Geezer Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 Hi guys. Do you happen to know how much the 1977 tour grossed? Were all shows sold out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magerogue Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 They grossed alot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chillumpuffer Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 If i were a betting man, I would say the odds of getting a ticket on that tour were as likely as me winning the lottery. So yes a sell out and the tour grossed lottery money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZ77 Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 Management kept the financials super secret but the wiki on it sheds some light: Led Zeppelin's manager Peter Grant conceived this series of concerts as an effort that would reassert Led Zeppelin as the dominant band of the decade. Fifty one concerts were scheduled over a three-leg period, for 1.3 million ticket holders. It was Led Zeppelin's biggest ever tour, and tickets sold at a rate of 72,000 a day. Led Zeppelin's 1977 North American Tour was a massive fiscal success, as the band sold out large arenas and stadiums. On 30 April they performed to 76,229 people at the Pontiac Silverdome, a new world record attendance for a solo indoor attraction, beating the 75,962 that The Who attracted there on December 6, 1975 for Opening Night, and grossed $792,361.50 (also a record breaker). Lengthy stints were spent in New York and Los Angeles, where the band performed six sold out shows each atMadison Square Garden and the Los Angeles Forum. In New York alone, the band spent no money on advertising for the gigs, relying solely on street demand to sell out the shows, and enough ticket applications were received to sell out a further two nights had time permitted. Dave Lewis, an expert on the band, considers that this tour, “ with its staggered itinerary and massive arena and stadium venues, became the blueprint for which the likes ofBruce Springsteen and U2 would base their multimillion dollar tours during the Eighties and Nineties. Back then, though, Grant and Zeppelin were making their own rules as they went along. The unwieldy scale of just how big the Zeppelin experience had become was encapsulated over those 44 1977 shows. ” If Zeppelin grossed $792,361.50 for one show, imagine how much they grossed for the six nights in Los Angeles and the six in New York! add to that the rest of the tour - staggering amounts of money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magerogue Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 Let's put it this way: They made so much money on that tour that they could have never done anything else in their lives by the time the tour was over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melcórë Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 The money situation is very interesting -- Hoskyn's recent book suggests that there was some contractual subterfuge in the post-Zeppelin period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clw Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 and I think the ticket prices were so cheap compared to what is charged now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutrocker Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 and I think the ticket prices were so cheap compared to what is charged now If Zeppelin were to tour today, do you think they'd try to keep prices down or inflate them to insane amounts ala the Stones? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clw Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 I am sure they would stay with the flow of the average prices,I went to AC/DC and they were about 130 in US dollars If Zeppelin were to tour today, do you think they'd try to keep prices down or inflate them to insane amounts ala the Stones? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZ77 Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 If Zeppelin were to tour today, do you think they'd try to keep prices down or inflate them to insane amounts ala the Stones? They would have Stones ticket prices. Not because they want to but because they could. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geezer Posted April 15, 2013 Author Share Posted April 15, 2013 If Zeppelin were to tour today, do you think they'd try to keep prices down or inflate them to insane amounts ala the Stones?They'd try to keep prices down. As LZ77 already said, they could inflate them but they wouldn't. The ticket price of the O2 concert was only 125 pounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melcórë Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 It depends. The people that I've spoken to felt that Zeppelin's ticket prices were ludicrous back in the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 It depends. The people that I've spoken to felt that Zeppelin's ticket prices were ludicrous back in the day. You're speaking to idiots then. Led Zeppelin's tickets prices were always reasonable and within the realm of the normal concert ticket prices back in the 1970's. Tickets for the 1977 Forum shows were no higher than $9.75. By then, both the Stones and Pink Floyd were charging more than $10 per ticket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine woman Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 I don't really think they would? I mean, Robert Plant for Gold seats (like fucking front row) at Sydney ET was $150 which is pretty average for a concert, round here, especially for a venue like the entertainment centre.Led Zepp reuinion would probably be more expensive but I doubt by too much. They're not that money greedy anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bong-Man Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 Grant admits the $10.50 ticket price at Pontiac is stiff but qualifies it after listing tour expenses – fueling a jet, carting along tons of equipment, the technicians, and even a physician