According to The Pulse Of Radio, Taylor Swift may have been the top touring act of 2015 with her “1989” tour grossing $250.4 million worldwide but it was veteran rock act AC/DC that sold the most tickets this year. The rockers sold 2.31 million tickets to beat Swift’s total of 2.27 million. AC/DC did benefit from performing 15 more shows than Swift. AC/DC also held down the No. 2 position when it came to gross sales with $180 million.
Guitarist Angus Young told The Pulse Of Radio a while back that AC/DC has never changed its approach to its live shows even as it’s played bigger and bigger venues. “Somebody once had said, ‘You know, people know what they like and like what they know,'” he said. “In the beginning, we were a, you know, just a rock ‘n’ roll band, and, you know, when you would play in bars and clubs and stuff, you know, this is what the audience was coming to hear you for.”
Some of the other notable acts in the Top 20 included ONE DIRECTION at No. 3 with $158.8, U2 at No. 4 with $152.2 million, FOO FIGHTERS at No. 5 with $127 million, FLEETWOOD MAC at No. 6 with $125.1 million, THE ROLLING STONES at No. 10 with $109.7, MADONNA at No. 11 with $88.4 million, PAUL MCCARTNEY at No. 13 with $77.7 million, ELTON JOHN at No. 14 with $77.6 million, and BILLY JOEL at No. 18 with $69.9 million.
AC/DC’s sixteenth studio album, “Rock Or Bust”, has sold more than 555,000 copies since debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard album chart back in December 2014.
It’s the band’s first album without founding guitarist Malcolm Young, who is suffering from dementia. He has been replaced by nephew Stevie Young.
AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd was arrested in November 2014 at his home in Tauranga on charges of threatening to kill and possession of methamphetamine and cannabis.
Although Rudd played on “Rock Or Bust”, he did not appear in photos or videos for the disc.
One-time AC/DC drummer Chris Slade officially joined the band’s lineup for its performance on the February 8 Grammy Awards telecast. Slade is also behind the kit for the group’s current world tour.
Source: Blabbermouth
