AC/DC’s homecoming “Black Ice” Australian tour has busted box office records by selling more than half a million tickets in the first day on sale, Billboard.biz has learned.
The tour’s co-promoters Garry Van Egmond Enterprises and Chugg Entertainment promptly added a string of new dates to the February and March 2010 stadium tour of Australia, after most venues sold out in a matter of minutes after tickets went on sale Monday morning (May 25).
“We’ve sold today in excess of 500,000 tickets. It’s unbelievable,” Van Egmond tells Billboard.biz near the close of the business day on Monday. “It’s been an amazing reaction. I’m quite amazed and absolutely stunned,” he says.
Billboard.biz has learned that third dates were added at the 60,000-capacity Etihad Stadium in Melbourne and the 60,000-capacity ANZ Stadium in Sydney after tickets sold out in about 15 minutes. A second date at Brisbane’s 40,000-capacity QSAC Brisbane was added and sold out in similar time.
Both dates at Perth’s 40,000 capacity Subiaco Oval sold out, the first in seven minutes and the second another 15 minutes later. The 35,000-capacity Adelaide Oval show – the only date confirmed in the South Australian capital – sold out in an hour-and-a-half. Tickets are priced at $99 Australian ($76) and $149.90 Australian ($115).
Van Egmond admits it would be a stretch to further extend the now 11-date Australian itinerary. “At this stage we don’t have the facility to do it,” says Van Egmond, who has worked on six AC/DC tours, dating back to 1985. “We have commitments [co-promoting with Chugg] in Japan after Perth, and dates in Auckland and Wellington beforehand which haven’t gone on sale yet.”
Ticketek handled ticket sales in Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane, while Ticketmaster did the dates in Melbourne and Perth. A spokesperson from Ticketek said Monday represented “the most sales Ticketek has made in one day in our 30 year history.” At the peak of demand and capacity, the company reported selling 3,400 tickets per minute.
Public awareness of AC/DC’s national tour is sky-high, thanks to a TV advertising campaign referencing the No. 1 “Black Ice” album and tour dates, and a feature interview with band members on last Sunday night’s edition of the commercial Channel Nine network’s popular “60 Minutes” program.
“We’ve spent a lot of money on promoting it,” Van Egmond notes. “But it’s paid off.”
