Concert For George

In this article we're going to briefly review one of the most touching concerts that was ever held for another person, The Concert For George.

There are very few people in history who you can mention their first name, say the word concert and know exactly who that concert was for. The Concert For George was one of those concerts. George of course being the late George Harrison of the Beatles.

George Harrison died of brain cancer on November 29, 2001. One year later the memorial concert for this great musician was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London. It is only fitting that this was the place as Harrison was 100% English from the top of his head to the tips of his magical guitar fingers. Many feel he was the overlooked Beatle. Everything was about John and Paul. But most critics feel that George Harrison was the heart and soul of the Beatle's guitar sound which has since be copied by so many artists.

The idea for the concert was George's good friend Eric Clapton's. Clapton and Harrison had actually been friends for a long time and first played together on the White Album. The song, of course, was "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." Clapton put together a memorial that Harrison himself would have smiled at.

The concert began with the daughter of one of Harrison's great friends, Ravi Shankar, singing "Your Eyes." After this song the daughter, who's name is Anoushka, teamed with another one of Harrison's friends, Jeff Lynne of ELO fame, to sing "The Inner Light" which was one of George Harrison's own tunes.

The concert itself was a mixture of music and comedy, which is very unusual for a concert. The comedy was handled mostly by the ensemble of Monty Python who, along with Tom Hanks, performed "Sit On My Face" and "The Lumberjack Song" which was one of Monty Python's funniest and most famous tunes.

The rest of the concert featured more of George's friends and the remaining members of the Beatles, Paul and Ringo. Also there were Tom Petty, Billy Preston, and Gary Brooker from Procal Harem. George's son Dhani was also on hand. If you watch the video of the concert you would swear that Dhani was George Harrison if you didn't know better.

The remainder of the concert featured mostly songs that were either done by The Beatles or songs that George had done solo or with other performers such as when he was with Tom Petty during his stint with The Traveling Willburys.

The songs are a who's who of some of the greatest tunes these people ever did together or separately. They included such classics as George's signature song "Something," the Beatles' like "Isn't It A Pity," "Here Comes The Sun," a Ringo tune that George played on, "Photograph," "All Things Must Pass," "My Sweet Lord," and finishing with "I'll See You In My Dreams," which was an appropriate ending for the concert.

George Harrison may be gone but he will never be forgotten.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Entertainment

Woodstock

In this article we're going to reflect on one of, if not the most famous concert in history, Woodstock.

If you were growing up in the 60s and were part of the hippie movement you were probably at the concert at Woodstock, even if you weren't there. Over the years, the number of people who claim to have been at Woodstock has gone from thousands to millions. Everyone has a story to tell about that. What follows, is the actual story in a very brief summary.

The actual name of the concert was The Woodstock Music And Art Fair, held in 1969 in Sullivan County in New York. This was truly the biggest concert of its kind to that date in history. The actual number of people in attendance was about 450,000. The concert itself ran for four days. The site itself has become a self appointed shrine. During the concert, in a time when drugs were most illegal, drugs were everywhere and people were having sex out on the lawn. And unfortunately, that is mostly what is written about when it comes to anything involving this event. But there was more to Woodstock than just sex and drugs.

Woodstock was a musical event the likes of which we will probably never see again. The concert itself cost more than $2.4 million to produce. Back then, that was a lot of money. The four men responsible for getting this piece of history together were John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfeld and Michael Lang. These were men who couldn't be more different from each other. Yet, they all had a vision to put something like this together.

The idea first originated when Roberts and Rosenman met on a golf course in 1967. What started as a screwball situation comedy ended up to be the plans for Woodstock that would take almost two years to complete. The work involved was enormous, not the least of which was getting all the musicians to show up. How many musicians? Over 20. This was something that was just unheard of at the time. And not just your run of the mill musicians. These were some of the biggest acts of the period, including Joan Baez, Santana, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, and of course the act that pretty much defined the concert, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

In the four days of performing the 450,000 plus people got to hear some great classics like Freedom by Richie Havens, Green River by Creedence Clearwater Revival, Try by Janis Joplin, I Want To Take You Higher by Sly and the Family Stone, We're Not Gonna Take It by The Who, Somebody To Love by Jefferson Airplane, and of course all the great tunes by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

Ironically, the song "Woodstock" was not sung at the actual concert itself. This was a song that CSN&Y recorded after they performed at the concert.

