bon jovi bigger live band than u2?

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METFIELD

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Bon Jovi has played more than 2,500 concerts in 50 countries before more than 32 million fans:(
 
Where did you get that info first of all? and no, Bon Jovi does not have as much demand for concerts as U2.
 
U2 take more time, to release better music.
I'm sure if they put out a half good record every 2 years...they'd have played upwards of 2,500 shows....
 
What is this.... i mean common... Metfield u seem to be looking for any possible artist that you can think of to compare to U2. When it comes down to it, I don't think that really matters.... U2 are massive and there really aren't other bands that you can compare with them. Now I'm not saying that U2 are the biggest band ever, you can't really judge that kind of thing. Certainly U2 are amongst the top and you could try and compare their achievements, but that doesn't really matter anymore particularly since U2 has outlasted pretty much all of them in terms of how long they've maintained their position at the top.
Just wait to see the results from HTDAAB and the following tour to see what I mean.

WHYWHY.
 
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Im sure that U2 have played to at least that many fans over their time....and U2 have sold many more albums then Bon Jovi in about the same amount of time. U2s fanbase is a stronger one and more demanding of good music.
 
METFIELD said:
Bon Jovi has played more than 2,500 concerts in 50 countries before more than 32 million fans:(
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Bon Jovi can sell more tickets than U2 in two countries, Japan and Germany and thats it! Everywhere else in the world, U2 is ahead of them, and in many places, ahead of them by a very large margin.
 
Yahweh said:
Im sure that U2 have played to at least that many fans over their time....and U2 have sold many more albums then Bon Jovi in about the same amount of time. U2s fanbase is a stronger one and more demanding of good music.
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I agree that U2 is more popular on the live scene, and the fact is whilst they only played their 1,000th concert on the Elevation tour, they've still played to around 10 million people from their last 3 tours if I remember correctly... that isn't counting any of the tours from the 80s. STING2 or the DOC will have closer to accurate figures certainly, but I can assure u that U2 would squash Bon Jovi.
 
Sorry....I love the Bon Jovi stuff up to the point of the Best Of, Crossroads. I still think Always was the last good song they released, and These Days the last good studio album. All this stuff they're releasing every 6 months (so it seems) is just poor - Bounce/Crush/One Wild Night/This Left Feels Right....nah, not for me im afraid.
So I suppose my answer to your question, is no.
 
I wouldn't call Bon Jovi "shite" at all. They are a pop-rock band and produce decent music in that genre. It may not be to your liking, but they do have a loyal fan base. Years ago, I saw a woman being interviewed on TV. She was a huge Michael Bolton fan and was disheartened hearing people bash him. I empathized with her as I know how I feel (as well as many others here) when people bash U2. Therefore, I try not to debase any artist other than to say that *I* don't like the music.

However, the argument of whether Bon Jovi is more successful than U2 is debatable. In 1987, Bon Jovi had the #1 album of the year, not U2 (U2's "Joshua Tree" was actually the #3 album of the year per Billboard). Bon Jovi continues to have hits, similar to U2. However, it's clear that ATYCLB and HTDAAB will outsell Bon Jovi's recent offerings.

I think U2 market themselves better and are in more demand (for both albums and concert tickets) so I think U2 is considered more successful overall - but Bon Jovi can't readily be dismissed.
 
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doctorwho said:
I wouldn't call Bon Jovi "shite" at all. They are a pop-rock band and produce decent music in that genre. It may not be to your liking, but they do have a loyal fan base. Years ago, I saw a woman being interviewed on TV. She was a huge Michael Bolton fan and was disheartened hearing people bash him. I empathized with her as I know how I feel (as well as many others here) when people bash U2. Therefore, I try not to debase any artist other than to say that *I* don't like the music.

However, the argument of whether Bon Jovi is more successful than U2 is debatable. In 1987, Bon Jovi had the #1 album of the year, not U2 (U2's "Joshua Tree" was actually the #3 album of the year per Billboard). Bon Jovi continues to have hits, similar to U2. However, it's clear that ATYCLB and HTDAAB will outsell Bon Jovi's recent offerings.

I think U2 market themselves better and are in more demand (for both albums and concert tickets) so I think U2 is considered more successful overall - but Bon Jovi can't readily be dismissed.
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In 1987, the Joshua Tree sold over 14 million copies worldwide, more than Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet did in both 1986 and 1987. While in the United States, Bon Jovi had the #1 album based on chart position for 1987, the Joshua Tree had equal sales to Slippery When Wet in 1987 according to RIAA in the United States.