who keeps an eye on the band’s health. It was the highest price I had paid for a concert ticket up to that time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clw Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 and that seems cheap enough for the 70's You're speaking to idiots then. Led Zeppelin's tickets prices were always reasonable and within the realm of the normal concert ticket prices back in the 1970's. Tickets for the 1977 Forum shows were no higher than $9.75. By then, both the Stones and Pink Floyd were charging more than $10 per ticket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melcórë Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 You're speaking to idiots then. Led Zeppelin's tickets prices were always reasonable and within the realm of the normal concert ticket prices back in the 1970's. Tickets for the 1977 Forum shows were no higher than $9.75. By then, both the Stones and Pink Floyd were charging more than $10 per ticket. It's all relative, no need to go attacking people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geezer Posted April 17, 2013 Author Share Posted April 17, 2013 Were all shows sold out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted April 19, 2013 Share Posted April 19, 2013 (edited) ^^^ It was reported as being sold out, Geezer. Every ticket supposedly sold. Of course, some of those tickets were sold to scalpers and ticket brokers, who then had to sell them on the secondary market. So it is possible a few scalpers ended up like Mark Damone and were left with some unsold tickets. From all reports, though, every venue on the tour was technically a "sold out" concert. I know that's what the marquee at the Forum said. Also, if Karac hadn't had died and the '77 tour had continued as scheduled, Led Zeppelin would have set a new record for largest crowd to see one act at their Super Dome show in New Orleans, breaking their own record set only months earlier at the Pontiac Silverdome. It's all relative, no need to go attacking people. I wasn't attacking you. I wasn't attacking your friends. I was only attacking the people you spoke to's definition of 'ludicrous'. For if they truly thought Led Zeppelin's ticket prices were ludicrous, then they must have thought every band's ticket prices were ludicrous. It's not like Led Zeppelin was charging $7 to $9 and everyone else was charging $1. The usual club gig was around $3-$5 in 1977. A small 1,000-3,000 seat theatre type venue might be $5 to $8. Popular acts touring arenas and stadiums charged anywhere from $7 to $10. Except for Pink Floyd...they charged $12 for the 1977 Animals show at Anaheim Stadium. They were the first to zoom past the $10 barrier. The Rolling Stones and the Eagles soon followed suit. Coincidence or not, it's been those three bands ever since that have done the most to jack up ticket prices to fan-gouging levels. Pink Floyd was the first to charge $75, the Eagles the first to charge $100, and after that barrier was breached, all bets were off. The sky was the limit. So I stand by my statement...your pals are idiots for thinking Led Zeppelin's ticket prices were 'ludicrous'. Either that, or they are like those European commie-hippies in the '70s who thought all music should be free and disrupted every concert they could (e.g. Led Zeppelin Milan 1971 riots and the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival). Edited April 19, 2013 by Strider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chillumpuffer Posted April 19, 2013 Share Posted April 19, 2013 It cost £7.50 to see the band perform at Knebworth in 1979 A bargin as I was a big Utopia fan. Interestingly on the poster it says " Including VAT and agents commission DO NOT PAY MORE." a far cry from today where it costs say £70 ticket + £5 commission plus the obligitory £5 to put the tickets in the post, unless you print them electronically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenman Posted April 19, 2013 Share Posted April 19, 2013 (edited) To be fair in terms of pricing I think the show itself must be considered, Zep in 77 were performing for 3 1/2 hours, Pink Floyd were performing 2 1/2 hours and had a massive stage show. I believe the Floyd's Wall tour actually lost money with ironically Rick Wright being the only one of them to make a profit from it as he'd been kicked out of the band by Waters and hired as a stage muscian. Edited April 19, 2013 by greenman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecongo Posted April 19, 2013 Share Posted April 19, 2013 Tour Gross somewhere in neighborhood of 10 million 10 mil in todays dollars = 37 million Overhead costs were half so the boys and mgmt split 5 million, so each band member plus Grant got 1 million bucks each or 3.5 million each in todays dollars. That was a TON of money back then, staggering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ally Posted April 19, 2013 Share Posted April 19, 2013 It cost £7.50 to see the band perform at Knebworth in 1979 A bargin as I was a big Utopia fan. Interestingly on the poster it says " Including VAT and agents commission DO NOT PAY MORE." a far cry from today where it costs say £70 ticket + £5 commission plus the obligitory £5 to put the tickets in the post, unless you print them electronically. If I remember correctly, the pound was trading at about $1.50 at the time so that price was more than reasonable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clw Posted April 19, 2013 Share Posted April 19, 2013 I think I would have paid anything,then and today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chillumpuffer Posted April 19, 2013 Share Posted April 19, 2013 If I remember correctly, the pound was trading at about $1.50 at the time so that price was more than reasonable. Sure was Ally, but I did wonder whether I should have asked for a partial refund being woken up to " Roll out the barrell" by Chas and Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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