A book could be written about this concert and probably was. We've only scratched the surface here. And while you can't relive the concert itself, there is a great box set of the whole concert, digitally remastered, that you can get. Enjoy!

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Entertainment

Live Aid concert

In this article we're going to review another very popular benefit concert, the one they call Live Aid.

Most people probably had very little clue that The Concert For Bangladesh would start a trend that would continue for many years. Live Aid is another example of some of the world's greatest musical acts coming together in a common cause to help people in need.

What made Live Aid different from Bangladesh and many other concerts was that this concert was not held in just one place. The concert, held on July 13, 1985 was broadcast live from a number of places, including Wembley Stadium in London, JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, and a few acts performing from Sydney, Australia and Moscow, Russia.

The concert itself was put on in order to try to help raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia. The concert was billed as sort of a "global jukebox." The number of people in attendance at just two of the sites totalled over 150,000 people. Live Aid was the largest scale satellite link-up and TV broadcast of all time. It was estimated that about 1.5 billion people saw the broadcast live.

The concert was conceived by master mind Bob Geldorf who had previously put together another gala called "Do They Know It's Christmas" which was known as Band Aid. That concert went off the previous winter featuring a number of British and Irish acts also for the purpose of raising funds for famine relief in Ethiopia. This is the first time that two concerts had been put on so close together to raise money for the same relief effort.

The initial goals of this concert was to raise about $1.5 million. But as the concert grew in scope and the number of acts increased the final number was estimated at a staggering $254 million earned. Nobody could have ever seen this coming. Because of Geldorf's efforts and the success of Live Aid, he received an honorary knighthood.

Because there were so many venues and so many performing artists it would be impossible to list every artist who performed and every song done. But there were a few memorable highlights that deserve to be mentioned.

One of the most memorable moments at JFK Stadium was when Bob Dylan was playing and broke a guitar string. Ron Wood then took off his guitar and gave it to Dylan. Wood was then left standing on stage without a guitar. What does he do? He shrugs to the audience and proceeds to play air guitar even imitating Pete Townsend's windmill motion until a stagehand brought Wood a new guitar.

Over at Wembley Stadium the highlight of the concert there was when Freddie Mercury and Queen got the entire audience in attendance to clap and sing to "Radio Ga-Ga," "We Will Rock You," and "We Are The Champions." It was reported that the sound at that point was almost deafening with over 70,000 people singing and clapping.

Live Aid was an amazing event. It raised millions of dollars and helped feed starving people. No, this wasn't just a concert.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Entertainment

Freddie Mercury Tribute

In this article we're going to briefly review the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert which was held at Wembley's Stadium in London.

Freddie Mercury was not just the heart and soul or the rock group Queen, he was Queen. When he died from complications of AIDS on November 24, 1991, the world lost one of the truly unique and great singers.

When Queen first hit the scene in the mid 70s they had a cult following at best. Their music was quite different from anything that had come along until then. Their harmonic vocals, led by Mercury's over the top solos, made them a group that sooner or later had to get noticed. And while it took years for them to reach the peak of their popularity, once they made it they were one of the biggest groups of the era.

And then the world got word of Mercury's death and for all practical purposes, Queen was dead. In truth, until their recent team up with Paul Rogers, Queen had stopped performing and recording. But on April 20, 1992, Queen, with the help of some very talented musicians put on a concert to pay tribute to their fallen leader.

