollapalooza Tour

What was the most surprising tour success of the summer of 1991?

Lollapalooza--the seven-act, cross-country, cross-cultural event, right?

So, what does Pop Eye hear that the Lollapalooza organizers are planning for the summer of 1992?

That’s right: Lollapalooza II.

And who’ll succeed Jane’s Addiction as the headliner in the “alternative rock” lineup?

The advance word is L.A.’s own funk-rock meisters, the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Last year’s Lollapalooza, the brainchild of Jane’s Addiction leader Perry Farrell and the Triad concert booking agency, was the talk of the industry for consistently making money in the leanest concert year in rock history.

The tour’s success was an early indication of the growing commercial power of a group of alternative rock bands whose theme is youthful alienation--the same force that last fall swept Nirvana’s major-label debut to the top of the national sales charts.

Last year’s lineup--including such diverse attractions as post-punk mainstays Siouxsie & the Banshees, rising industrial-rock stars Nine Inch Nails and rapper Ice-T--drew more 430,000 people in 26 dates, including three in Southern California.

Triad’s Don Muller hopes to inject more diversity in this year’s package, which will run from July 18 in San Francisco to Aug. 30 in Los Angeles.

One of his early targets--and an inspired choice--was veteran iconoclast Neil Young, who expressed interest but had other commitments. Muller, who is working on the project with MCA’s Missy Worth, will choose the final six to seven acts from a list of almost 50 performers.

Though Muller won’t name others on his “A” list, there is speculation that offers have been made to the Jesus and Mary Chain, the acclaimed Scottish band that is still trying to duplicate its enormous British success here; Soundgarden, the Seattle grunge-metal heroes who have been touring with Guns N’ Roses, and Social Distortion, the Orange County punk-cum-rock group. Other rumored possibilities: the Pogues with Joe Strummer and rapper Ice Cube.

What about Farrell now that Jane’s Addiction has called it quits? He won’t perform on the show, but he may emcee some dates--and he’s involved, Muller says, with the planning, particularly in putting together political and art-oriented booths and displays that accompany the concerts.