U2 might be a bloated money making machine who haven’t released a decent record since 1991’s Achtung Baby, but proving that you can rely on your 1980s back catalogue and saturation FM radio play, U2 this weekend past became the highest grossing live band of all time, taking The Rolling Stones’ crown off them.
The band’s 360 Degree tour played Sao Paulo in Brazil last night and surpassed the $US558 million in box office receipts that The Rolling Stones achieved for their 2005-7 A Bigger Bang tour. According to music industry rag Billboard, their Boxscore rating chart has figured that “360” will also have moved more than 7 million tickets to 110 shows, enough to capture the “highest attended tour ever” mantle, as well.
The Stones are also the band to vacate that title, as their “Voodoo Lounge” tour of 1994-1995 had held the attendance record at 6.4 million tickets.” U2’s manager Paul McGuinness said “Owning the ‘biggest tour ever’ record is something we’re very proud of having set. And to set it with a further 20-plus shows to go on the tour is kind of mind-blowing. It means that it’s a record that will probably never be outstripped.”