The concert, held at Wembley Stadium in London sold out its 72,000 tickets in just six hours. The concert was also broadcast live to over one billion people. The profit that they made from the concert was used to fund the Mercury Phoenix Trust which is a world wide charity organization to fight AIDS. This organization has been operating ever since.

The concert itself was actually announced and planned for at a February 1992 BRIT awards ceremony by Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor. At the time nobody knew who would play other than the remaining members of Queen which included May, Taylor and John Deacon who played his last performance as a member of Queen with this concert.

The lineup for this concert was quite impressive. Guest artists included Spinal Tap, Robert Plant, from Led Zeppelin, Roger Daltry, from The Who, David Bowie, who recorded the song "Under Pressure" with Queen, Elton John and even Elizabeth Taylor came by to give a speech.

The musical highlights could have made a greatest hits album alone. Many Queen favorites were played such as "Tie Your Mother Down", "Radio Ga-Ga", "Under Pressure", "Somebody To Love", "We Will Rock You", "We Are The Champions", and of course Queen's greatest hit of all, "Bohemian Rhapsody."

Other highlights and artists included Def Leppard, who sang "Now I'm Here" with Brian May, Gary Cherone singing "I Want It All", Seal singing "Who Wants To Live Forever", Ian Hunter and a host of others singing "All The Young Dudes", Lisa Stanfield singing "I Want To Be Free", and Elton John singing "The Show Must Go On."

The passing of Freddie Mercury has left a terrible void in the music industry. And while Paul Rogers is certainly a talented singer in his own right, he can't fill Mercury's shoes.

Nobody can.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Guitars

Concerts - Live vs Studio

In this article we're going to indulge in a debate on concert performances versus studio recordings.

It should be pointed out that there are no personal views in this article. The following is a composition of arguments made by critics and fans of music since the early days of both live and studio recordings.

Let's first cut to the question we ultimately want to get answered in this article. Which is better, seeing a group live or listening to one of their studio albums?

Well, to answer that it first needs to be pointed out that the question of better in itself may not even be the definitive answer. A live performance may be better than a studio album, worse than one or simply a different experience depending on what you are trying to get out of it.

If you're a purest who wants to hear your favorite group's songs done exactly as they were done on record then more likely than not you will probably be disappointed. Why? Well, there are several things that factor into that equation.

For starters, a studio recording is done in an environment that is totally different from a concert hall. The acoustics are manufactured as opposed to natural. Also, in a studio, you have millions of dollars in equipment that you just can't lug to a live performance, no matter how hard you try.

Then there is the recording process itself. Anyone who thinks that a group records each song they do in one take has an unrealistic view of studio recordings. Songs take multiple takes. Also, many parts are overdubbed and even triple dubbed. In a live performance there is no dubbing. Everything is done there on the spot. No chance to take back a wrong note. If the lead singer has a sore throat you can't skip over his parts and do them another day, as can be done in a studio. It is do or die at a live performance. Therefore, a live performance is going to be different from a studio recording.

Naturally, if you are going to see somebody who just plays guitar in the studio and is going to be playing that same guitar live, there is a better chance that what you will hear will more closely resemble what you'll hear on record. But with a big ensemble rock group that uses twenty keyboards in the studio, the chances become quite slim.

However, if you are someone who is going to a concert to hear and see the energy that a group puts into something live, or even hope to hear something a little different from what you get on record, then most likely you live for live performances. Recordings to you are simply a matter of getting some idea of how good that group will sound at a live venue.

But disappointments happen. Many critics claimed how a band by the name of "Boston" from back in the late 70s sounded absolutely terrible in concert because the lead singer could not hit the same high notes that he hit in the studio and it was obvious that the musicianship was just not there. This is a group that most likely needed the studio to sound as good as they did.

