Guns N’ Roses lead 2017's biggest global tours ahead of Metallica and U2

Guns N’ Roses’ highly lucrative Not In This Lifetime… Tour has been unveiled as the most popular and highest grossing global tour of 2017 so far.

Author: Scott ColothanPublished 18th Jul 2017

Touring publication Pollstar has published figures for the first six months of 2017, which show that Axl Rose, Slash, Duff McKagan and co. performed to 1.39million people on the Asia, Oceania and European legs of their tour.

They’re the only band to have been watched by more than a million people in the first half of the year.

It’s estimated by Pollstar that from these shows, Guns N’ Roses grossed a whopping $151.5million (£116.3million) with average ticket prices costing $108.98 (£83.70).

Additionally, the band’s two shows at London Stadium on 16th and 17th June generated the largest individual box office gross anywhere on the planet raking in $17.3million (£13.28million).

The only other artist within sniffing distance of Guns N’ Roses is U2 who sold 991,565 tickets to their Joshua Tree 30th anniversary tour bringing in a gross of $118.1million (£90.6million).

Metallica aren’t too close behind in fourth spot having been watched by 688,909 people at a gross of $88million (£67.5million).

Other acts from the rock world who appear in the Top 20 include Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band and Green Day.

Pollstar claims that the Top 50 Worldwide Tours grossed a combined $1.97 billion – a tally just short of last year’s record $1.98 billion.

Meanwhile, London’s The O2 was comfortably named the world busiest arena of the year so far with 1,039,455 people passing through the doors.  

Completing an all UK top three are Glasgow's The SSE Hydro (660,101 tickets) and Manchester Arena (622,120 tickets) - despite being shut since the attack at the venue on 22nd May.

Guns N’ Roses wrapped up the fifth leg of the Not In This Lifetime… Tour in Tel Aviv, Israel on Saturday night (15th July) and still have an extensive run of North American and South American shows to play before the year’s out.

You can read our review of not one, but both of Guns N' Roses recent 'Not In This Lifetime...' London shows in issue two of Planet Rock Magazine (out now).

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