A general view of the "Claw" stage during U2's last 360° Tour gig at Croke Park in July 2009. The band's sold-out three-night run in Dublin grossed $28.5 million (€21.7 million). Photograph: Niall Carson/PAA general view of the "Claw" stage during U2's last 360° Tour gig at Croke Park in July 2009. The band's sold-out three-night run in Dublin grossed $28.5 million (€21.7 million). Photograph: Niall Carson/PA

GORDON DEEGAN

NEW FIGURES show that U2’s 360° Tour has grossed more than $703 million (€534 million) after seven million rock fans paid to see the band over the past three years.

According to figures published by music industry journal Pollstar, the tour grossed $231.9 million last year after 2.38 million music fans paid to see the band at 34 gigs across 26 cities.

The US-based publisher shows that the tour grossed the highest amount of any rock band last year and on average grossed $8.9 million per gig with an average attendance of 91,828.

The figures show that U2’s three-gig stint at the Morumbi Stadium in São Paolo, Brazil, alone earned $32 million.

The $703 million is a gross figure and does not take into account the significant costs of staging the tour, which involved 110 gigs in 79 cities around the world over three years.

Hundreds of people were employed in transporting and constructing the 360° “Claw” stage, while the concerts provided a major economic boost in the cities where they took place.

The profits from the tour are shared between the four members of the band – Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton – their manager Paul McGuinness, their promoter Live Nation, and the local venue operator.

The 360° production increased the capacity of venues by up to 25 per cent, resulting in record attendances.

The Pollstar figures show that one of the top-earning stints over the three years was the band’s sold-out three-night run at Dublin’s Croke Park, where the tour grossed $28.5 million.

A breakdown of the annual figures shows that the tour grossed $231.9 million in 2011; $160.9 million in 2010; and $311 million in 2009, when three million people paid on average $101 to see the band play.

The year 2009 was the largest grossing year of the tour, when the average gross per concert was $10 million.

The drop-off in revenue in 2010 came as a result of the band postponing a North American leg of the tour after Bono sustained a back injury in Munich.

The latest figures for U2’s main Irish company, U2 Ltd, for the 12 months to the end of 2010 show that its cash pile increased almost fivefold to €4 million.

The principal activity of the company is the creation, protection and licensing of intellectual property.

It returned to profit in 2010 to record a pretax profit of €46,571.

The company has yet to file returns for 2011.

www.irishtimes.com

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Tim Mosenfelder, Getty Images

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! When Bono and co. wrapped their 360 tour in July, it became the highest-grossing and biggest ticket-selling tour in the history of the music business, according to Billboard. While U2 are known for their stadium-sized riffs and larger-than-life fame, they now officially hold the title for the biggest band in the world – at least as far as tours go. The magazine reports that their 360 outing raked in $736,421,586 over the course of it’s three-year run. Take that, Rolling Stones.

The tour was an exercise in hugeness. “As time moves on and we get further away from it, it actually seems more impressive than when you’re actually in the middle of it,” sayd Arthur Fogel, Live Nation Global Touring chairman. “It just leaves a tremendous sense of accomplishment, and is without a doubt one of the greatest experiences in the business that I’ve ever had.”

The 360 tour was as all-encompassing as its name suggests. The jaunt generated $293.3 million in box office and close to three million tickets sold during the Billboard calendar year alone, which ran from Nov. 1, 2010 to Nov. 8, 2011. Fogel shoots down the notion that the 360 tour is somehow different from the majority of tours in the industry.

“I don’t subscribe to the theory at all that somehow this tour is its own animal,” he says. “This is what drives our business, this is what gets people excited about going to shows, this is what proves that we are the real deal as an industry. When you can capture the attention and imagination and enjoyment of seven million people, that’s what this business is all about.”

With album sales on a constant decline, U2′s high (though obviously nowhere close to standard) grossing numbers are certainly refreshing. And mind-boggling.

Thanks for the report to Spinner.com

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U2, who wrapped up its two-year-long, record-book-shattering 360° Tour in July; brought home the Top Tour Award and Top Draw Award, which acknowledged the band’s top grossing and ticket selling tours, respectively, for its 360° Tour.