And then there is the concert enthusiast who isn't so much looking to hear the record duplicated or to hear energy or something different. They're just going to the concert to hear a band they just happen to like. Their experience at the concert will most likely be a simple matter of "did it sound good"? Since sounding good is a relative term, we won't try to answer how to qualify what "good" is. That is an individual's taste. In most cases however, just to generalize, if the concert sound is of "professional" quality and the songs are recognizable as the "hits" from the record then most people will walk away from the experience saying that it was a "good" one. But again, that depends on what you're hoping to get out of the experience itself.

Hopefully though, the above will serve as a guide of what to look for based on what type of person you are and what you are personally expecting. That way you can get a decent idea of what a concert experience will be like for you. If you need your music note for note to the record then most likely you will be disappointed by most concerts.

Notice we didn't actually answer our question of which is better. As was stated, concerts may simply be different.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Guitars

Spice Girls: What They Really, Really Want Is For You To Love Them... Again

“Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want,

So tell me what you want, what you really really want,

I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really,

Really really wanna zigazig ha.”

Apparently the concert-going public has spoken and what they really, really want is to see the Spice Girls perform together once again.

They’re back…!

Just when you thought the whole reunion nostalgia thing must be losing its steam, one of the most famous of the “girl bands,” The Spice Girls, have just launched a reunion tour that will take them well into 2008. With Simon Fuller once again steering the ship, there is little doubt that this will be a heavily promoted, successful, and lucrative endeavour for all involved.

A pop music phenomenon, the Spice Girls launched a career that included three albums, multiple world tours, sales of 55 million records and even a Spice Girls movie. Like few groups before them, the Spice Girls became a fixture in the British press. Their Girl Power mantra (emphasising loyalty and friendship) was heavily marketed and made the Spice Girls internationally famous. They were unabashedly pop, shamelessly aggressive self-promoters, and their individually developed personas brought comparisons to the Beatles and Beatlemania. While British radio had been dominated in the early 90’s by guitar-based bands like Blur and Oasis, the Spice Girls were pure pop and aimed squarely at a young female audience.

It all started in London in 1993 with an open audition for a girl group being put together by Bob and Chris Herbert. Their group - Touch - was finalised based on these auditions and the line-up included Victoria Adams, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell. The women were moved into a house together and began a demanding routine of song and dance rehearsals. The pace was too much for the fifth member of Touch, and she left to be replaced by Emma Bunton.

After a disagreement over the band’s direction with Chris Herbert, the band quit and broke away in 1994. In the fall of that year they met Simon Fuller (yes, that Simon Fuller; not the caustic judge, but the creator of the various Pop Idol television series including American Idol) and by spring of 1995, they had signed with Fuller and his company, 19 Management.

In September 1995, the band officially became the Spice Girls and Fuller landed them a recording contract with Virgin Records. He quickly whisked them off on a promotional tour of the United States followed by filming for their first video, Wannabe. By May of 1996, Wannabe was a hit on video stations and the Spice Girls were on the road to fame.

In July of 1996, Top of the Pops magazine ran a feature on the Spice Girls, in which the editor suggested that nicknames for each of the Spice Girls might be a good idea: Posh, Ginger, Baby, Scary and Sporty made their first appearance in the music press and the nicknames stuck.

Simon Fuller turned out to be a master of promotion and worked every angle to get the Spice Girls out there. They toured the United States again, appeared at a Christmas tree lighting in London in 1996 that drew 500,000 people, and began promoting a myriad of products, including Pepsi, Polaroid and Cadbury’s. By February 1997, Wannabe had become the number one song in the UK and US charts, and by this point, the Spice Girls had amassed world CD sales of six million, along with seven million singles. Not bad for a debut.

Their follow-up album, Spice, was released in March of 1997, and sales climbed to 14 million copies by July of that year. Their third album, Spiceworld, was released shortly after in November 1997, and just prior to the release of their movie, Spiceworld, on Boxing Day of 1997. The film grossed $75 million worldwide. Then in a bombshell announcement, the Spice Girls dropped Simon Fuller as their manager just prior to the start of a massive world tour. Probably not a good move, given that he appeared to be crucial to their success.

