Guns N’ Roses rank MCG gig as a world tour standout

Guns N’ Roses reckon that playing the Melbourne Cricket Grounds was one of the stand-outs of their two-year Not In The Lifetime world tour.

Their international booking agent Rod MacSween of ITB  told Music Week, “The whole world tour has been a spectacular success.

“Some highlights were the two sold out Olympic Stadium shows in London last year, playing the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Australia and the passionate crowds in South America.”

The MCG show on February 14, 2017, played to a sell out crowd of 73,114 and grossed $8.8 million.

In Australia and New Zealand, the sold-out shows amounted to over 350,000 tickets.

Beginning in April 2016 the tour, which reunited original members Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan, was the second highest grossing of 2017.

It is now the fourth highest grossing of all-time, generating $480.9 million from 125 shows to date.

This weekend, Guns N’Roses headline the Download festival in the UK.

MacSween called the demand to see the band “voracious”, adding: “The strategy has been to route with care, to play some new markets and always plan ahead.”

The tour has just announced it is heading to Asia near the end of the year. Produced by Live Nation Asia, the latest dates are:

Nov. 8: Jakarta, Indonesia

Nov. 11: Manila, Philippines

Nov. 14: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Nov. 17: Taipei

Nov. 20-21: Hong Kong