Gransnet forums

TV, radio, film, Arts

Concert tickets. How much would you pay?

(141 Posts)
Kate1949 Wed 27-Oct-21 09:56:11

My sisters, who are in their 60s, are life long Rod Stewart fans. They have seen him every single time he has come to Birmingham since the 1970s when he was with The Faces, usually in small venues. Once the tickets were £1 each.
In latter years they have gone with their husbands and, as the tickets were over £100, you can imagine it was an expensive night with parking etc. Still, they love Rod and went. He is coming back in December next year and the tickets are in sale tomorrow. At £174 for reasonable seats. For the first time they can't (and won't) go. How sad. Would you pay?

Kate1949 Wed 27-Oct-21 21:34:14

I saw The Stones twice in the 60s. First time my friend paid for me.as no one in our group liked them. We were Beatles fans. Second time I went as I loved Keith. A couple of quid for the ticket. X

Shinamae Wed 27-Oct-21 21:37:58

I saw Pink Floyd in Hyde Park in 1970 for nothing!! ?

nadateturbe Wed 27-Oct-21 21:47:19

I wouldn't pay that much. I did pay £100 three times to see Leonard Cohen. But I refused to pay the next time he came as even though I loved him I thought he was being greedy.
I thought the same about Cliff Richard, even more so because as a Christian I expect him to act differently.

Nannarose Wed 27-Oct-21 21:52:20

Not sure if I'm 'out of touch' - with what or whom? I do live in a slightly 'out of the way' place, but ticket prices are fairly standard within about an hour's drive. I'm nowhere near any of the big concert venues.

I have been to 2 concerts in the last month, and have 2 more booked before Xmas.
Tickets £15 - £20 (inc. booking fees where charged)
Car journey: from 10 - 40 minutes
Parking from £0 to £8
Drinks, from BYO to standard pub.

So dearest night out for 2 of us including say £20 for fuel, is under £80. Obviously more if we have a meal out as well. Our Xmas 'night out' will only cost £30 for the tickets - very little fuel, free parking and BYO.

Of course, this is just to our own taste, but here are the acts (hoping I'm not breaching any guidelines)

www.grannysattic.org.uk/videos/

ladynade.co.uk/

spiersandboden.com/home#videos

melrosequartet.co.uk/

www.megsonmusic.co.uk/videos/

Mattsmum2 Wed 27-Oct-21 22:30:05

V3ra

Ouch! We have tickets for Abba next June in London for £97 each ?

"War of the Worlds" is spectacular, I thoroughly recommend that.

And my husband agrees that the rugby is worth it!

The ABBA ones for that price are for standing in the dance area that I saw, I may be wrong ?

Pepper59 Thu 28-Oct-21 03:14:15

I won't pay more than one hundred pounds to see anyone, even then it depends on who it is. I prefer smaller venues where possible. It's often promoters who push ticket prices up. I think concerts have got a ridiculous price and I only go if it's an act I really want to see.

BlueBelle Thu 28-Oct-21 06:45:09

Wouldn’t pay anything like those prices I feel sorry for the youngsters I saw all the 60 s groups live for peanuts in the 6Os
Could name dozens and dozens including the Stones I ve also seen lots through festivals over the years but no I think it’s extortion and wouldn’t pay into it at all
In modern days I ve seen people like rag and bone man George Ezra etc at a festival lovely atmosphere

Calendargirl Thu 28-Oct-21 07:05:01

Rod has 8 children

Apart from the last two with Penny Lancaster, the others must be grown up by now, with children of their own I’m sure, as Rod must be a GF several times over.

Hope his concerts aren’t still having to support that lot.

Esspee Thu 28-Oct-21 07:06:44

We were in Catalonia and saw a poster for the Rolling Stones concert in Barcelona the next night. By chance they had a couple of tickets left at silly prices. When I had seen the Stones before they weren’t even top of the bill. (It was a Little Richard concert.)
We went, had a ball, but I am unlikely to attend something like that ever again.

MayBeMaw Thu 28-Oct-21 08:20:24

V3ra

Ouch! We have tickets for Abba next June in London for £97 each ?

"War of the Worlds" is spectacular, I thoroughly recommend that.

And my husband agrees that the rugby is worth it!

But am I not right in thinking this is not Abba “in the flesh”: ?
I expect the atmosphere will be amazing and hope you find it worth every penny.
But I think it is hard to generalise about concert tickets- venue, headline acts etc. The overheads must be huge and for those who prefer a more low key venue, there will be cheaper alternatives.
And for those who would not spend that sort of money on music- how much does a ticket for a premiership football match or a rugby international cost?

MayBeMaw Thu 28-Oct-21 08:23:43

Quote V3ra Wed 27-Oct-21 17:40:26
Back in 1975 we decided £1.80 was a bit much for tickets to see Queen in Coventry. (Jasper Carrot tickets were £2...)