1998 started off with the news that Victoria Adams was engaged to soccer star David Beckham. In February, the Spice Girls began the previously planned, 102-date world tour in support of Spiceworld, but the cracks were beginning to show. Geri Halliwell failed to appear at several gigs in Norway in May and soon released a letter announcing her departure from the group. In June, the Spice Girls, minus Ginger, undertook the American leg of the tour, but rumours of the group’s imminent demise were fuelled by the news in August that both Victoria Adams and Melanie Brown were pregnant. The Spiceworld Tour concluded with a pair of sold out shows at Wembley Stadium, but it was to be their final tour.

Brown married in 1998 followed by Adams in 1999. In October 2000, the Spice Girls released their final album, Forever. They never officially broke up, but the group didn’t release any more material and each went her own way.

Discography

1996: Spice (UK #1)

1997: Spiceworld (UK #1)

2000: Forever (UK #2)

2007: Greatest Hits (UK #2)

Number 1 Singles (UK Charts)

1996: Wannabe, Say You’ll Be There, 2 Become 1

1997: Mama/Who Do You Think You Are?, Spice Up Your Life, Too Much

1998: Viva Forever, Goodbye

2000: Holler/Let Love Lead The Way

So where have the Spice Girls been for the past seven years?

Melanie Brown (aka “Scary Spice,” aka “Mel B”) released a solo album in 2000 and has since concentrated largely on an acting career. Her credits include roles in the BBC3 sitcom Burn It, movies Lethal Dose and The Seat Filler, a Broadway appearance in the musical Rent, a part in The Vagina Monologues in London, and appearances on television reality shows This Is My Moment and Dancing With The Stars. A second solo CD was released in 2004, after her autobiography was published in 2002. Melanie has two children, daughters Phoenix Chi and Angel Iris. Brown garnered considerable tabloid press in 2006 when a relationship with actor Eddie Murphy ended, with Brown claiming that Murphy had fathered Angel Iris.

Melanie Chisholm (aka “Sporty Spice,” aka “Mel C”) has enjoyed a busy solo career since the Spice Girls split up, releasing four albums and performing a hit duet with Canadian singer Bryan Adams. She formed her own label, Red Girl Records, and has been actively touring in support of her material.

Victoria Beckham (aka “Posh Spice”) has recently had considerable attention with the American tabloid press, following her move to Los Angeles with husband, soccer star David Beckham, who joined the L.A. Galaxy football team. The Beckhams have three sons. Victoria hasn’t pursued a solo singing career, unlike the other girls, but has followed her interest in fashion, acting as a guest fashion editor with Harper's Bazaar magazine and releasing several clothing lines as well as her own fragrance (Intimately Beckham). Beckham has made several television appearances, including a stint on Ugly Betty. Beckham has also published a fashion guidebook and an autobiography.

Geri Halliwell (aka “Ginger Spice”) has released three solo albums, contributed a hit single to the movie Bridget Jones’s Diary (It’s Raining Men), released two autobiographies, released two yoga videos, and appeared on the television show Sex In The City. Apparently not content to sit still, Halliwell is also an ambassador for The Prince’s Trust, has written six soon-to-be-published children’s books and became a mother with the birth of daughter Bluebell Madonna in 2006.

Emma Bunton (aka “Baby Spice”) has released three solo records, appeared on BBC1’s Strictly Come Dancing, and in August of 2007, became a mother with the birth of her son, Beau Lee.

So, now we come to 2007. Hard feelings are put aside, and everyone is back on board. Even Simon Fuller. A formal announcement of the reunion was made via a press conference on 28th June: the Spice Girls would reunite for a world tour to support the release of a greatest hits CD. The tour will be filmed for a documentary to be released by the BBC. And true to their past pattern, the Spice Girls and Fuller are already lining up corporate sponsors for the tour, including a £5 million fee to appear in advertisements for the Tesco supermarket chain.

