But no matter how long both wembley and cardiff took to sell, they both set new records in very very difficult times for the UK, so surely that should be deemed a succsess?
UK Dates next Summer?
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But no matter how long both wembley and cardiff took to sell, they both set new records in very very difficult times for the UK, so surely that should be deemed a succsess?
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gman
New Yorker
The Hampden Vertigo show had only about 2000 more people attend it. And....it may be something...it may be nothing....but the day u2 played Hampden on 360 tour was the same day the Schools returned after the summer holidays! I had to keep my son off school that day so he could come to the show!
Plus there is the fact that the U2 gig clashed with a major game of football in the same city, at Celtic park. A team which has VERY strong links to Ireland, and shares much of the same fanbase!
Also......when you consider that a lot of people, like myself my mates, had to pay almost double what we paid to see the vertigo shows, it is suprising there wasnt much less people at the 360 show. I will never be convinced that ANY gig is worth more than £60 per ticket. Thats £30 per hour for entertainment......a more than fair price to pay! Add to that, the economic slump the UK was/is in....then it all adds up!
Plus there is the fact that the U2 gig clashed with a major game of football in the same city, at Celtic park. A team which has VERY strong links to Ireland, and shares much of the same fanbase!
Also......when you consider that a lot of people, like myself my mates, had to pay almost double what we paid to see the vertigo shows, it is suprising there wasnt much less people at the 360 show. I will never be convinced that ANY gig is worth more than £60 per ticket. Thats £30 per hour for entertainment......a more than fair price to pay! Add to that, the economic slump the UK was/is in....then it all adds up!
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gman
New Yorker
Have to agree. U2 set attendance records at 4 out of the 5 UK dates they played. If that cant be deemed a sucsess.....what is?
it's disappointing (but at this stage not suprising) that they're not playing the UK/Ireland again in 2010.
Yet despite the general indifference to the new material elsewhere they are revisiting some venues again next year
If SOA becomes a massive hit album in the UK I bet you they'll find some way to do some dates over here- if not then well I'll live with 3 shows in Paris & Brussels and wait till they deign to grant both countries a visit in 2015 (or whenever the next tour is)
as for Glasto- even if there were tickets available I have no desire to go there to stand a mile away from the stage and wallow around in mud and crap with a non-U2 crowd
Yet despite the general indifference to the new material elsewhere they are revisiting some venues again next year
If SOA becomes a massive hit album in the UK I bet you they'll find some way to do some dates over here- if not then well I'll live with 3 shows in Paris & Brussels and wait till they deign to grant both countries a visit in 2015 (or whenever the next tour is)
as for Glasto- even if there were tickets available I have no desire to go there to stand a mile away from the stage and wallow around in mud and crap with a non-U2 crowd
Greenlight
The Fly
True but not if they didn't have kids! Most people who saw the ZOO TV shows (myself included), were probably teens & 20s so they didn't then have school age kids. Those fans who've stayed with U2 from early on are now in their 30s and 40s hence more likely to have a family.
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gman
New Yorker
Well....yeah.....there was about 10 of us at the Zoo Tv shows, all young, free of responsibility. Only 4 of the same mob made it to 360 show coz of grown up commitments
It's a success in the same way that U2 selling out Soldier Field and Rogers Centre in 2010 will be... they successfully capitalized on the market, and then left when the market was saturated.
jimmmm
Refugee
If memory serves me correctly, the last night at Wembley Stadium for the ZOOTV Tour, approx. 30,000 tickets remained unsold, so yeah perhaps a lot of people were on their jolidays back then also, if you don't believe those figures read U2 a concert documentary, Pimm Jal De La Parra as comprehensive a document as you could ever find about the bands live performances.
Not quite. The 3rd night of 4 only had around 40,000 in and that included letting in lots of people cheaply. The 4th night we got tickets a few weeks before the show. The 1st 2 nights disappeared quickly.
jimmmm
Refugee
Thats a relief, if anybody who reads the guardian liked anything at all that I like, I'd be very disappointed with myself!
ZooMacPhisto800
War Child
If you're going to treat the UK as 4 constituent countries, then you should realize that both Scotland and Wales did very well relative to their populations. Haven't we already covered this?