THE 2011 BILLBOARD TOURING AWARD WINNERS:

TOP TOUR – U2, 360

TOP DRAW – U2

TOP PACKAGE – Kenny Chesney’s Goin’ Coastal Tour, with Zac Brown Band, Uncle Kracker, Billy Currington

BREAKTHROUGH – Jason Aldean

TOP COMEDY TOUR – Jeff Dunham

TOP BOXSCORE – Take That, Wembley Stadium, London. 6/30 – 7/9

TOP PROMOTER – Live Nation Entertainment

TOP INDEPENDENT PROMOTER (U.S.) – C3 Presents, Austin

TOP INDEPENDENT PROMOTER (International) – SJM Concerts, London

TOP MANAGER — Front Line Management Group

TOP AGENCY – William Morris Endeavor Entertainment

TOP FESTIVAL – Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Indio, Calif.

TOP AMPHITHEATER – Comcast Center, Mansfield, Mass.

TOP ARENA – O2 Arena, London

TOP VENUE UNDER 10,000 SEATS – Radio City Music Hall, New York

TOP VENUE UNDER 5,000 SEATS – The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas

TOP CLUB (based on attendance) – 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C.

CONCERT MARKETING & PROMOTION AWARD – Taylor Swift Speak Now World Tour 2011 sponsored by Covergirl

APPLE AWARD – Perry Farrell

HUMANITARIAN AWARD – Coran Capshaw

LEGEND OF LIVE – Journey

EVENTFUL FANS’ CHOICE AWARD – Bon Jovi

http://www.billboard.com

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By John Spain Books Editor

Friday October 14 2011

NOTHING compares to U2, either on stage or on the page. The band’s 360° tour, which is now officially the biggest stadium tour of all time, is about to become a book.

The two-year 360° tour, which started in Barcelona in 2009 and ended this summer in Canada, grossed over €535m and played to over seven million people worldwide.

In terms of revenue it surpassed the previous biggest earning tour, The Rolling Stones ‘Bigger Bang’ tour.

It was also a critical success, a creative spectacular and a tour that completely redefined stadium-rock. Its 360° ‘claw’ stage allowed fans to encircle the band and put the band in the centre.

Now the 360° tour is to become a big, lavishly illustrated book, which is likely to be a global bestseller and a major cash generator both for the band and the publisher.

‘U2360°: The Official Story of the Greatest Spectacle in Stadium-Rock History’ will be a landmark music publishing event, according to Random House, who have bought world rights to the book.

It will contain contributions from the band, from manager Paul McGuinness, from show designer/director Willie Williams, and from show architect Mark Fisher.

It will also feature exclusive photographs from tour photographer Ralph Larmann and behind-the-scenes photographs by Eoin McLoughlin. The book will be written by ‘GQ’ editor Dylan Jones who has been given complete access, including behind the scenes at Glastonbury 2011.

Announcing the deal in London yesterday Trevor Dolby of Random House said: “Having published the band’s autobiography ‘U2 By U2′ in 2006, I was very flattered when U2′s manager Paul McGuiness and Ed Victor invited me to publish the ultimate, and intimate, story of the band’s record-breaking tour.”

The book, which is likely to be large-format to accommodate pictures, will be designed by Steve Averill, long time designer of U2′s albums.

‘U2360°: The Official Story of the Greatest Spectacle in Stadium-Rock History’ will be published in hardback in October 2012.

- John Spain Books Editor

http://www.independent.ie

http://www.u2.com

July 31st, 2011

U2 360°, the most successful concert tour of all time, came to an end in Moncton, N.B., Canada Saturday night.

The massive 26 month undertaking by Live Nation Global Touring saw U2 play 110 concerts in front of more than 7.1 million fans in 30 countries across five continents.

The tour opened in Barcelona on June 30, 2009 before hitting the road. U2 performed in the Balkans for the first time since 1997 and played three historic home town concerts at Dublin’s Croke Park, before heading to California to perform in front of 97,000 fans at the Rose Bowl (and streamed live via YouTube to 7 continents). A second European leg started in August 2010, featuring U2′s first appearances in Russia and Turkey – later that year U2 360° headed to Australia and New Zealand with Jay-Z. In 2011, U2 returned to South Africa for the first time since 1998 playing two huge concerts in the World Cup Stadiums of Capetown and Johannesburg. After playing three sold out nights at Estadio Morumbi in Sao Paulo Brazil, U2 360° passed 5 million tickets sold and became the biggest tour of all time. The tour’s biggest single audience was 108, 800 at Stadium Azteca in Mexico City on May 14th, 2011.