The initial concert took place on December 2 in Vancouver, Canada. A sell-out crowd of 16,000, which paid up to $550 CDN for tickets, was reportedly heavily skewed toward the teen female demographic. Reviews of the concert were good - the Telegraph’s Catherine Elsworth said:

“They performed for almost two hours, rattling through 22 songs including old favourites such as Spice Up Your Life and Wannabe as well a few covers and tracks the girls had recorded while pursuing solo careers. The exuberant set - which took in eight costumes and elaborate choreography including a spot of pole dancing - had fans screaming from beginning to end and betrayed no signs of the intervening years.”

Sounds like the Spice Girls shouldn’t have any problems selling tickets for the rest of the tour dates.

Links
www.thespicegirls.com

About the Author: This article was written by Brad Moon for Viagogo.co.uk, a leading European ticket hub. Viagogo connects buyers and sellers of tickets, concert tickets, theatre tickets and more. Viagogo also guarantees all the transactions, so if you are looking for tickets online, Viagogo is the place to go!

Only Limited Tickets To Bon Jovi Concert Are Left!

Jon Bon Jovi continues to be the most loved musician on the earth! But will his next destination be the world of politics? Well, that’s for him to decide; till then, his fans can have the time of their life by grooving at his concerts and on his albums.

With cropped hair and a sexy smile, Bon Jovi continues to win hearts with every tune of his band. At 45, he can boast of album sales of about 120 million. This is the same guy who swept floors at the recording studio of his cousin Tony Bongiovi at the age of 17!

For those rare souls who aren’t familiar with this pop legend, Bon Jovi (his complete name is John Francis Bongiovi Jr.) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He founded the rock band under the name of Bon Jovi and is its lead singer. This band has sold more than 100 million albums across the continents!

After a traumatic flick with marijuana during his teenage years, he stays miles away from drugs. He has been married to his childhood sweetheart Dorothea for the last 17 years.

It was not a bed of roses for Bon Jovi to achieve what he has today. It was in 1980 when the recording of “Christmas in the Stars: The Star Wars Christmas” album was been done in the presence of Meco. His cousin Tony recommended John for his song “R2-D2 We Wish You A Merry Christmas.” This was John’s first recording in a professional way.

Later, he had a short stint with the band ‘Scandal’. His raw talent was noticed by Mercury Records and Atlantic Records. Bon Jovi had already started a band under his initials and endeavored to unveil his talent. This step proved to be a success, as record executive Derek Shulman entered John into an agreement with Mercury Records, which was a part of the famous company named PolyGram.

After this, the band named Bon Jovi came into being. With the manager Doc McGhee’s help, ‘Bon Jovi’ released its debut album named “Bon Jovi” on January 21, 1984. It was a huge success and sold over 500,000 copies in the US alone. It achieved ‘gold’ status and was, later, released in UK. The sensation had begun!

The band’s revolutionary album “Slippery When Wet” was a tribute to the strip clubs of Vancouver. The pop-rock anthems of this album honored blue-collar, macho heroes.

And now, the band is ready with their latest album “Lost Highway”. It has been recorded in Nashville and will be released in Sydney soon. It consists of a duet with LeAnn Rimes, the nation’s music superstar. This album, too, is based on an interesting theme.

If you wish to catch this electrifying band during their tour to support their newest album, book your tickets without delay. Rather than visiting the box office, it’s better to dial a number of ticketing services or order tickets online.

You can’t afford to remain aloof if a sensational event is happening in your city!

Al is the webmaster of the Tickets Bon Jovi site, a New York City entertainment website with reviews and news on every event, as well as tickets Bon Jovi information.

2007 Concerts In Review: Money, Music, Madness

It’s been another tumultuous year in the music industry, a business that’s seeing significant challenges to virtually every aspect of its business model, and that needs the pressure of such change as much as a polar bear needs a heat lamp. With peer-to-peer downloading of music that seems unstoppable no matter how many companies get shut down, bad press generated by poorly conceived punitive lawsuits against said file sharers, declining CD sales, increasing failure among traditional music retail stores, and well-known artists like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails striking out on their own and offering new releases online for free; it seems these days the music industry can’t catch a break.

