Did Elton John sell out?

irishvamp90 · 09-06-2009 12:21pm #1

How many were at it and would it encourage other big acts to be bought here?

Mars Bar · 09-06-2009 12:38pm

Not even close to it, 20,000 tickets for sale, 8500 sold and I counted 13 tickets for sale in just the Galway Advertiser last week before the gig. A pity really but for some odd reason, everything was happening last weekend. We had a million different things on in our own house. Rod Stewart should give a good indication if it's going to work.

Kess73 · 09-06-2009 12:43pm

I would say that it did not come close to selling out as there were no shortage of tickets for sale on the day of the concert.

As for big acts coming. If they think they can get a big payday, then they will come.

Was listening to the breakdown of costs for the Beyonce shows in Dublin last week, and although she would have been seen by far more people than Elton John, and had more costs as there had to be extra nights added due to demand, there was still a very healthy sum for her.

The Elton John show would not have had quite as many costs, although old Elton demanded to have cream material hung from the walls of the box he was using as a dressing room and for furniture to be shipped in for the little time he would be in there must have added to the costs, I would still imagine he will have pocketed at least 50k for himself from the show. Now add in any merchandise sales, plus the spike in his album sales throughtout his tour, and it all adds up to keeping him in wallpaper for quite some time.

What Limerick really needs to look at though, is the way the Marquee in Cork is pulling in the acts and big names, and the level of organisation that venue has. If you look at June, Simple Minds, The Prodigy, Kayne West, Boyzone, Crosy Stills And Nash, Chickenfoot, Kasabian, Christy Moore and many others are playing. They also have Rod Stewart there in July and another host of big names. They have maybe 15 medium to big name acts each month, and that does not take into account what may be on at any of the other venues in Cork.

irishvamp90 · 09-06-2009 12:44pm

think the old point held about 8000 i heard maybe wrong?what does the o2 hold?in these day and age 8500 aint bad...dont think they would sell 20.000 unless it was u2 or bruce

wildrover444 · 09-06-2009 12:45pm

its there own fault for picking old fogies to play gigs there. dont think elton or rod would be my cup of tea.thats just my own opinion though.they should have tried to get a few decent bands there rather than having the old reliables play there.

irishvamp90 · 09-06-2009 12:51pm

maybe beyonce or pussycat dolls might sell out because the kids and scobes would go wild for them

Kess73 · 09-06-2009 12:51pm

They should have gone all out to try and get an act like Springsteen in. People would travel from all over Ireland for that, and there would be no way that there would be leftover tickets.

Play up the working class city thing to Springstenn and his management team, and who knows, he may see it as the kind of place that he would play in.

Kess73 · 09-06-2009 12:52pm

irishvamp90 wrote: »

maybe beyonce or pussycat dolls might sell out because the kids and scobes would go wild for them

PCD, Kayne West and acts like that would draw in a crowd, there is no doubt there.

Mr E · 09-06-2009 12:56pm

Tickets were far too expensive (between €80 and €116). That might have been down to the promoters or Elton rather than Thomond, but it was too high regardless. If tickets were €50-€60, they might have sold more.

irishvamp90 · 09-06-2009 12:57pm

have you a link for ths costs of beyonce?is there much hype about rod stewart?

Kess73 · 09-06-2009 12:59pm

irishvamp90 wrote: »

have you a link for ths costs of beyonce?is there much hype about rod stewart?

The beyonce costs were being discussed on the Matt Cooper show on Today FM last week. The promoter and some others were in the studio and Cooper was going over why were tickets so expensive in general etc. There may be a podcast of it on the Today FM website

D-A-V-E · 09-06-2009 1:23pm

irishvamp90 wrote: »

have you a link for ths costs of beyonce?is there much hype about rod stewart?

i was so happy when i heard tickets were only7 euros for the football games ie south africa and australia, this is the type of price people should be paying and its garanteed to be a sellout..although im aware its different for concerts!

irishvamp90 · 09-06-2009 1:28pm

sorry dave not to good on soccer what games are 7 euro?

