RockStar

U2 Named Top Tour Earners in 2009; Grossed $123 Million

Filed under: Wealth

We don't often talk about rock stars on Luxist unless they are in our Estate of the Day category or designing a fashion line. But I think it's worth noting that U2, long known for serious touring, was named the top-grossing North American touring act of 2009. According to concert tracker Pollstar, U2 grossed $123 million, selling more than 1.3 million tickets for its 360 Tour. The tour spanned across the United States in every major city last year, and is now gearing up to cross the ocean for Europe this year. (I saw them at Giants Stadium last fall, and it was worth every penny.)

Pollstar noted that the touring business boomed last year, despite the economy.

Below are the rest of the top 10. You also can read the full Pollstar article for more details, plus the other 40 acts in the top 50.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band - $94.5 million
Elton John and Billy Joel - $88 million
Britney Spears - $82.5 million
AC/DC - $77.9 million
Kenny Chesney - $71.1 million
Jonas Brothers - $69.8 million
Dave Matthews Band - $56.9 million
Fleetwood Mac - $54.4 million
Metallica - $53.4 million

Sidenote: U2.com has a new selection of lithographs from the 360 Tour. Each runs $100.

[Via Hollyscoop]

Tags: concerts, music, rock star, rock stars, RockStar, RockStars, tour, U2

The History of Rock & Roll Photography

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Books

Gail Buckland's new book Who Shot Rock & Roll is the first to truly explore the extraordinary work of the photographers who captured the "energy, intoxication, rebellion, and magic" of rock, with images of icons ranging from Elton John to Led Zeppelin, Bjork to Janis Joplin, and James Brown to John Lennon, that have become icons unto themselves. Featuring more than 250 photos, including many rare and never-before-seen images, Who Shot Rock & Roll is an unparalleled compendium of portraits, live concert shots, behind-the-scenes snaps, and studio work selected for their aesthetic quality and power. The extended captions tell stories from the photographers, including everyone from Bib Gruen to Richard Avedon and David LaChappelle, that reveal their role as both "creative collaborators and tireless journalists."

Covering 1955 to the present, "Who Shot Rock & Roll is a silent window into a world of sound," Buckland says. "There are photographs of crowds and fans reminiscent of the great historical paintings of battle scenes where bodies blend and bend and faces radiate with what can only be described as transcendence. Snapshots reveal the passion, ambition, and insecurity of aspiring young musicians. There are portraits of godheads, objects of mass adoration; the best could hang next to paintings of Renaissance princes, so similar are these royals with their finery, wealth, and power." An accompanying exhibit just opened at the Brooklyn Museum and will run through the end of January and before traveling across the country through 2011.

Tags: Brooklyn Museum, BrooklynMuseum, Gail Buckland, GailBuckland, music, musicians, photography, rock and roll, rock roll, rock star, RockAndRoll, RockRoll, RockStar

Chef Who Trashed Enzo Gets 10 Weeks in Jail

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Crimes and Misdemeanors

The angry British chef who trashed Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay's Ferrari Enzo (above) at a seaside resort last month has been sentenced to 10 weeks in jail for causing £9,434 worth of damage to the $1.4 million supercar. Aaron Billington told the judge he went ballistic and hurled rocks at the rock star's Enzo after Kay, who had mocked the chef's stutter, invited two girls back to his hotel room for an orgy following a bout of drinking.

Billington's lawyer said the chef flew off the handle because he had an "emotional attachment" to one of the women in question, the UK Daily Star reports. "The criminal damage may have been committed in drink, but the car was plainly someone's pride and joy," the judge observed in passing sentence. "You wouldn't have a car like that otherwise." Next time try trashing a Toyota, pal - it's cheaper all around.

