The cultural phenomenon known as the Grateful Dead was the top grossing concert act of 1993, according to Performance magazine, a concert and touring trade journal.
The Dead's large and intensely loyal following bought 1.6 million tickets to a total of 78 shows for box-office gross receipts of nearly $44.5 million, according to Performance, whose figures are based on reports from such sources as promoters, managers, concert venues and accountants.Next in line was Paul Mc-Cartney, whose 24 shows drew 987,005 and gross receipts of $32.3 million. The Dead and McCartney were the only two acts on the list to play stadiums.
These were the concert acts that filled out the Top 10 after Mc-Cartney:
- Rod Stewart, whose 41 shows had an attendance of 627,537, with gross receipts of nearly $20 million.
- Bette Midler, 50 shows, 368,130 in attendance, receipts of $18.8 million.
- Garth Brooks, 56 shows, 1 million in attendance, $18.7 million in receipts.
- Neil Diamond, 50 shows, 720,177 in attendance, $18.7 million in receipts.
- Lollapalooza tour, 33 shows, 637,541 in attendance, $17 million in receipts.
- Jimmy Buffett, 43 shows, 670,396 in attendance, $16 million in receipts.
- Billy Joel, 32 shows, 560,700 in attendance, $15.8 million in receipts.
- Madonna, 11 shows, 317,593 in attendance, $15.3 million in receipts.
Of the Top 10, McCartney, Brooks, Buffett, Madonna and the Lollapalooza tour were all done for 1993; the Grateful Dead, Joel, Midler, Diamond and Stewart still had a few of dates to play in December after Performance went to press.