Billboard's Top Grossing Tour Acts of *Decade*: Police #11

[DirtyMartini]

http://www.billboard.com/#/features/top ... 3065.story

Pretty impressive when you note the Police made #11 of the decade with a single tour:

Total Gross: $361,851,102 Number of Shows: 144
Total Attendance: 3,327,161 Number of Sell-Outs: 134

[I'm guessing those numbers omit festivals as too hard to tally cuz (by my count) the band played 153 shows.]


The cheat sheet:

1
THE ROLLING STONES

Total Gross: $869,471,325 Number of Shows: 264
Total Attendance: 8,236,586 Number of Sell-Outs: 190

Setlist Essential: "Sympathy for the Devil"


2
U2

Total Gross: $844,157,925 Number of Sell-Outs: 288
Total Attendance: 9,869,953 Number of Shows: 288

Setlist Essential: "Where the Streets Have No Name"


3
MADONNA

Total Gross: $801,299,671 Number of Shows: 248
Total Attendance: 6,387,124 Number of Sell-Outs: 244

Setlist Essential: "Hung Up"


4
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

Total Gross: $688,136,476 Number of Shows: 403
Total Attendance: 8,605,238 Number of Sell-Outs: 248

Setlist Essential: "The Rising"


5
ELTON JOHN

Total Gross: $603,804,670 Number of Shows: 541
Total Attendance: 5,789,833 Number of Sell-Outs: 470

Setlist Essential: "Rocket Man"


6
CELINE DION

Total Gross: $536,593,262 Number of Shows: 792
Total Attendance: 4,099,963 Number of Sell-Outs: 597

Setlist Essential: "It's All Coming Back to Me Now"


7
DAVE MATTHEWS BAND

Total Gross: $505,447,901 Number of Shows: 547
Total Attendance: 11,230,696 Number of Sell-Outs: 282

Setlist Essential: "Ants Marching"


8
KENNY CHESNEY

Total Gross: $477,931,760 Number of Shows: 622
Total Attendance: 9,210,288 Number of Sell-Outs: 409

Setlist Essential: "There Goes My Life"


9
BON JOVI

Total Gross: $419,481,741 Number of Shows: 249
Total Attendance: 5,384,747 Number of Sell-Outs: 224

Setlist Essential: "Blaze of Glory"


10
BILLY JOEL

Total Gross: $418,421,266 Number of Shows: 241
Total Attendance: 4,141,287 Number of Sell-Outs: 213

Setlist Essential: "Piano Man"


11
THE POLICE

Total Gross: $361,851,102 Number of Shows: 144
Total Attendance: 3,327,161 Number of Sell-Outs: 134

Setlist Essential: "Message in a Bottle"


12
THE EAGLES

Total Gross: $347,640,186 Number of Shows: 240
Total Attendance: 3,107,832 Number of Sell-Outs: 174

Setlist Essential: "Hotel California" (see video)


13
TIM MCGRAW

Total Gross: $303,950,209 Number of Shows: 388
Total Attendance: 5,203,501 Number of Sell-Outs: 175

Setlist Essential: "Real Good Man"


14
AEROSMITH

Total Gross: $292,201,481 Number of Shows: 320
Total Attendance: 4,646,827 Number of Sell-Outs: 61

Setlist Essential: "Cryin'"


15
NEIL DIAMOND

Total Gross: $264,810,659 Number of Shows: 288
Total Attendance: 3,845,603 Number of Sell-Outs: 244

Setlist Essential: "Sweet Caroline"


16
CHER

Total Gross: $257,319,809 Number of Shows: 383
Total Attendance: 3,402,569 Number of Sell-Outs: 171

Setlist Essential: "Believe"


17
PAUL MCCARTNEY

Total Gross: $238,755,522 Number of Shows: 106
Total Attendance: 1,870,274 Number of Sell-Outs: 85

Setlist Essential: "Hey Jude"


18
ROD STEWART

Total Gross: $233,773,789 Number of Shows: 281
Total Attendance: 3,022,292 Number of Sell-Outs: 148

Setlist Essential: "Maggie May"


19
METALLICA

Total Gross: $227,568,718 Number of Shows: 187
Total Attendance: 3,581,445 Number of Sell-Outs: 93

Setlist Essential: "Fade to Black"


20
RASCAL FLATTS

Total Gross: $222,256,153 Number of Shows: 401
Total Attendance: 4,514,282 Number of Sell-Outs: 274

Setlist Essential: "Too Good to Be True"


21
BRITNEY SPEARS

Total Gross: $216,229,560 Number of Shows: 255
Total Attendance: 3,704,826 Number of Sell-Outs: 158

Setlist Essential: "I'm a Slave 4 U"


22
JIMMY BUFFETT

Total Gross: $215,367,754 Number of Shows: 196
Total Attendance: 3,927,053 Number of Sell-Outs: 131

Setlist Essential: "Margaritaville"


23
TINA TURNER

Total Gross: $212,012,527 Number of Shows: 168
Total Attendance: 3,205,895 Number of Sell-Outs: 106

Setlist Essential: "Nutbush City Limits"


24
TOBY KEITH

Total Gross: $271,904,093 Number of Shows: 542
Total Attendance: 6,355,046 Number of Sell-Outs: 200

Setlist Essential: "Should've Been a Cowboy"


25
TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA

Total Gross: $203,605,519 Number of Shows: 728
Total Attendance: 5,045,297 Number of Sell-Outs: 309

Setlist Essential: "A Mad Russian's Christmas"

[ltwoman]

Thanks for doing the work on this one, DM!

[Throb]

That’s pretty amazing U2 played before almost 10 million people and sold out every show.

[Shangeris]

Yes, it's amazing. They played in front of more people than NY's population

[Throb]

Or three times the city of LA
Interesting to, that in the 2000s the top five are all for the 60's to the 80's, from the Stones to Madonna. And more than half the top 25, pre-1990.

[ltwoman]

Interesting to, that in the 2000s the top five are all for the 60's to the 80's, from the Stones to Madonna. And more than half the top 25, pre-1990.

"Old" folk ROCK!!!!!

[TheEqualizer]

Why is The Rising Springsteen's Set List Essential? Shouldn't that be Born to Run or Rosalita?

[Krokodyle]

They may be #11 on the list but the show-to-gross ratio seems incredibly good.

[Throb]

[quote="TheEqualizer"]Why is The Rising Springsteen's Set List Essential? Shouldn't that be Born to Run or Rosalita?[/quote]
I thought the same thing. He doesn't play The Rising all the time any more. I would say Born to Run. He plays that EVERY show.

[Throb]

[quote="Krokodyle"]They may be #11 on the list but the show-to-gross ratio seems incredibly good.[/quote]
Yeah another 100 or so more shows and they would have been in the Top 5 probably.

[TOWOS]

The Stones?

Total Gross, indeed.