Rolling Stones tour grossed more than $500 mln

NASHVILLE (Billboard) - The final tally on the Rolling Stones' two-year world tour is in and it topped a half billion -- making it the top grossing trek in history.

The staggering total -- $558,255,524, to be exact -- was accumulated between August 21, 2005, and August 26, when the "Bigger Bang" tour wrapped at the O2 arena in London after a second European leg.

The box office gross figure was provided to Billboard by longtime Stones tour producer Michael Cohl. The tour long ago passed the old record, set by U2's 2005-06 Vertigo tour, which topped out at $389 million. The previous mark had been the Stones' $320 million Voodoo Lounge tour of 1994-95.

According to Cohl, 4.68 million tickets were sold on the 144 "Bigger Bang" shows, which saw the Stones visit such countries as Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro for the first time. The rockers also visited smaller North American cities such as Wichita, Kansas; Louisville, Kentucky; Missoula, Montana; and Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The tour was certainly not without its challenges, including the infamous head injury suffered by guitarist Keith Richards during a Fijian break in April 2006.

"It was a long tour, but more than anything it was fantastic," Cohl told Billboard. "We had to overcome a lot; this was like Homer's Odyssey. There were all sorts of difficulties to overcome and it turned out to be just one amazing triumph."

Reuters/Billboard

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