Paulegend · 09-06-2009 2:10pm

im starting to think alot of you are not regular gig goers.

rod and elton. paying between 80 and 115 for a ticket is the norm.
8500 tickets sold is pretty good for a gig that alot of the scobes in town wud have no interest in.

if any of the mentioned pop bands such as beyonce or kayne west or anyone like that played then you would have a def sell out of 25000 kids and scobes running around and messing with peoples houses after the gig. and then we would never EVER get planning permission for another gig.

the reason elton and rod where shosen is because the people that did go arent exactly the type that will vandalise houses or throw cans of beer into peoples gardens. we needed the first couple of gigs to go smoothly before bands like kaiser chiefs, franz ferdinand, killers, muse, stereophonics, bruce springstein and so on.

expect bigger bands in the future and hopefully more than the already only allowed 2 gigs a year.

Fizman · 09-06-2009 2:16pm

D-A-V-E wrote: »

i was so happy when i heard tickets were only7 euros for the football games ie south africa and australia, this is the type of price people should be paying and its garanteed to be a sellout..although im aware its different for concerts!

irishvamp90 wrote: »

sorry dave not to good on soccer what games are 7 euro?

Correct me if I am wrong, but a mate of mine informed me on Saturday night that tickets (or at least some of them) for the Bulgaria v Ireland game were €3!

Itsdacraic · 09-06-2009 2:45pm

Paulegend wrote: »

im starting to think alot of you are not regular gig goers.

rod and elton. paying between 80 and 115 for a ticket is the norm.
8500 tickets sold is pretty good for a gig that alot of the scobes in town wud have no interest in.

if any of the mentioned pop bands such as beyonce or kayne west or anyone like that played then you would have a def sell out of 25000 kids and scobes running around and messing with peoples houses after the gig. and then we would never EVER get planning permission for another gig.

the reason elton and rod where shosen is because the people that did go arent exactly the type that will vandalise houses or throw cans of beer into peoples gardens. we needed the first couple of gigs to go smoothly before bands like kaiser chiefs, franz ferdinand, killers, muse, stereophonics, bruce springstein and so on.

expect bigger bands in the future and hopefully more than the already only allowed 2 gigs a year.

Good post and I touched on the same points before. There wasn't a hope in hell they could risk having somebody like the Prodigy or Muse etc as one of the first gigs. 20k boozed up, pilled up and coked up 18-30 year olds would most definiteily ensure they weren't given permission to host another gig again. Imagine The Prodigy in Thomond Park? The Dundons and Keanes would think it was christmas!

Once they have ironed out all the security issues etc associated with running concerts then they can try staging one an act aimed at a younger audience.

D-A-V-E · 09-06-2009 2:55pm

irishvamp90 wrote: »

sorry dave not to good on soccer what games are 7 euro?

ya same, im more of a rugby fan now but one of the lads was saying that the Ireland v australia and Ireland v South Africa was only 7 quid, i think thats very good. watch an international football match in thomond for practically nothing!happy days!

Paulegend · 09-06-2009 3:03pm

ya def cant wait for the gigs im interested in to start here. hopefully gaa will wanna try to make a profit at their place on the ennis road and try to persuad the residents to let a few gigs start there. but for now ill have to settle on travelling to gigs:) albeit i would have liked to see elton. saw him years ago with billy joel. they where class live. amazing show.

also i think the internationals will be more like "b" internationals

Poxyshamrock · 09-06-2009 5:22pm

mars bar wrote: »

Not even close to it, 20,000 tickets for sale, 8500 sold and I counted 13 tickets for sale in just the Galway Advertiser last week before the gig. A pity really but for some odd reason, everything was happening last weekend. We had a million different things on in our own house. Rod Stewart should give a good indication if it's going to work.

I thought 8500 was the standing capacity?

Paulegend · 09-06-2009 5:32pm

does anyone know the real attendance from elton john

Mars Bar · 09-06-2009 5:34pm

Poxyshamrock wrote: »

I thought 8500 was the standing capacity?