With a revolutionary production, U2 360° caught the imagination of its audience, who nicknamed U2′s circular stage the Claw, the Spaceship and when in Houston – the Space Station. USA Today described it as “a four-pronged UFO anchored by a glowing 164-foot pylon and cylindrical LED screens.” But whatever it was called, for the Chicago Tribune, “The lights, the songs, the audience all synced up. Sometimes size matters.”

Arthur Fogel, Chairman, Global Music & CEO, Global Touring, Live Nation, said, “This tour was a brilliant success on every level and all involved should be extremely proud. U2 once again have set the standard for achievement – perhaps for all time.”

“With tonight’s final show, U2′s 360° tour will go down as the biggest tour ever reported both in terms of box office gross and attendance,” says Ray Waddell from Billboard. “This tour is a remarkable feat on a global scale, from its staging and production, to its video elements, all the way to the scaling of the house, routing and execution. Most importantly, U2 rocked mightily all over the world.”

U2 360° By Numbers:

7,100,000 Fans
10 million People watched a live stream of U2 360° at the Rose Bowl on YouTube
320,000 Fans saw 360° in Mexico City
92,270 Meals fed to working staff and guests
29,000 Tee shirts given to local stagehands
9,760 Guitar strings utilized
7,100 Miles – approximate distance travelled by space station while talking with U2
5,200 Years – collective touring experience of U2 tour personnel
400 Tons – weight of the fully loaded claw
134 Crew members
126 Truck drivers
110 Concerts
53 Gigs attended by a single fan
33 Flemish speaking crew members
30 Countries
12 Bus drivers
11 Babies born to crew
7 Astronauts attended
4 Appreciative Irishmen
2 fairytale crew weddings
1 Singer in surgery
1 World leader released from house arrest during tour

http://www.starpulse.com

http://www.u2.com

Published Saturday July 30th, 2011

80,000 fans eager for tonight’s concert by Irish supergroup

BY BRENT MAZEROLLE
TIMES & TRANSCRIPT STAFF

Like the very first song on U2′s very first 1,000-copies-in-Ireland-only EP – the song Bono wrote on his 18th birthday – tonight’s performance by the biggest band of our times is bound to be Out of Control.

Last-minute work was being done yesterday on the public entrance gates at the concert site.

RON WARD/TIMES The huge claw-shaped stage for tonight's concert by Irish superstars U2 is now complete and ready for action.

Bono and the rest of Irish supergroup U2 will be rocking the Magnetic Hill Concert Site tonight with a crowd of 80,000 people expected.

But in the best possible way.

If it’s possible for the music legends’ storied 32-year career to come a full 360 degrees to a place where those humble beginnings meet unimaginable worldwide success and a long-awaited conclusion that might be a conclusion – or then again might be the beginning of a whole new, even greater orbit – if it’s possible, that circle might just close tonight on a tour called 360 in a place called Moncton.

Yes, Moncton is the place where mere concerts have a way of becoming events. But no event has the potential to go down in music history like this one, the wrapup of the most successful concert tour ever held.

The Rolling Stones’ 2005 Moncton show was huge and AC/DC’s 2009 show was huge, both the biggest shows of their respective North American tours when they hit a farmer’s field turned fan-freaking-tastic festival ground.

But tonight we break whole new ground on our whole new grounds, looking like they never have before as a result of the combined efforts of 2,400 people, a place where today stands a giant spaceship taller than almost every other building in our city, and where a population greater than the city itself will soon be pulled into the orbit of its perfect circle stage, the saturnalian ring wrapped ’round its heady atmosphere.

All of that sounds hopelessly over-the-top, of course, unless you’ve been to one of the 109 other shows on U2′s 360 Tour.

If you haven’t, you’ll soon understand. It’s over the top and halfway to space. There are no superlatives to describe it. It is the superlative.

And if you don’t go see and hear it for yourself tonight, you’ll just have to find something else to talk about at pubs and parties and water coolers around here for the next 32 years or so.

