Coldplay named as the biggest rock tour of all time

Boxscore’s top 10 also includes U2, the Rolling Stones, AC/DC and Guns N’ Roses

Author: Paul TraversPublished 20th Aug 2024
Last updated 21st Aug 2024

Coldplay’s current and ongoing ‘Music of the Spheres World Tour’ has already been named the biggest rock tour of all time – or at least the close to four decades that Billboard Boxscore has been tracking concert data.

According to Boxscore, Coldplay’s mammoth jaunt has grossed $945.7 million (£725m) and sold 8.8 million tickets since launching in March 2022.

That makes it both the highest-grossing and best-selling trek since these particular records began and it is unlikely that any pre-Boxscore tours come close.

The ‘Music of the Spheres’ tour still has a number of shows to go in Australia and New Zealand, extending Coldplay’s lead still further.

Watch: Coldplay – ‘A Sky Full Of Stars’ (Live at River Plate)

‘Music of the Spheres’ has overtaken previous leader Elton John, whose long-running ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ farewell tour grossed $939.1 million.

Before Sir Elton, U2 had held the record with the ‘U2 360 Tour’, which earned $736.4 million from 2009-11. And before that, it was the Rolling Stones’ ‘A Bigger Bang Tour’ with $558 million in 2005-07.

The top 10 highest grossing tours also include appearances from Guns N’ Roses, AC/DC, Roger Waters and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, with both Coldplay and the Rolling Stones appearing twice.

Billboard Boxscore’s 10 highest grossing tours are:

Coldplay (Music Of The Spheres World Tour) - $944.7m

Elton John (Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour) - $939.1m

U2 (U2 360 Tour) - $736.4m

Guns N' Roses (Not In This Lifetime Tour) - $584.2m

The Rolling Stones (A Bigger Bang Tour) - $558m

The Rolling Stones (No Filter Tour) - $546.5m

Coldplay (A Head Full Of Dreams Tour) - $523.3m

Roger Waters (The Wall Live) - $459.2m

AC/DC (Black Ice World Tour) - $441.6m

Red Hot Chili Peppers (Unlimited Love Tour) - $390.8m