I'm not too sure, but they only had about a third of the pitch open to standing...

irishvamp90 · 09-06-2009 5:35pm

if the soccer really is 7 euro that would be unreal,what price are the munster matches?Has anyone got any pic's of the crowd at elton john was the pitch area full?i saw a pic but it looked only 1/3 full at best

Mars Bar · 09-06-2009 5:41pm

Itsdacraic wrote: »

Good post and I touched on the same points before. There wasn't a hope in hell they could risk having somebody like the Prodigy or Muse etc as one of the first gigs. 20k boozed up, pilled up and coked up 18-30 year olds would most definiteily ensure they weren't given permission to host another gig again. Imagine The Prodigy in Thomond Park? The Dundons and Keanes would think it was christmas!

Once they have ironed out all the security issues etc associated with running concerts then they can try staging one an act aimed at a younger audience.

I agree that Paulegend's post was a good one. I paid €80+ for Bruce last year and again this year. So Elton at €79 wasn't out of the norm. I also paid €72 for Meat Loaf last year, and Elton played double the amount of songs.
They would have to have Bruce play at least two dates in Limerick to please everyone. He is taking a break after his current tour so you won't be seeing him in Limerick any time soon.

Here is one observation I made though at the Elton gig. The majority of people at the gig had travelled from Dublin. I was amazed by it and I now see why The 02 and RDS are such successful venues. I met a good few people from Limerick (as you would seeing how close it was to home) but they were out numbered by the Dubs!

Also most of the people I was talking to were coming back down for the Rod Stewart concert. Perhaps it was one mistake the organisers made. The fans are very, very similar so I wouldn't expect Rod to be any bigger than Elton's was.

Either way, if Elton is in Dublin, Cork or Limerick next year, I'm there.

irishvamp90 · 09-06-2009 5:51pm

would elton john have done better in croke park or the rds or o2?he doesnt seem to gig to often so surely he would fill croke park?

Mars Bar · 09-06-2009 6:32pm

I think he would do well in the RDS,

He is bringing his Red Piano show to the 02 in October and hasn't sold out yet but that's coz the ticket prices are mad for it so I can't go...

Elton has been here every year since 2005 be it with the band, solo, ray cooper or billy joel. And he is here twice this year. Hoping for next year!

RonMexico · 09-06-2009 6:48pm

I'd like to see Faith No More play there this summer, one can wish...:rolleyes:

Paulegend · 09-06-2009 8:28pm

RonMexico wrote: »

I'd like to see Faith No More play there this summer, one can wish...:rolleyes:

unforyunatly thomond only has permission for 2 gigs a year for now. hopefully it will be more in a couple years

vkid · 09-06-2009 8:32pm

dont think 8.5k was the figure sold...actually pretty sure its not and was a good bit more.

Paulegend · 09-06-2009 8:49pm

vkid wrote: »

dont think 8.5k was the figure sold...actually pretty sure its not and was a good bit more.

yea i heard it was pretty full actually. but some people left early because of the weather. im trying to find the number of people doh

gaf1983 · 09-06-2009 9:31pm

irishvamp90 wrote: »

if the soccer really is 7 euro that would be unreal,what price are the munster matches?Has anyone got any pic's of the crowd at elton john was the pitch area full?i saw a pic but it looked only 1/3 full at best

For Munster matches it depends on where you are in the stadium and whether it's in the Magner's League or Heineken Cup. I'd say between €20 for the cheapest tickets to €60 for a stand ticket in the HC.

Some schoolboy tickets will be for sale for €7 for the Ireland v Australia soccer game. However, most will be more expensive than that. A limited number (1,000) went on sale from Gleeson's Sport's Scene yesterday.

http://www.fai.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4347

vkid · 09-06-2009 10:02pm

22000 according to Limerick leader blog. I know it was licenced for more than that so didnt sell out but great numbers all the same. Brilliant to see it happening in Limerick.

http://limerickleader-onthebeat.blogspot.com/2009/06/elton-john-in-thomond-park-from-todays.html

Mars Bar · 09-06-2009 11:26pm

vkid wrote: »