If you hate U2, you’ll still end up hating yourself for missing this one. If you love U2, it looks like you’re about to be in really good and growing company around here.

Less than 24 hours ago, a crowd of print and television and radio and online journalists, bloggers and even a couple of pseudo-freelance BSers who talked their way through the gates just to get an up-close look at the concert site got that up-close look and knew all their previous descriptions of this thing coming had somehow been inadequate.

It’s rock ‘n’ roll, baby, like it’s never rocked and rolled before.

Donald Tarlton, the real man behind what millions of Canadians over two or three generations know as Donald K. Donald, picks up the story from there.

“It all started about three years ago,” Tarlton said yesterday, the giant claws rising 15 storeys above him. “I had a dream. My partner André Hudon had a dream – wouldn’t it be great to get U2 to come to Atlantic Canada?”

He admitted it seemed like an impossible task when they first investigated it because the show was built to play in stadiums.

But then, “an unfortunate incident involving Bono’s back forced a reschedule and André and I spotted a window of opportunity,” he said.

“It’s a great coup for Atlantic Canada and a great thrill for us to be involved.”

Tarlton said when he heard it would indeed be the tour’s finale, he said, “if it turns out to be the last show of the tour, I’m telling you there’s no greater place for a party than Atlantic Canada. The fans of Atlantic Canada will give this band the greatest send-off for a tour they could possibly have. We know we’ve got the fans coming tomorrow and we know we’ve got the band coming tomorrow, and it’s going to be great.”

U2 production director Jake Berry takes over from Tarlton.

“As everybody knows, this is a very special show for everyone on the tour because this is the last one.”

On Monday, the three spaceship/claw stages go up for sale, their work complete after helping the band entertain more than seven million people around the world.

“It’s not very special for us crew people because we’ve got to look for jobs on Monday,” Berry said, but, “we chose to finish off in this beautiful site, and we’re ready.”

The show is special enough for U2 fans that they’ve literally been coming to Moncton from all over the world the past few days, whether they have to save money by staying in tents or they can afford their own private jets.

Look around and you may see that one of U2′s fans who is saying farewell to the 360 Tour is actor – fellow social activist and fellow Irishman Pierce Brosnan. If you do spot him, remember you heard it here first, folks.

While the Brad and Angelina and Oprah story particle colliding in an uncontrolled chain reaction yesterday seemed too far fetched to believe – Oprah doesn’t go to concerts; they come to her – the chance of seeing Eric Clapton might be better, though far from confirmed.

And the speculation about Neil Young having breakfast at Cora’s yesterday seems to actually be true, with several reported sightings. Moncton’s Tracey Suley was among them. She didn’t see the Canadian music icon at Cora’s, but did cross paths with a man who was either Young or the identical twin brother he didn’t know he had in behind the restaurant near the Delta Beauséjour Hotel.

And speaking of special visitors, don’t be surprised if for a spilt second or so tonight there is in fact someone at the site louder than the show itself. At the site, or maybe over it.

Craig Evans, U2′s 360 Tour manager, picks up the story.

Asked about all the swirling talk of other celebrities coming to Moncton because it’s the 360 Tour’s final date, he said yesterday, “there are certainly other people who we are expecting here tonight. This band has a lot of fans who are both celebrities and common people. There will be a bunch of familiar faces. It happens at most shows.”

There’s a huge amount of loyalty among those fans, he said.

“You get to understand the passion that they feel. That passion is when every show happens, the first time when the lights go down and the audience stands up and starts roaring and the band comes on the stage, everybody has an arm with hair standing up on end, feeling that moment. In a U2 show, what’s kind of unique is that happens several times during the evening.”

He couldn’t speak of what surprises the band might have in store, but “without a doubt, the crew has a few things in mind that we can’t speak about yet because it’s going to be a surprise to the band.”

And by the way, Evans said U2 is well aware the Town of Springhill, N.S., has made them honourary citizens for their keeping the memory of the town’s mining history alive through their singing of the classic Springhill Mining Disaster.

He said, however, travel timing would prevent the band from visiting the town in response to an invitation from the mayor, but he did hint the kindness might be acknowledged somehow at the show.

Evans predicted people will be really taken by the whole spectacle that is U2, especially on this mother of all tours. Beyond the show itself, he spoke of the view of the city and the acres of forest in their full summer greenery just behind the venue will make the final night special.

