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Concert tickets. How much would you pay?

(140 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?

Luckygirl Wed 27-Oct-21 09:59:14

Silly money! Just madness. Presumably people pay it though.

MissAdventure Wed 27-Oct-21 09:59:19

Yes, I think I would.
Music is such a gift, and the memories last forever.
There are lots of people on here who can remember back years ago, seeing their favourite band, the atmosphere, the sheer pleasure.
That's priceless.

tanith Wed 27-Oct-21 10:00:27

No, like your sisters I’d probably draw the line at £100. £174 is just way OTT. What a shame for them.

Kate1949 Wed 27-Oct-21 10:02:05

We saw Michael Buble in 2019. We were so close we could have touched him. It was £90 and he is a big star. I think Rod is taking the whatsit.

MissAdventure Wed 27-Oct-21 10:06:05

How much are Michael Buble tickets this year, though?

BigBertha1 Wed 27-Oct-21 10:10:11

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.

Galaxy Wed 27-Oct-21 10:13:00

They are £80 or £192shock missadventure.

MissAdventure Wed 27-Oct-21 10:16:27

Lucky I'm not going, then.
It is a lot, but worth it, to my mind, if someone floats your boat, musically.

Sago Wed 27-Oct-21 10:18:15

I would pay anything to hear Freddie Mercury sing.

MissAdventure Wed 27-Oct-21 10:19:09

I was just thinking the exact same thing! shock

Josianne Wed 27-Oct-21 10:19:40

guess you pay whatever it is worth to you. I've paid around £100 for The Nutcracker this Christmas and about the same for André Rieux 2022. I like big performances rather than single artists but I know some of them are icons and can therefore probably charge sky high prices.

GrannyGravy13 Wed 27-Oct-21 10:22:43

If you really enjoy the artist performing and you can afford it I cannot see why you wouldn’t go.

I have seen Rod Stewart, he was fabulous as was Michael Buble and Take That.

(we should have gone to see Robbie Williams a couple of years ago, front row seats curtesy of my gorgeous DiL unfortunately it was just after the Manchester bombing and we chickened out so went to a spa overnight instead)

MissAdventure Wed 27-Oct-21 10:25:30

I've seen tale that.
I didn't pay for the tickets though, luckily.
It's an enduring memory; my girl, my mum, and me.
Sitting next to a woman with a face like a smacked arse and a bit of tissue in each ear. grin

Kate1949 Wed 27-Oct-21 10:25:56

My sisters would never miss Rod. However money is a bit tighter for them now. I'm wondering how good he will be live now that he's 74 or 76 or something. I'm sure he will be. I saw him live once (my daughter won tickets). He puts on a good show but still.

MissAdventure Wed 27-Oct-21 10:28:46

I would ask for money towards the tickets instead of presents, I think.
I actually prefer Rod now rather than when he was younger.
All these years of practicing have improved his voice, I think.

ninathenana Wed 27-Oct-21 10:29:39

No I wouldn't pay it, much as I love him.
I just commented on this to DH he said "that's cheap" it's £568 to see Adele in an open air concert ??

Kate1949 Wed 27-Oct-21 10:32:35

Blimey nina Maybe Rod's not so bad!

Grandma70s Wed 27-Oct-21 10:44:45

When Fonteyn and Nureyev were dancing in the 1960s, I used to pay very silly money to see them. I was still a student and really couldn’t afford it. I would go without meals to do it, and stay up all night to get a ticket. I wasn’t alone. There used to be adverts in the papers begging for tickets, “any price paid”. They weren’t the official prices (which were bad enough), but tickets sold on by touts who knew they could charge anything. Possibly illegal.

It was worth every penny.

Kate1949 Wed 27-Oct-21 10:48:54

I paid ten bob to see The Beatles in the 60s!

JackyB Wed 27-Oct-21 11:00:01

Musicians rely on concert takings these days as they don't get so much from record sales.

The costs go to all the staff, the technical equipment and the transport, so it's not as if the performers themselves are money-grabbing.

Mind you, when I hear that Barbra Streisand (whose concert tickets have eye-watering prices) has had a shopping mall built in her basement, I'm not sure this applies to everyone.

I once bought tickets for a joint concert with Elton John and Billy Joel. I thought that was a dream combination. It was in Munich, but I figured I'd cross that bridge when I got to it. The tickets cost me DM200 (before the Euro).

There was some speculation that they weren't getting on with each other, then Billy Joel dropped out, allegedly because he had flu.

I had seen Elton John on his own a couple of times, so I didn't go in the end. Never bothered getting the money back.

Kate1949 Wed 27-Oct-21 11:41:10

It depends on what you mean by 'rely'. I believe Rod has several mansions, with swimming pools, football pitches. He has 8 children and several exes. I suppose he needs to pay for the upkeep of all this. Can't blame him I suppose.

timetogo2016 Wed 27-Oct-21 11:48:52

Dh paid over £200 for us to see Justin Timberlake,and £180 for us to see Bruno Mars and it was worth every penny.
As Dh says,we rarely go out so we deserve a treat.
If you can afford it,you should treat yourselves imo.

Germanshepherdsmum Wed 27-Oct-21 11:53:35

Perhaps prices have gone up because there were no performances due to covid and performers, their entourages and venues lost a lot. However in my experience once prices go up they rarely go down again.

jaylucy Wed 27-Oct-21 11:58:19

The ticket price is not just for the artist but also for anyone else involved in the concerts from the roadies, security, arena staff etc
The price of concert tickets has jumped incredibly over the last few years though- I always wonder why there are still people that seem to be happy to pay for tickets on the secondary market that are 2 or 3 times the original price!