22000 according to Limerick leader blog. I know it was licenced for more than that so didnt sell out but great numbers all the same. Brilliant to see it happening in Limerick.

http://limerickleader-onthebeat.blogspot.com/2009/06/elton-john-in-thomond-park-from-todays.html

So many different figures out so I stand to be corrected but it really didn't look like there was 22,000 people there...

menu14 · 10-06-2009 11:22am

They sold 22k tickets but more tickets were on sale on the day and they were freely available. However they were not allowed sell many more than they did as the the first 2 concerts have caps on capacity to see how they go first. The actual attendence was just under 20k, fact! Paul is right there was a reason Elton and Rod were chosen for the 1st 2 concerts and it was for the target audience and to show local residents that concerts aren't a bad thing. Imagine starting off with ACDC or someone like that, there would never be a concert in TP again. Start slow and get bigger, ease Limerick into it sounds like a good idea to me.

Mars Bar · 10-06-2009 11:50am

Jeez, glad I'm wrong and that there was such a great turnout!
I would love to be seeing Rod Stewart. I love music like Bruce, Elton and that... I have the music tastes of a 40 year old and the body of a 19 year old!

I wonder would the Eagles have done better in Thomond Park than in Pearse Stadium?

Mollywolly · 10-06-2009 12:17pm

If The Eagles came to Thomond Park I'd be there. I was dragged up to Dublin by the husband a few years back when they did Lansdowne and it was much better than I expected. We can live in hope I suppose

Mars Bar · 10-06-2009 1:34pm

Then again the Eagles didn't sell out Dublin, the tickets are way too expensive.

Gambra · 11-06-2009 9:18pm

Just a few random point I've picked up through the thread.. Firstly, it's unlikely The Eagles will ever play Ireland again as they recently cancelled their Galway gig due to low ticket sales so they prob won't come back next year. Secondly, you will never ever get a direct answer from any music promoter as to how many tickets were actually sold to a gig. Unlike sporting events a music event's main and sole purpose is to make money, not to put on a good show! So you'll hear lots of different numbers to the amount of people there. Does anyone actually have a picture of the crowd at the gig?

And 80-116 euros for a gig is colossal money for a gig. Most I go to are about 20 euros tops. I can't comprehend paying over 100 euros for a single act unless it's a festival of some sorts.

Mars Bar · 11-06-2009 10:44pm

Once it hits triple figures it's usually a no-no for me (although I am contemplating the Red Piano show in the 02 but I've never spent that much money on a gig before so time to pop the cherry!

). I usually find €80 okay but it's the ticketmaster charge that kills me! €6 might buy you some ingredients for dinner. Elton was the shy side of €80 by 75 cent, add €6 to that for ticketmaster and then €85 seems a lot.

The Eagles will be back. They'll have a 3rd Farewell Tour after the recession to make the money back that they might have lost on this tour. They just don't seem to go away!

Paulegend · 12-06-2009 3:01pm

Gambra wrote: »

Just a few random point I've picked up through the thread.. Firstly, it's unlikely The Eagles will ever play Ireland again as they recently cancelled their Galway gig due to low ticket sales so they prob won't come back next year. Secondly, you will never ever get a direct answer from any music promoter as to how many tickets were actually sold to a gig. Unlike sporting events a music event's main and sole purpose is to make money, not to put on a good show! So you'll hear lots of different numbers to the amount of people there. Does anyone actually have a picture of the crowd at the gig?

And 80-116 euros for a gig is colossal money for a gig. Most I go to are about 20 euros tops. I can't comprehend paying over 100 euros for a single act unless it's a festival of some sorts.

wat gigs do u go to for 20 quid?:) i went to see elbow in dolans. it cost me 25 quid and they played for 35 mins!!! albeit they had a support band who played for 20 mins. ill never see them again!! i go to quite a few gigs up in dublin. its mostly around the 50 or 60 quid price but its a good night and most of the time a good show. if you went to nancys for the night ud easily spend 50 or 60 quid. thats how i justify spending the cash anyway. going to slane and neill young next sat and sunday. cant wait itll be class. i would love to see the eagles play. maybe in there 10th one last time comeback tour:) as for elton i did hear figures of around the 22k mark from different sources in the music scene so while it might not have been that many id say it wud be close to the real figure. even take 3 or 4k from that and thats 18 thousand people. pretty big in fairness. its normal to have empty space on the pitch doh they take that into account when saying how many they can fit. they cant exactly cram people into every little space on the pitch.

