Rake it to the limit! (Sunday Mail QLD)

Link: The Sunday Mail QLD: Rake it to the limit! [14nov04].

Rake it to the limit!

NUI TE KOHA

14nov04

AMERICAN supergroup The Eagles will rake in almost $5 million in ticket sales for their three Brisbane shows.

The ageing West Coast rockers, who arrived in Australia this week, have the nation's biggest-selling tour of the year.

The members of the band, once infamous for their drinking and drug intakes, say that these days the backstage scene resembles "a morgue . . . certainly not the chaos and drama of the late '70s," said Don Henley, 57.

"The big difference is I discovered sleeping," said guitarist Joe Walsh, who will be 57 on Saturday.

Despite being true rock 'n' roll royalty and multimillionaires, band members now lead "regular" lives, according to Glenn Frey, 58.

"After the tour ends I will be back in the school car park picking up my kids like all the others mums and dads," he said.

Promoter Michael Gudinski has refused to talk money in relation to The Eagles but sources say the band will receive an Australian-record fee. "Highest indoor fee, by a mile," a source said.

According to estimates, $40 million worth of tickets will be sold for 15 shows in the Australian leg of their Farewell 1 tour.

From that, industry experts say the band will pocket $1.3 million to $1.6 million a show in ticket sales alone.

The Eagles will play three shows at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, with tickets selling from $95.60 to $557.60.

The first concert, on November 23, sold out 12,500 tickets in less than four hours; the second concert, on November 24, in less than a day.

A third show, on December 2, has since been announced and tickets are still available.

Mr Gudinski said he had been surprised by the level of interest. "There was never any intention of just adding concerts like this," he said yesterday.

"Despite knowing that The Eagles are enormously popular in Australia, we obviously underestimated how popular."

The high ticket prices resulted from the cost of organising indoor shows, rather than outdoor arena gigs with larger capacity.

But he said four types of ticketing were introduced, to be affordable for as many people as possible.

The Eagles will use the Australian tour to record a live concert DVD.

Australia was chosen for the DVD because of their memorable previous concerts here and the huge demand for tickets to see them.

Overall, Farewell 1 has the group at the top of their game, giving spirited performances of material dating back to 1971.

In Perth on Thursday, amid dark clouds and frequent showers, they kicked off the tour, working hard for their money.

They played on as rain, aided by a slight breeze, cascaded on the stage.

"Water and electricity," drummer Henley said. "My favourite combination."

He said the band would feature two new songs on their concert tour, No More Cloudy Days and One Day At A Time.