I bet you were kicking yourselves in years to come!

LullyDully Thu 28-Oct-21 08:30:28

2/6 to see The Cream at the London College of Fashion. It must have been one of their first gigs. Worth every old penny to see Eric and the others.

V3ra Thu 28-Oct-21 09:44:59

MayBeMaw

Quote V3ra Wed 27-Oct-21 17:40:26
Back in 1975 we decided £1.80 was a bit much for tickets to see Queen in Coventry. (Jasper Carrot tickets were £2...)

I bet you were kicking yourselves in years to come!

Black and blue, MayBeMaw ??

V3ra Thu 28-Oct-21 09:52:52

The ABBA ones for that price are for standing in the dance area that I saw, I may be wrong ?

We are sitting down! None of us would want to stand ?

Jane43 Thu 28-Oct-21 10:25:50

BigBertha1

We usually pay about £50 for a classical concert but have paid more for Covent Garden (only been once) or the Festival Hall - again only been once.
For a pop concert I would pay up to £100 UNLESS its was Eric Clapton or The Eagles.

We would have loved to see The Eagles too but always seemed to be away when they toured. We have to make do with a DVD of a live farewell show in Melbourne which is fabulous. We would also have liked to see The Rolling Stones but the tickets were way too expensive for us. The last concert we went to was Jules Holland at The Symphony Hall in Birmingham, it was just before Christmas, a great show and a wonderful venue and the tickets were only £25, it was about 7 years ago.

Silvertwigs Thu 28-Oct-21 10:41:36

Kate1949 I would and did pay a similar amount to see The Rolling Stones a couple years back, worth every penny.

Riverwalk Thu 28-Oct-21 10:45:27

V3ra

Ouch! We have tickets for Abba next June in London for £97 each ?

"War of the Worlds" is spectacular, I thoroughly recommend that.

And my husband agrees that the rugby is worth it!

Nearly £100 each to see holograms/avatars is a lot of money!

mrsjonesy Thu 28-Oct-21 10:49:18

To be fair though, the ticket prices for Rod start at £86.00 and the £180 tickets are for the "Premier Lounge" where you have a private balcony seat. I'd pay the £86 and polish my specs although they usually have big monitors at the side of the stage so everyone can get a good view of Rod

Bignanny2 Thu 28-Oct-21 10:54:44

The first concert that I went to was T.Rex at the Odeon in Birmingham and the tickets were 75p despite the fact that the group were regularly topping the charts. Concert tickets are so expensive now and it’s a shame because I don’t think you can beat live music. But to be fair to Rod Stewart and other artists, they are not in complete control of the prices, promoters, venues and lots of other organisations have a large input too. I have seen Bruce Springsteen every time he has visited the u.k. since the late 1970s and although the tickets have gone up to over £100 in recent years, I’m still prepared to pay to see him. I sacrifice something else!

Katek Thu 28-Oct-21 10:58:22

We paid £125 each to see Bruce Springsteen at Hampden Park five years ago, was def worth it but heaven knows what it would cost now! We take dgc to the panto each year and pay around £200 for tickets. By the time we’ve taken them for something to eat, bought the plastic sword/light up spinner thing and the obligatory ice cream we’ve probably spent around £300. It’s so worth it though to have such a good time with them and make those memories.

Brewteaful Thu 28-Oct-21 10:59:52

Try buying direct from the arena rather than ticket master etc. Also maybe consider buying seats further back, it’s usually still a good experience. There’s some for £109

Lucca Thu 28-Oct-21 11:04:47

Galaxy

They are £80 or £192shock missadventure.

You’d need to pay ME to watch Buble…..and if he sang Cry me a river I would riot….??

sue01 Thu 28-Oct-21 11:10:37

Oh I checked the tickets for Rod The Mod this morning and balked too !

Most odd though. I am a member of See Film First, and am
currently being offered all sorts of live music tickets for £3.50... including Jason Donovan supported by a full orchestra. Not to my taste... but £3.50 !!

The implication of this is, they can't sell tickets. Is it because they are too expensive to begin with ??

Susieq62 Thu 28-Oct-21 11:17:47

Paid over £100 to see Coldplay, best concert ever! My limit now is £100 for an artist I really want to see but only if seated. My standing days are over. Adele is in Hyde Park next year but it is £90+ to stand!
I would always pay to see Bowie or Freddie if I could !
I just dislike people’s disrespect at gigs these days. We went to see Billy Ocean recently and the show was totally wrecked by a group of 20 who were extremely drunk , loud, rude. Nobody had the courage to challenge them as they were if a certain culture ☹️

Kate1949 Thu 28-Oct-21 11:21:56

Well they don't start at £86 here for Rod. The £174 tickets are just basic tickets on the floor. The cheapest, which are high up and at the back are £133. He's almost sold out now so someone thinks he's worth it.