Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger celebrated his 80th birthday on July 26.
The Stones are the highest-grossing live act since 1980, per Pollstar, taking $2.1 billion.
Two Stones tours are on Billboard Boxscore's top 10 list and it's the only act to appear twice.
The Rolling Stones were formed in 1962 and are still one of the world's most famous and adored rock bands.
Mick Jagger's band is big business, selling tickets worth more than $2 billion since 1980.
The Stones have also sold over 66 million albums in their career, per RIAA figures, placing them 16th on the top 50 best-selling artists list.
As Jagger celebrates his 80th birthday, we take a look at how the Stones became a musical — and commercial — juggernaut.
Correction: July 18, 2023 — An earlier version of this story imprecisely described the origins of the Rolling Stones. The initial lineup included Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Dick Taylor, Tony Chapman, and Ian Stewart, not just Jagger and Richards.
Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger celebrated his 80th birthday on July 26.
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The Stones have been playing for more than six decades and are known for their revolutionary approach to touring and shrewd branding.
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The band was formed in England in 1962. The initial lineup included Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Dick Taylor, Tony Chapman, and Ian Stewart.
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Since 1980 the Stones have raked in more than $2.1 billion from touring, according to Pollstar data, putting them in the top spot — just ahead of U2. They've sold 22.1 million tickets in that time, about four million fewer than the Irish group.
The Stones in 2016.
AP
Only 15 acts have grossed more than $1 billion from touring, with Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, and Madonna rounding out the top five.
The Stones had two of the highest-grossing tours of all time, with No Filter in eighth spot on the Billboard Boxscore top 10.
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The No Filter Tour, which ran from 2017 to 2019 and continued after the pandemic in 2021, took $547 million from just 58 shows, according to Billboard Boxscore.
Despite being the shortest by far of the tours in the Billboard top 10, the Stones still made an average of more than $11 million per show for the US leg in 2019.
The No Filter tour had two stints in North America and two in Europe.
The Stones playing the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Los Angeles in August 2019. Drummer Charlie Watts died in August 2021.
Reuters
The A Bigger Bang tour from 2005 to 2007 made $558 million from 111 shows, putting it in seventh spot on the Billboard Boxscore top 10.
Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards on stage.
Getty Images
Elton John's five-year Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour has taken around $940 million since kicking off in 2018, putting him in pole position on the Billboard Boxscore list.
The epic tour concluded in Sweden in July after a stop at the Glastonbury music festival in what could be John's final performance in his home country, England.
However, that record may not stand for long: Taylor Swift's Eras Tour could be the first to top the $1 billion mark when it concludes in the UK next year, according to Pollstar.
Much of the Stones' success is attributed to Canadian promoter Michael Cohl, who helped revolutionize touring, per The Guardian, by cutting out local promoters and focusing on sponsorship and merchandise sales.
The Stones also reaped the rewards of their legendary branding, with the trademark lips-and-tongue logo. According to The Guardian, the band paid just £50 ($65) for it back in 1970.
The Rolling Stones
Despite their age, the Stones continue to tour and don't seem ready to stop anytime soon. Chuck Leavell, the band's principal touring keyboard player since 1982, told Insider in 2021: "We're obviously toward the end of the journey, but it's not over yet."
Ronnie Wood, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards performing in 2018.
Mick Jagger has dated a number of women over the years, including model Jerry Hall. The couple met in 1977 and split in 1999 but have remained on friendly terms.
Reuters
Mick Jagger has four children with Jerry Hall.
Gabriel Jagger, James Jagger, Mick Jagger, Jerry Hall and Georgia May Jagger at a theatre performance in London in December 2014. The couple also have another daughter, Elizabeth.
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