Tags: celebrity, chef, Enzo, Ferrari, Ferrari Enzo, FerrariEnzo, Jamiroquai, Jay Kay, JayKay, rock star, RockStar, supercar, UK

Rocker Henry Rollins Lists His Hollywood House

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

Rocker, actor and activist Henry Rollins has put his Craftsman-style Hollywood Hills house (above) on the market for $1.15 million, Big Time Listings reports. The 2,100-sq.-ft. spread is surprisingly banal considering it's inhabited by the former frontman of seminal punk band Black Flag. Then again, Rollins is almost 50 years old. The three-bed, two-bath house in Nichols Canyon, built in 1947, features an open floor plan with lots of windows looking over the lush .39 acres with a natural year-round spring fed creek. Other features include two brick fireplaces, a large brick patio, vaulted wooden-beamed ceilings and skylights. Rollins purchased the house in 1999 for $740,000, and has apparently already gotten an acceptable offer on it.

Gallery: Henry Rollins in the Hollywood Hills

Tags: Black Flag, BlackFlag, celebrity, celebrity real estate, CelebrityRealEstate, Henry Rollins, HenryRollins, Hollywood Hills, HollywoodHills, Los Angeles, LosAngeles, punk rock, PunkRock, rock star, RockStar

Mick Jagger's Girlfriend Lists L.A. Mini-Mansion

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

Mick Jagger's gorgeous glamazon girlfriend L'Wren Scott has put her her Norman castle-style Hollywood Hills house on the market for $999,999. The 6'4" stylist, designer and former model's chic 1,712-sq.-ft., 3-bed, 2-bath in the Bronson Canyon area was built in 1926 and is very privately situated, with two secured entries off the street leading to a English-style garden courtyard, the Real Estalker reports. The interior features a beautiful carved stone fireplace in the living room with a vaulted ceiling and a formal dining room with stained glass windows. Overall the home has something of a Chateau Marmont feel. Scott purchased the house in June of 1996 for $255,000. She and Jagger are said to be currently living in London.

Gallery: L'Wren Scott in Los Angeles

Tags: celebrity, celebrity real estate, CelebrityRealEstate, designer, Hollywood Hills, HollywoodHills, Los Angeles, LosAngeles, LWren Scott, LwrenScott, Mick Jagger, MickJagger, rock star, RockStar, Rolling Stones, RollingStones

Lenny Kravitz Lists His Rock Star Lair in Miami

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Estates

So-hip-it-hurts rock star Lenny Kravitz has just listed his waterfront Miami Beach mansion with an asking price of $2.85 million. The 5,717-sq.-ft. three-bed, three-bath built in 1954 was transformed into a rock star haven decorated in Kravitz's signature retro-futuristic style which has been termed "Bordello Modern". The louche pad (above), which features its own recording studio, was done up as a "sleek, throbbing James Bond-esque den of seduction" according to W magazine, complete with four-inch-thick red shag carpeting, black patent-leather walls, a metal-grill catwalk lit from below, a mirrored white-fur tunnel, red glass doors, red lacquered floors, and a white handstitched padded patent-leather bar. We hear that Kravitz may have revamped some of the more extreme features prior to listing the property for sale.

Kravitz's interior designer Michael Czysz originally spent over $1 million on the décor, and even picked out a silver Ferrari to match the house and designed a special chrome Flying V guitar for the recording studio. Located on guard gated Biscayne Point, the 12,000-sq.-ft. lot features unparalleled open bay vistas. A custom wall of glass opens the massive living area to incredible water views, while the "resort-like" backyard features a pool, spa and boat dock. Kravitz paid $725,000 for the house back in 1996. While Czysz's décor is undeniably over-the-top, hopefully it hasn't been completely dismembered. Meanwhile his lavish NYC apartment, which has been listed as high as $19.5 million, is still on the market, reduced to $14.995 million.