Maoilbheannacht
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U2 - Vertigo Tour
June 21, 2005
Glasgow, Scotland
Hampden Park
GROSS: $5,819,053
ATTENDANCE: 53,395
Average Ticket Price: $108.98
U2 - 360 Tour
August 18, 2009
Glasgow, United Kingdom
Hampden Park
GROSS: $5,290,103
ATTENDANCE: 50,917
Average Ticket Price: $103.90
Well, the statistics for each concert show that the cheaper concert was the 360 tour stop, not the Vertigo tour stop for Scotland.
I would agree that the economic slump played a role. But the fact of the matter is, the band has essentially exhausted demand in the UK to see them on the 360 tour. The band would come back to the UK if they felt there was enough demand, but they don't, which is why there will be no UK/Ireland shows for 360 in 2010. The band exhausted the demand there on the first leg. Other regions of the world have either yet to be played yet, or have not exhausted demand, which is why they are getting shows.
U2 does not have anything against the United Kingdom and would certainly play there again on this tour if they felt there was enough demand for another concert.
Maoilbheannacht
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Of course, it is a success. But they have successfully exhausted demand in the UK market. Perhaps there would be more demand without the economic slump. The band has nothing against the United Kingdom and would gladly return there for a show if they thought there was enough demand for it.
Maoilbheannacht
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I think they have nanny's and payed vacation in the United Kingdom, more so than they do in the United States.
phommel
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Maoilbheannacht
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Well, U2 played 4 shows at Wembley Stadium in August of 1993. A total of 258,000 tickets were sold for these shows and were just talking the London market. They also played Cardiff, Leeds, Scotland, and Ireland in August of 1993.
Believe me, I know the figures and I have Pimm Jal De La Parra's fantastic book U2: A Concert Documentary. In fact, it was these figures that I was thinking about when I said U2 had no problem selling tickets in August of 1993. The fact is, this was the most tickets U2 ever sold in the UK for any tour, and it happened in AUGUST of 1993.
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gman
New Yorker
I have a problem with these figures. On the Vertigo tour...ticket prices were £55 across the board. That was for a seat or GA.
On 360 tour......The £30 tickets were by far the least numerous tickets. The GA was approx £60.....and the majority of the seats were priced £85-£150!
Maoilbheannacht
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These are the official boxoffice figures with the GROSS converted to dollars with the exchange rate at the time. In 2005 1 British pound was equal to nearly 2 US dollars. In 2009, the exchange rate, at least for today, is 1 British Pound equals $1.66. So the fact that the British Pound has declined in value probably explains some of the difference.
Pop Artist
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
The boxscores were reported in $s, so it could be down to exchange rates, for awhile it was. $2 to 1GBP.
jimmmm
Refugee
Are you seriously trying to tell us if U2 announced say, 2 shows for the UK next year, other than glastonbury, they wouldn't sell them out.
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gman
New Yorker
Am not disputing the figures so much....as just a little puzzled, based on what i know. I am assuming these figures have been pulled from an official source online....and not just speculation on some forum? id be intrested to know the source of these figures, as i say...they dont seem to stack up.
As i eluded to earlier. On the Vertigo tour,it cost 4 of us approx £244 for tix. Compare that to £372 for the same amount of 360 tour tix
Maoilbheannacht
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The source is from Billboard magazine or website. Concert figures from around the world are posted in Billboard Boxscore chart each week. It is displayed in the magazine and on the website. Unfortunately, the website only displays the current weeks boxscores and has just started combining results for artist instead of listing the results individually by venue. But the Magazine still list all results each week by venue.
You have two options if you would like to go back and look at the official results.
1. Online, you could contact Billboard.com and ask to have research done by the staff that handles Billboard Boxscore. They have a computerized database going back to 1991 of all concerts reported to Billboard Boxscore. They do charge a $50 US dollar surcharge on all searches, plus additional charges for the time spent searching.
2. Find a library that has back issues of the Billboard Magazine and look up the concerts in the Boxscore Chart around the time they happened. Concerts are usually posted in the Boxscore about 1 to 2 weeks after they occur.
Vertigo Tour 244 pounds = about $488 US dollars in 2005
360 Tour 372 pounds = $618 US dollars in 2009
So first, as you can see, the exchange rate when the prices were converted was better for the pound back in 2005. So that explains some of the difference. The rest is probably explained by the lower priced tickets that were sold.