But with all of this doom and gloom, the one positive for the industry in 2007 has been a relatively strong live concert market. Nostalgia has been the order of the day, with classic rock acts continuing to hit the road, their numbers bolstered by reuniting 80’s acts who’ve either got the itch as part of a midlife crisis, or who want to pad out their retirement income. Just look at the acts currently (week of November 20, 2007) holding the top fifteen spots on Pollstar’s Top 50 list of concert tours:

1. Bon Jovi
2. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band
3. Van Halen
4. Celine Dion
5. Foo Fighters
6. Neil Young
7. Ozzy Osbourne
8. Tool
9. Billy Joel
10. The Police
11. John Mellencamp
12. Elton John
13. Stevie Wonder
14. The Spice Girls
15. Rage Against The Machine

I count four reunions (five if you include Springsteen touring with the E Street Band), one lounge act trying to escape Las Vegas, and a couple of relatively current bands. The rest will definitely fit nicely under the “nostalgia” umbrella - not that Billy Joel or Elton John aren’t good or relevant, it’s just that their music isn’t what you’d typically expect a twenty year old to be rocking out to, as their first choice.

The numbers aren’t all in yet, but the grosses are looking pretty good. While their tour actually began in 2005, The Rolling Stones’ A Bigger Bang Tour wrapped up in the autumn of 2007 and made it into the Guinness Book of World Records as the highest-grossing concert tour in history. Just how big is that, you ask? They raked in $560,000,000 (US dollars) for the 144 dates they played. That’s right, over half a billion dollars; almost four million dollars per night. Not bad pocket money.

Before we get all star-eyed about the dough that’s being made hand over fist on touring though, there are a few reality checks to consider.

First of all, the record labels themselves seldom see any money from touring, so it’s not like the concert revenue is helping to make up for declining CD sales. The artists themselves can find touring a very lucrative business, although even they don’t typically see the bulk of the cash that’s collected at the gates. According to industry averages, an artist can expect to net as much as thirty-five percent of ticket prices and fifty percent of merchandise sales for a show. The bulk of the take goes to paying promoters, road crews, venues, ticket sellers, and anyone else who has any involvement in the planning, marketing, running, setting up or cleaning up after a show.

Complicating the equation is the fact that ticket sales themselves have actually been relatively flat; as a matter of fact, they have shown a slight decline in some recent years. But, ticket prices have continued to increase significantly, especially among bands whose audience demographic skews toward the older, wealthier listener. According to Rolling Stone, the average concert ticket cost under £18 in 1999, and in 2003 that had increased to over £24. An LA Times investigation determined that the average price had climbed to £30 for 2006, so clearly there is something more than simple inflationary pressure at work.

This key issue becomes the critical factor behind the ranking of top-grossing touring acts. Promoters charge what the market will bear, and a group with a history (like the Rolling Stones) or a significant pent-up demand due to a break-up (The Police) or tendency to have somewhat older fans (both The Rolling Stones and The Police) will allow the promoters to charge considerably higher ticket prices. So it’s no surprise that the mega acts like The Stones, U2 and The Police can manage to tour, consistently pulling off premium ticket prices at multiple dates and ending up topping the concert charts, even though they may not have released a new CD in over twenty years.

Looking at numbers supplied by Pollstar (note: these have been rounded), you can easily see that relationship. In the 2005 concert year, the top concert gross list displayed what has become a familiar pattern: domination by nostalgia and classic rock acts, with the top five spots being held by The Rolling Stones, U2, Celine Dion, Paul McCartney, and The Eagles. Okay, Celine Dion is an odd one, but you can attribute that to gamblers in Las Vegas with more money than they know what to do with and a healthy bar tab.