IanCurtis · 12-06-2009 3:07pm

Did Elton John sell out?

Nah, he was always in it for the money.

Ben Elton sold out.

Paulegend · 12-06-2009 3:37pm

IanCurtis wrote: »

Did Elton John sell out?

Nah, he was always in it for the money.

Ben Elton sold out.

just checking but u know ben elton and elton john are two differnt people yea:) i assume you do but............

IanCurtis · 12-06-2009 3:45pm

Paulegend wrote: »

just checking but u know ben elton and elton john are two differnt people yea:) i assume you do but............

You've just ruined one of my best ever gags by posting that nonsensical statement.

Kess73 · 12-06-2009 3:59pm

Regardless of who they should or should not have gotten in to play at Thomond Park, the simple fact remains that after Rod Stewart plays, there will be no other live acts there this year, as there is only two gigs a year allowed at Thomond Park for the first two years before that can be reviewed.

So that means a maximum of four gigs between now and 2011, one of which has just been held. Kind of makes a joke of the constant crap from Live95FM about Thomond park being an established "world class" music venue. Then again over the top hype is what that stations seems to excel at.

sosulio · 12-06-2009 7:31pm

Gambra wrote: »

Just a few random point I've picked up through the thread.. Firstly, it's unlikely The Eagles will ever play Ireland again as they recently cancelled their Galway gig due to low ticket sales so they prob won't come back next year. Secondly, you will never ever get a direct answer from any music promoter as to how many tickets were actually sold to a gig. Unlike sporting events a music event's main and sole purpose is to make money, not to put on a good show! So you'll hear lots of different numbers to the amount of people there. Does anyone actually have a picture of the crowd at the gig?

And 80-116 euros for a gig is colossal money for a gig. Most I go to are about 20 euros tops. I can't comprehend paying over 100 euros for a single act unless it's a festival of some sorts.

18k turned up at gig and a good few thousand more tickets sold

acalmenvoy · 12-06-2009 8:24pm

IanCurtis wrote: »

You've just ruined one of my best ever gags by posting that nonsensical statement.

It was a bit of an nonsensical post, but a good gag by the way...:D

Paulegend · 13-06-2009 2:00pm

tut tut tut. im pretty sure u can come up with a better gag

Mcjmetroid · 14-06-2009 12:27am

Elton was class though.. i know it;s not a lot of your cup of teas but generally I always thought as a piano player and singer he was always underrated... He was better in the past too but the whole drug issue kinda screwed him..

Why is it restricted to 2 gigs a year though? Whose idea was that?

Ardscoil Ris · 14-06-2009 12:47am

Mcjmetroid wrote: »

Elton was class though.. i know it;s not a lot of your cup of teas but generally I always thought as a piano player and singer he was always underrated... He was better in the past too but the whole drug issue kinda screwed him..

Why is it restricted to 2 gigs a year though? Whose idea was that?

Societies. We all felt it was best for everybody.

Kess73 · 14-06-2009 9:50am

Mcjmetroid wrote: »

Elton was class though.. i know it;s not a lot of your cup of teas but generally I always thought as a piano player and singer he was always underrated... He was better in the past too but the whole drug issue kinda screwed him..

Why is it restricted to 2 gigs a year though? Whose idea was that?

That is all those behind Thomond Park and the various local authorities could agree on and it is all that they would allow. It has been reported in the local papers and on the local radio many times.

I don't buy into the whole "cannot have concerts because people are living nearby" line, as if you go to Dublin or Cork for gigs in the stadiums there, then there are loads of people living nearby. Take Croke Park or Landsdowne road for example.

Did Elton John sell out?

Comments