Despite signs that the live sector in the US may be starting to struggle again, two British artists enjoyed rapid sell outs for their up coming UK dates yesterday.
Demand for the forthcoming greatest hits tour from Kylie Minogue was so high that the phone system taking bookings for her London date crashed, as did the website charged with the task of selling tickets for her Birmingham gig. Queues for tickets in Glasgow were at record levels while a second Manchester date sold out before it had even been announced.
Commenting on the demand for tickets a spokeswoman for London's Earls Court venue told reporters: "We do tend to sell out quickly with the likes of Madonna and Elton John, but Kylie has been one of the fastest." Promoters added an extra five dates to satisfy demand. They are as follows:
20 Mar: Glasgow SECC
22 Mar: Glasgow SECC
20 Apr: Birmingham NEC
26 Apr: Manchester Evening News Arena
1 May: London Earls Court
Meanwhile, in Scotland, tickets for a pre-Christmas homecoming gig from Franz Ferdinand sold out within minutes. A second date has now been added at Glasgow's SECC venue (on 19 Dec).