Paul McCartney To Break 3 Guinness World Book Records...Maybe
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Following his Friday night headlining Coachella performance Sir Paul McCartney will head to Vegas to christen the new bigger and badder version of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino's the New Joint. Usually not a big deal, but McCartney and the concert promoters, Concerts West/AEG Live, are trying to break some world records with this April 19th gig. First, they're saying that this one-off gig sold out in record time - a mere 7 seconds after tickets went on sale Valentine's Day (February 14th, 2009). Do the math for a venue that holds 4000 and that's 600 seats a second. Surprised the ticketing system did meltdown? Yeah, me too.
This is where it gets a little Velveeta. Concerts West/AEG Live want to break another two Guinness World Book Records with McCartney's New Joint kick off. Since tickets went on sale Valentine's day in hopes that a paid of tickets would make the ultimate V-day gift, the show is being dubbed the planet's biggest love-in. Barf.
In addition to the couples fest they plan to break the world record for the most couples hugging simultaneously, which was set in Taiwan in 2007 at 1,451. Taiwan you are going down! If tickets are being scalped for $5000 a pop at least you'll know you are not just getting a Macca show, but also a trip into thebe getting yourself into the Guinness World Book Of Records.
(Always there with a hug...)
Macca is no stranger to the book. In 1990 he got his name in there playing the Largest Concert Audience For A Rock Artist. An estimated 180,000-184,000, in the Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for a solo Paul McCartney concert held on April 21, 1990. They should have gone for the hug title right then and there.
The Beatles are in there for such things as Biggest All-Times Sales For A Band, Most Christmas No.1 Singles In UK Chart, Most Consecutive Christmas No.1 Singles - UK, Most Consecutive No.1 Singles In The UK Chart, Most Platinum RIAA Certificates For A Group and more.
Comments (9)
Surprise buttsex?
Largest Concert Audience For A Rock Artist for 184,000?! Iron Maiden played to 300,000 in Rio back in 1985...wonder what gives?!
by a solo artist was the key word.
This last album was pretty good and I have a nagging pop fondness for this particular song. Not sure I want to see him though what with all this hugfest and "record breaking" going on.
Back in the 70's - maybe the early 80's? - the Kinks were booked into Brendan Byrne Arena (30,000 seats) show sold out; took a few weeks to do it, but eventually sold out.
A second show was scheduled. That show sold out in thriteen minutes, and this was long before the era of "buy your tickets online from your home computer..."
yeah. you got to give credit 2 that era...when there was no internet
Yes- it made it harder for the scalpers to gobble up all the best seats.
Re: Fairportfan- I am surprised the Kinks sold out so fast then. I saw them twice in the late 70's- early 80's at a much smaller venue and it took a while to sell the shows out.
btw- the Kinks used to book the world's worst opening acts back then. I recall one, called TNT, that was so bad they basically got booed off the stage. Maybe Ray Davies- insecure genius that he is- felt the Kinks would look even better in comparison.
As i said - the first show took some time to sell out; it was the second show when people who'd been going "With 30,000 seats, i can buy a ticket at the door" suddenly went "Holy crap! I gotta get one *now* if i wanna see them!"
Must have been an interesting half hour or so for the phone company in the NY/NJ area.
The record he holds is largest attendance of a paying audience to see a solo performer. Iron Maiden is a band and would be in a different category.
The Beatles were the first band to break concert attendance records by playing stadiums and other large capacity venues. This was years before concert speaker technology was built that could overpower a stadium sized crowd.
McCartney's gonna play Peru in August.