Stones tour is highest grossing

The trick when writing about the Rolling Stones is selecting just the right lyric to plunder for pun -- do you go with an “it’s only rock ‘n’ roll but they like it” motif or stick to that old standby, “they get satisfaction”? Today, let’s try this: The Stones still have the concert industry under their thumb.

The band set a new record for the highest-grossing tour in history by banking $437 million with its “A Bigger Bang” campaign, which began in the fall of 2005 and wrapped up in November. The Stones take back the title they had held until U2 borrowed it for a bit with their “Vertigo” tour revenue, according to the annual tally by Billboard magazine.

Madonna came in a distant second with her “Confessions” tour, but the $195 million it pulled in was the highest total by a female artist on a single tour.

The other top tours of 2006, according to Billboard: Bon Jovi ($131 million), U2 ($96 million), Tim McGraw and Faith Hill ($88.8 million), Cirque du Soleil’s “Delirium” ($78.5 million), Barbra Streisand ($76 million), Kenny Chesney ($66 million), Dave Matthews Band ($58 million) and Aerosmith ($58 million).

The $2.8 billion in U.S. box office reported was up 35% from last year’s total, Billboard said, and attendance was up 14%.