The Rolling Stones captured the top spot by earning £80 million with an average ticket price of £65. U2 came in second, grossing £68 million with an average ticket price of £49. Look for a contemporary act on the top twenty list and you can find Coldplay in seventeenth spot, grossing £11 million with an average ticket price of a much more modest £19; Green Day hit number 12 with £17 million on £18 tickets. See the pattern? Even if Green Day or their promoters tried for the big payday at this point, would there be enough “kids” willing to shell out £49 for tickets? Would they attract enough baby boomers to make up for the shortfall? I doubt it.

The relatively lower grosses don’t mean other acts aren’t doing well touring, it simply means they aren’t playing as many gigs to as many fans, or they're not charging nearly as much for tickets. They can do quite well, just not well enough to make the big early retirement pay cheque.

So now we’ve established that 2007 has been a pretty good year to be a touring rock band and gotten the financial nonsense out of the way, which shows have actually been getting the buzz?

The Police rank up there pretty highly. At first people watched with morbid curiosity, half expecting the old tensions to resurface and end with Sting and Stewart Copeland beating the hell out of each other on stage - come on, admit it, you were hoping it would all go down at the show you saw. Despite a slightly rough start, showing the band was clearly out of practice after all these years; they quickly found their groove and played to sold out shows and excellent reviews. The critics were happy, and the fans couldn’t buy tickets fast enough.

Rage Against The Machine was another of the most anticipated reunion acts, especially among the younger alternative rock set. The comic soap opera that has been Van Halen and David Lee Roth settled down enough to actually hit the road in 2007. Genesis reformed – at least the Phil Collins-led version of Genesis. Canadian progressive rockers Rush toured in support of their Snakes & Arrows CD. The Rock the Mic tour brought Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes and Missy Elliott together for a series of over 30 shows. According to Forbes magazine, the Dixie Chicks took less than a week to sell over £22 million in ticket sales for 57 shows.

For the pre-teen and (possibly early teen) set, Disney’s Hannah Montana has been “rocking” sold out venues everywhere. Another reunion of sorts, The Smashing Pumpkins, were also back in 2007, along with veterans Gordon Lightfoot, Van Morrison, John Fogerty, Rod Stewart, Roger Waters, Bob Dylan and Neil Young who all toured. Even occasionally befuddled rocker Ozzy Osborne has started out with Rob Zombie. Bon Jovi is selling tickets in a big way with favourable reviews, and old new wavers (is that a contradiction in terms?) Duran Duran and The Cure were on the road. Justin Timberlake got his groove on and Dane Cook proved that stand-up comics could sell out arenas too. Not to be left out in the cold by classic rockers and reunion acts, Incubus, Tool, Foo Fighters, Avril Lavigne, Mr. Avril Lavigne’s band (Sum 41), Korn, Modest Mouse, Jimmy Eat World, Fallout Boy, Cake, Avenged Sevenfold, Band of Horses and Arcade Fire, all made representations for the alternative rock crowd.

So how is 2008 shaping up in terms of concerts? Obviously we can’t predict too much at this stage, but I will be willing to throw this one out: tickets are going to continue to rise in price at a rate greater than inflation and the biggest grossing acts will once again be ageing rockers, with the ultimate combination of rocker and reunion topping the list. If the chemistry was right for their reunion concert in December, and if Robert Plant and Jimmy Page don’t end up in fisticuffs, it just might be that Led Zeppelin may commit to a tour, and if that happens look for them to be at the top of the list by this time next year. But coming back full circle to the problem record labels are having with declining CD sales, mega group and thorn-in-the-labels-side, artists’ rights champions Radiohead are also planning a 2008 world tour. Don’t count them out either.

It’s bound to be an interesting year.

This article was written by Brad Moon for Viagogo.co.uk, a leading European ticket hub. Viagogo connects buyers and sellers of tickets, concert tickets, theatre tickets and more. Viagogo also guarantees all the transactions, so if you are looking for tickets online, Viagogo is the place to go!