“That’s an amazing thing,” he said. “It’s one thing playing in a well-designed cement stadium. It’s another thing entirely to play in nature and grass and people. This is real. It’s more of an event than a concert. I think we have a very special opportunity to end this tour in a very unique and special place.

“This was a big decision to end the tour here, but it was very much a part of the band’s decision and wish.

“The band’s going to be emotional. They have had a huge journey. I think you’re going to see that.”

http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com

http://www.u2.com

* Article by: JON BREAM and CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER , Star Tribune staff writers
* Updated: July 25, 2011

These were the most unforgettable sights and sounds of Saturday’s wow-inducing show at TCF Bank Stadium.

The U2 360 Tour was ablaze with lights and pageantry as the Irish band performed before an enthusiastic crowd at TCF Bank Stadium Saturday evening, July 23, 2011.

Photo: Jim Gehrz

As the battalion of roadies broke down the mammoth “Claw” stage late Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium, we similarly cleared our minds about what we’d just witnessed. The sensory overload that was U2′s 360° Tour left us with these lasting impressions of what was unquestionably one of the most memorable rock concerts in Twin Cities history.
Singin’ in the rain

Bono has been compared to Dylan, Springsteen, the Pope. Add Gene Kelly to the list. Toting a U.S. flag umbrella, he relished singin’ in the rain. He and the Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. were undaunted by the downpour, which gave the nearly 60,000 soaked fans a glorious feeling.

(Note from our electrician: The Edge and Clayton wouldn’t get electrocuted with 12-volt batteries on their wireless guitars, but there was a concern about the electric pickups on those instruments getting wet.)
“Hold Me” thrills me

The rather forgettable song “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me” at the start of the second encore was brightened by the night’s most mesmerizing visual stunt. A lit steering wheel with a microphone in the middle hung from the rafters, to which Bono attached himself for several swings over the crowd while wearing a matching, Tron-like suit adorned with red lasers.
The stars are falling from the sky

U2 is always cutting-edge with its video work. This tour’s 360-degree cylindrical video screen — which expanded and contracted like an accordion — not only gave riveting live closeups but mesmerizing artsy visuals. The show felt like part planetarium, part space oddity, part religious experience.
“Streets” smart

Whatever the visual gimmickry, wherever the show, “Where the Streets Have No Name” is always the song that delivers on purely musical/visceral energy. That was proven again at the end of the first encore Saturday as the massive crowd was lit up singing along to every word.
A moment that sticks

The other pure-music moment was the acoustic “Stuck in a Moment That You Can’t Get Out Of,” which Bono dedicated to Amy Winehouse. It was just two voices and one acoustic guitar, holding the rapt attention of 60,000 in a rainy stadium.
Party for two – parties, that is

We’re not sure if they actually crossed the aisle to say hello, but we spotted both Sen. Al Franken and presidential candidate ex-Gov. Tim Pawlenty in the “Round Room” VIP area. Maybe Bono should be mediating the White House vs. Majority Leadership budget deliberations.
Drinkin’ in the day

The no-booze policy at the U’s Bank had one noteworthy benefit: “It cut down on the lines at the men’s bathroom,” said concertgoer Duane Poehls of Ham Lake. And maybe encouraged the pot smoking. We could smell it all the way in the press box, high above the crowd.
Moment of surrender

Sensing the lone media representative in the room for his pre-concert meeting backstage with local Somali-American activists, the publicity-savvy Bono reached out to shake hands while speculating on the value of tying Riemenschneider to a tree so other media outlets would pay attention to Somalia’s deepening famine crisis. He’s so slick, the music critic committed to it.
The traffic is stuck and you’re not moving anywhere

The roads weren’t too bad before the show thanks to dispersed arrivals, but the mass exodus afterward led to major congestion. Concertgoers complained of two-hour waits for shuttle buses to the main off-site parking area (near the State Fairgrounds); one trio of fans had to walk to the West Bank to find a cab to take them to downtown Minneapolis. Those parked on campus were lucky to get out in an hour. U and city officials will have to do better next time.

* Twitter: @JonBream • 612-673-1719
* Twitter: @ChrisRStrib • 612-673-4658

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