Tags: celebrity, Lenny Kravitz, LennyKravitz, Miami, Miami Beach, MiamiBeach, Michael Czysz, MichaelCzysz, music, rock star, RockStar

Classic Rocker David Crosby Puts Yacht Up for Sale

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing

Classic rocker David Crosby of Crosby, Stills & Nash fame has put his beloved wooden sailing yacht on the market after 40 years. Crosby is asking $1 million for the classic 59-ft. Alden 356-B Centerboard Schooner, named Mayan. Crosby, who had an affluent upbringing in California and learned to sail at age 11, composed several songs aboard the yacht which he lived on for long spells. The Mayan is pictured on the cover of the 1977 Crosby, Stills & Nash album CSN, and references to her can be found in songs such as "Wooden Ships," "The Lee Shore" and "Through My Sails."

Crosby originally purchased the yacht in 1968 and spent over $600,000 on a refit in 2005, including new electronics, and she has been upgraded annually. The Mayan, which is located in Santa Barbara, is described as "a very powerful design that takes the weather very well." The cabin layout is very traditional but easily sleeps eight in three staterooms plus a large saloon double berth. Stars like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell have sailed on her. Click here to see a photo gallery of the yacht.

Tags: California, celebrity, classic rock, ClassicRock, David Crosby, DavidCrosby, Neil Young, NeilYoung, rock star, RockStar, sailing, sailing yacht, SailingYacht, Santa Barbara, SantaBarbara, wooden boat, WoodenBoat, yacht

Angry Chef Trashes Rock Star's Ferrari Enzo

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay's $1.4 million Ferrari Enzo (above) was trashed by an enraged chef at a seaside resort where the rock star had gone for a little R&R earlier this week. Kay had driven the supercar to the 3-star Brudenell Hotel on England's Suffolk Coast and was staying there when his over-the-top attitude angered the hotel's chef, Aaron Billington, the UK AutoTrader reports. Apparently it was Billington's night off, and he and others were socializing with Kay in the hotel's bar. After several rounds of drinks it seems Kay made some derogatory remarks - according to one report he ridiculed the others' lesser vehicles, bragging about the Enzo parked outside - angering Billington.

The chef was later seen throwing rocks at the Enzo, shattering the windscreen and smashing the driver's side window. The damage was estimated at £30,000 or about $42,000. Billington later told the local court he committed the crime in a "moment of madness" after becoming upset by Kay's "offensive" remarks. Asked to comment, Kay, 39, remarked, "It's disappointing. It says something about the British psyche." Kay, who appears on the hit British TV show Top Gear, has an amazing collection of supercars among which the beautiful black Enzo is his prized possession. His fleet includes a Ferrari F40, Ferrari F50, a Rolls-Royce Phantom and a selection of classic cars including a Lamborghini Miura, Mercedes-Benz 300SL roadster and an Aston Martin DB5.

Gallery: Jay Kay's Cars

Tags: Celebrity, Chef, England, Enzo, Ferrari, Ferrari Enzo, FerrariEnzo, Hotel, jamiroquai, Jay Kay, JayKay, Lamborghini Miura, LamborghiniMiura, Rock star, RockStar, Suffolk

Planning a Party? Rent A Rockstar!

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Events, Celebrity Shopping

We mentioned that singer George Michael was hired to play at a New Year's party in Russia for $3 million. What we didn't mention is that he was at the party for just over an hour. This is a classic example of the luxury party trend of renting rockstars (or other celebrities) to show up at parties. Christina Aguilera, Bette Midler and Robin Williams have done over the top birthday parties. 50 Cent and Aerosmith have done multimillion-dollar bat mitsvahs. "It's common knowledge that Bruce Springsteen and U2 won't do it," said the head of the corporate and private events division for Creative Artists Agency, but just about everyone else will.

The artists may be doing it for the money (at thousands of dollars per minute, who wouldn't?), but they're also making some people really happy by appearing at their special event. Is it worth the payout on the part of the consumer? That's for you to decide the next time you're throwing a million dollar birthday party.

Source

Tags: celebrities, celebs, events, parties, rock stars, Rockstar