Irish rockers U2 and their multimedia “Zoo TV” tour led a concert industry that rebounded in 1992 after a 25 percent drop in annual grosses the previous year. U2’s 73-show tour of North America grossed $67 million, making it by far the top concert moneymaker of 1992 and the third-most-successful tour on record, according to the industry newsletter Pollstar.
Only the Rolling Stones tour in 1989 and the New Kids on the Block tour of 1990 grossed more money than U2.
The Top 10 concert tours of 1992:
– U2 – $67 million (73 shows in 61 cities).
– Grateful Dead – $31.2 million (55/23).
– Guns N’ Roses-Metallica – $31.1 million (25/25).
– Neil Diamond – $28.4 million (69/26).
– Bruce Springsteen – $27.7 million (59/36).
– Genesis – $27.6 million (28/24).
– Elton John – $27.5 million (49/32).
– Metallica – $23.2 million (102/87).
– Eric Clapton – $22.7 million (37/30).
– Hammer – $22.5 million (130/123).
Boo Radleys’ singer says group is just a pop band
The Boo Radleys may have taken their name from a character in an American novel (Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird), but the group hails from that fountainhead of British rock: Liverpool.
Formed in 1989 by lead singer Sice and guitarist Martin Carr, the Boo Radleys have progressed quickly. Within two years, the group, which also includes bassist Tim Brown and drummer Rob Cieka, had enough of a buzz going in England to land a Columbia Records contract in the United States.
The Radleys’ first album, Everyone’s Alright Forever, was hailed early last year by critics in England and stirred enough interest in the U.S. for the quartet to win a spot as the opening act on the recent Sugar tour.
Unlike a lot of rock artists from the arty, alternative British scene, there is nothing pretentious about Sice, 23, despite all the attention the group’s album has received.
“We have always just considered ourselves a pop band, and it really freaks me out when people tell us that we are really avant-garde,” he said. “As far as I’m concerned, we are just singing pop songs. We see ourselves as a (pop-oriented) Haircut 100 or Human League.”
The Supreme Love Gods finally have debut album
What’s the best thing about being a successful Fresno, Calif., band?
You get to leave Fresno.
At least, that is how the Supreme Love Gods tell it. Discovered by Lollapalooza co-creator Marc Geiger, the group recently released its debut album, Supreme Love Gods. The album, particularly the song “All Over,” has been embraced by college and alternative radio programmers.
“We wanted the music we made to take us out of Fresno,” said singer-guitarist Thomas Dew, 27. “The music has an international appeal, and it has provided a great means of getting us out of that small-town mentality.”
Formed in 1989, when Dew met guitarist Tommy Joy at a party, the Supreme Love Gods quickly became favorites in Fresno. The limited music scene there didn’t stifle the band, which also includes bassist John Wilson and drummer Eric Dansby.
“It was a nice environment to develop our music in because it is a cultural vacuum, an artistic wasteland,” Dew said. “It drives you to create, and you can focus better there than in a big city with all of its distractions.”
That focus paid off a little more than a year later when Geiger – then a talent agent at the Triad Agency – set up two industry showcases for the band. Those concerts created a buzz, and the group found itself being courted by 11 record companies before signing with Columbia.
“Creative differences,” however, led to the band’s parting from Columbia before even finishing an album.
Once again, Geiger came to the rescue. Now head of A&R; at Def American Recordings, he signed the group, and after two years of limbo, the Supreme Love Gods finally has its album out.