But these are the official boxoffice figures.
Maoilbheannacht
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I think they could sellout one show in Sheffield again, but thats it. The band and their management seem to agree, otherwise they would be headed back to the UK in 2010
ZooMacPhisto800
War Child
Gman didn't dispute and/or notice the usage of both "Glasgow, Scotland" and "Glasgow, United Kingdom". Is this an implicit recognition of the "UK" as being the relevant entity for purposes of U2 concert distribution considerations?
JohnnyBoy
The Fly
The people who went to Sheffield were well up for it. It was a week day and the pit line was closed before lunchtime. Then there was a massive queue just for GA outside the pit. I went to Wembley and Cardiff on a weekend and none of the crowds seemed as eager before the show. Speaking to a security fella who I happened to bump into at each show and recently bumped into at Blackpool Tower (he must think I'm a stalker!) told me that for Cardiff, the pit took a couple of hours to fill and they were dragging people over to it (I'm sure not literally dragging).
I reckon if they announced dates in the north of England they would easily sell out as these places don't get big acts all the time so aren't as blaze as London folk. You only need to look at England friendlies the past few years away from Wembley to get proof of that. Roundhay park in '93 and '97 was immense (and as Bono said in '93 made Wembley look like a bowling green) - if it weren't for the claw I bet they would have played this instead of Don Valley the first time round.
It's a shame but us in the UK should not come across as spoilt as we have no devine right to see them live. Personally I think we should count ourselves lucky that they are still producing quality and with the 12 year live nation contract we are sure to see them again and time makes the heart grow fonder! More likely, we'll just get twitchy feet in 2010 and jump on a plane.
Just got to suck it up and wish they blow the crowd at Glastonbury away...
I reckon if they announced dates in the north of England they would easily sell out as these places don't get big acts all the time so aren't as blaze as London folk. You only need to look at England friendlies the past few years away from Wembley to get proof of that. Roundhay park in '93 and '97 was immense (and as Bono said in '93 made Wembley look like a bowling green) - if it weren't for the claw I bet they would have played this instead of Don Valley the first time round.
It's a shame but us in the UK should not come across as spoilt as we have no devine right to see them live. Personally I think we should count ourselves lucky that they are still producing quality and with the 12 year live nation contract we are sure to see them again and time makes the heart grow fonder! More likely, we'll just get twitchy feet in 2010 and jump on a plane.
Just got to suck it up and wish they blow the crowd at Glastonbury away...
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gman
New Yorker
WTF is that about? Answers on a postcard.....
U2crush
The Fly
I guess I missed that announcement.
I am disappointed that sold out Glastonbury is the only UK date for 2010.
UGH!
phommel
Refugee
Hey people,
stop whining about the fact the UK doesn't get new 360 shows.
As maoilbheannacht clearly pointed out, there is probably not enough demand in the UK for selling out new shows easily. At least you got Glasto! Try to get tickets for that. I know early 2010 there will be a new bunch available.
I live in the Netherlands where there still is a huge U2 ticket demand. I am also not complaining that we don't ghet more shows (but I am still hoping...)
stop whining about the fact the UK doesn't get new 360 shows.
As maoilbheannacht clearly pointed out, there is probably not enough demand in the UK for selling out new shows easily. At least you got Glasto! Try to get tickets for that. I know early 2010 there will be a new bunch available.
I live in the Netherlands where there still is a huge U2 ticket demand. I am also not complaining that we don't ghet more shows (but I am still hoping...)
jimmmm
Refugee
Well, excuse me anyone who thinks I'm a whining UK fan, but, facts are facts, and at the end of the day I'm just expressing my disappoinment at the band ignoring a country who've been incredibly supportive of them throughout their career, and once again giving saturation coverage to america, the facts are, despite not selling tickets in minutes of announcements, venues throughout the UK sold out, the facts are NLOTH, in comparison to other U2 albums sold fewer copies, not only in the UK but worldwide, apart from america has any other country sold more copies? for that matter has any U2 album ever sold more copies anywhere in the world other than america. Most long standing U2 fans will be aged mid 30's and over, most will have families and mortgages, most won't be able to just drop everything and skip off to the continent to watch a show, once again, apologies for being disappointed.
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