Then when one looks at things from the concert perspective, Bon Jovi is not even on the map with U2 in 1987.

In the media, U2 easily got the crown for the top act of 1987 as well.
 
Bon Jovi was pretty big back in the late 80;s and early 90's. It must be remembered that Slippery When Wet is certified 12x platinum while JT is only 10x platinum. New Jersey also went 7x platinum as well.

However, Bon Jovi have never U2's critical acclaim, awards etc... and today their fan base has diminished alot. I do not think they are capable of filling stadiums anymore, just arena's which is unlike U2 who will play stadiums all over the world and quite possibly in the US for their summer tour (depending on how the album goes). Bon Jovi's last album (Bounce) only went gold. Current USA certified sales are U2 at 48m and Bon Jovi at 33m so that solves that argument. In terms of concert sales, Bon Jovi tour alot more than U2. U2 tour on average every 4 years since

So to sum up - they gave u2 a run the late 80's and early 90's, but that's it - they do not have the longevity of success. But then again, U2 have seen off many challenges such as Bon Jovi, Oasis, REM,
 
zoo tv mcg said:
Bon Jovi was pretty big back in the late 80;s and early 90's. It must be remembered that Slippery When Wet is certified 12x platinum while JT is only 10x platinum. New Jersey also went 7x platinum as well.

However, Bon Jovi have never U2's critical acclaim, awards etc... and today their fan base has diminished alot. I do not think they are capable of filling stadiums anymore, just arena's which is unlike U2 who will play stadiums all over the world and quite possibly in the US for their summer tour (depending on how the album goes). Bon Jovi's last album (Bounce) only went gold. Current USA certified sales are U2 at 48m and Bon Jovi at 33m so that solves that argument. In terms of concert sales, Bon Jovi tour alot more than U2. U2 tour on average every 4 years since

So to sum up - they gave u2 a run the late 80's and early 90's, but that's it - they do not have the longevity of success. But then again, U2 have seen off many challenges such as Bon Jovi, Oasis, REM,
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Bon Jovi's popularity in the United States took a huge nose dive in the early 1990s. The follow up to New Jersey only sold 2 million copies and the band failed to sellout 20,000 seat arena's in many big cities in the United States.

Joshua Tree has much stronger Global Sales than Slippery When Wet. Yes that album may have sold a little more than Joshua Tree in the United States, but not when you look at total sales worldwide.

In the United Kingdom, Joshua Tree is 6 times platinum while Slippery is only 2 times platinum.
 
I was amazed when I read "Slippery When Wet" (what a shit title) had sold 24 million worldwide, thus out-selling Joshua Tree! Is this correct???
 
Sleep Over Jack said:
I was amazed when I read "Slippery When Wet" (what a shit title) had sold 24 million worldwide, thus out-selling Joshua Tree! Is this correct???
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Joshua Tree has sold over 27 million. Only in Japan, Germany and the United States has Slippery When Wet slightly outsold Joshua Tree. Everywhere else, the Joshua Tree has outsold Slippery, including by a 3 to 1 margin in the United Kingdom.
 
Stats aside, there is no way Bon Jovi can compare to U2's charisma, energy, and diversity. Bon Jovi makes me think of the Big eighties, highschool, and other unsightly memories. Ugh.
 
I'm afraid that there's a little truth to the original title of this post (bigger live band, in terms of people attending shows).

Bon Jovi popularity in USA declined in 1995 after "these days", but re-lived in 2000 with Crush (and 2002 Bounce); they did huge US tours in 2000-2001 and 2003; in fact, in summer 2003 they even played stadium shows in the US.

oustide the US, Bon Jovi is one of the biggest bands there is.

in fact, over the last decade they did stadium tours of Europe in 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001 and 2003, selling out mostly everywhere. they tour more often than U2, and always go to japan, australia, mexico, etc...so I think that, having begun to tour 20 yrs ago, maybe they have played to more people than U2; of course, U2 is brilliant and BJ are shit, but numbers are numbers.

the only other live ROCK band as big as Bon Jovi (and U2) outside the US is RHCP. then you have the Stones, REM, Metallica, Pearl Jam, Springsteen. that's it.
if Pink Floyd toured, they'd be bigger than that.
just to say, the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac and Kiss are virtually unknown in Europe apart from the UK.
remember: I'm talking OUTSIDE THE US.
 
According to the RIAA website U2 have 48 million units sold in the US and Bon Jovi have 33.5 million and that is before Bomb and considering that is Bon Jovis home country I dont think it is even debatable who is the bigger band.

U2 destroy Bon Jovi in world wide sales always have and always will.
 
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