When Billboard put together their chart of the biggest US tours of 2005 last month, the figures for the ongoing Rolling Stones tour weren't ready. I'm guessing they may well have come top had the stats been in, because live industry mag Pollstar reckon that in 2005 the Stones had the most successful US concert tour of all time, selling $162 million of tickets over 42 performances. That means the veteran rockers break their own 11 year old record for most successful North American tour.
In Pollster's round up of the big US tours of 2005, they put U2 (who topped Billboard's survey) in second place, with Celine Dion, Paul McCartney and the Eagles completing the top five.