| shammy 26.02.2007 21:27 |
Anyone think Queen could have sold more tickets last year if people knew they were even coming? They appeared on American Idol the night before their final show. Crappy timing. The Police, on the other hand, appeared on the planet's other crappiest music show but announced themselves with a bang as far as timing |
| Regor 27.02.2007 03:45 |
I don’t think it’s a matter of timing or the show they appeared in. IMO Queen sold more tickets on their american tour than could be expected, considering that it was 50% of a band that had lost it’s lead singer and center of attention, 14 years after their last Billboard-Top10-Single (which at the time was the first in 11 more years) without an album to promote. So I think that tour was a success, with 4 concerts sold out and others being at least 2/3 full. Perhaps they could have sold a few more tix by getting more media attention and that of course earlier on, but for The Police the attention was much higher due to the circumstances of their "split". When Queen’s success started to decline after 1980, Police rocketed with Zenyatta Mondatta to even greater heights than Queen between, say, 1976-1980. When The Police split up, the were THE biggest rock act in the world, with 7 million copies of Synchronicity sold in the US alone. So they left a big hole in the industry and a huge demand amongst rock fans, whereas Queen was still a working band for 9 years after their last American tour, and the interest in the US tended towards zero. As I happen to like The Police a lot I am extremely happy about their comeback, and ticket sales are stunning: 2 shows at Fenway Park/Boston sold out in a few hours, 2 shows at MSG sold out in 14 minutes (!!!) and several other shows around the country sold out in a few minutes. They keep adding dates every day. It’s really impressive. |
| radio_what's_new 27.02.2007 07:36 |
Regor wrote: I don’t think it’s a matter of timing or the show they appeared in. IMO Queen sold more tickets on their american tour than could be expected, considering that it was 50% of a band that had lost it’s lead singer, 14 years after their last Billboard-Top10-Single (which at the time was the first in 11 more years) without an album to promote. So I think that tour was a success, with 4 concerts sold out and others being at least 2/3 full. Perhaps they could have sold a few more tix by getting more media attention and of course earlier on, but for The Police the attention was much higher due to the circumstances of their "split". When Queen’s success started to decline after 1980, Police rocketed with Zenyatta Mondatta to even greater heights than Queen between, say, 1976-1980. When The Police split up, the were THE biggest rock act in the world, with 7 million copies of Synchronicity sold in the US alone. So they left a big hole in the industry and a huge demand amongst rock fans, whereas Queen was still a working band for 9 years after their last American tour, and the interest in the US tended towards zero. As I happen to like The Police a lot I am extremely happy about their comeback, and ticket sales are stunning: 2 shows at Fenway Park/Boston sold out in a few hours, 2 shows at MSG sold out in 14 minutes (!!!) and several other shows around the country sold out in a few minutes. They keep adding dates every day. It’s really impressive.Indeed, you can't compare the situation. If Sting died 15 years ago, these concerts wouldn't sell as good as they do now. For Queen it's the same Queen without Freddie isn't Queen. The new band: Queen and Paul Rodgers are great, but without Freddie a lot of people are just not interested. |
| shammy 27.02.2007 11:00 |
I like the Police too and am also happy that their ticket sales are incredible at the moment. It at least shows me that the ticket buying public have some good taste left. Yeah, most of the comments I got from people when telling them about Queen + Paul Rodgers coming last year were also along the lines of "I'd go and see them with Freddie but I don't think it would work with PR." I'm core so I loved the shows but I guess I might not be interested in seeing, say, Genesis + PR either. Paul's awesome and all but, for the casual fan, he's not Freddie in the context of Queen being the legendary band they'd like to see. |
| Bobby_brown 27.02.2007 13:22 |
Regor wrote: I When Queen’s success started to decline after 1980, Police rocketed with Zenyatta Mondatta to even greater heights than Queen between, say, 1976-1980. When The Police split up, the were THE biggest rock act in the world, with 7 million copies of Synchronicity sold in the US alone.Just because someone rocks the USA that alone doesn´t mean they are the greatest in any aspect. Van Halen were bigger than the Police in USA and by 1984 Queen were bigger in the world than Police ever was. The only place Queen didn´t make it was ... USA! I know that in every Police documentary they say Police were at the time the best live band in the world (not even in their wildest dreams) and the most successfull band in the world (only in their dreaming world). Queen had achieved in South America 81 and 84 something that no other band achieved ever since! Of course USA is a great market but it´s not the only one. Take care |
| shammy 27.02.2007 13:35 |
True... People tend to base a band that's truly "made it" on the US market alone becuase it's the biggest single one. Truth is that most knowledgeable Americans tend to find their own niche preferences when it comes to investigating music and mainstream is not one of them. Again, we could go ahead and have our war about whether popularity feeds greatness! |
| shammy 27.02.2007 13:39 |
Also, as a measure of a band's progression, I saw the Police on Zenyatta Mondatta and also Synchronicity tours. The latter was an extremely watered down version of the former. They REALLY rocked the joint on their first few tours with a raw punk energy but mellowed it down later and became more self-indulgent. I don't want to stray too far off Queen here though... |
| Saif 28.02.2007 03:24 |
I don't know on what basis people here are saying that Police were the biggest act at the time of their split. Yeah, Synchronicity was certified 7x Platinum by the RIAA, which means it sold 7 million copies in the US alone...so? Nirvana's Nevermind has gone 10x Platinum and they've sold 25 million albums in total in the US but that doesn't make the the be-all, end-all rock band of all bands(still pretty awesome though). Van Halen, another great rock band of the time(much better than The Police, IMO, but I like The Police too) was much more successful and they've released TWO albums at around the same time as Synchronicity which have gone over 10x Platinum...By taking US sales as logic, you could say Queen were more successful than the Police because they've sold 35.5 million albums in the US and Greatest Hits I has been certified 8x Platinum where as The Police have sold in total 22.5 million albums... |
| Regor 28.02.2007 04:07 |
In 1983 they were undoubtedly on a high, as were Queen in 1980. What I wanted to say was that The Police's success never waned, because they split up before that could happen, after their most successful tour/record. So there was still huge demand when they stopped touring. Of course the US is not the only market in the world, and there are a lot of american acts that won't break elsewhere, or vice versa european bands, that won't make it there. In that context, IMO The Police were one of the last european bands to really "conquer" america. (with Radiohead being the most recent exception)But still it is a kind of a cliché in the musicbiz that you only really made it, when MSG is full or something. So at the time of Synchronicity they were huge, with a definite peak in the US. Yeah, Queen sold 35mio albums in their career, and Police 22mio - but with just 5 albums. And didn't Led Zep sell 20mio with IV alone? That might not be the sole indicator for being the "biggest" act of a certain period - record sales elsewhere, media attention, ticket sales, influence on other artists and so on of course add to that "status". And keeping that in mind that's what comes across as the overall feeling of the time (I was only 7, but from what is told), that The Police were "it" in '83. But BTT: personally I think the worst timing/decision in the history of Queen as a performing band was not touring the US in 1984 - apart from the different opinions on the "Works"-Tour, it would've perhaps given a new momentum to gain from, as the visuals were stunning and everything was truly "big" on that tour. QPR for me are a totally different thing and although I like the project a lot, as was said above, for the casual fan it is not as captivating as Queen with Freddie. |
| Saif 28.02.2007 04:53 |
I wasn't around at the time but you're probably right about them being "it" among European bands in the US. Yeah, Radiohead is one of the few contemporary UK bands to have had a #1 album in the US for decades. I think they're great. Coldplay have also hit it big in the US, they've had a #1 too but they're utter crap... |