Maybe its the big cake situation. Where eevryone gets a huge slice of the profits from Ticketmaster to PR companies to Stadium Officials to U2 themselves. After thsi tour, I reckon we won't hear from the lads for a long time so this could be worth the money you pay.

First of all if you think its too expensive then don't go. Secondly, this will most certainly not be the last tour. 150M for 8/9 months work and everything else that comes with it?!

Bottom line is dont go then. If people voted with their cash then things might change. Hence I haven't bought a CD from HMV/Tower/Virgin in over a year and buy all my CDs online. I'm happy to pay 60 lids to see U2 but I won't pay 30 quid for a local act.

I'm not going. All I'm saying is that by not going out of protest, someone else will be there to pay full whack in your place. Status Quo remains the same. U2 not a local act ... Agree totally on that one.

I've been a U2 fan for 24 years. I've seen them play at every stage of their career from support act to headliners to the monster outfit they are today. I barely managed to get four tickets for Croke Park via the special website only sale ( for which I had to pay the princely sum of $40 before even getting any tickets ). I've been talking to fellow fans over the last few days and I can tell you all this: there is a huge backlash gathering pace against U2 at the moment over the farce of ticket distribution for this tour. We all know we're being ripped off big time. We're reluctant to blame U2 personally - their job is to make the music and then delegate all the business stuff to Paul McGuinness, Ticketba*stard etc - but personally I can see myself not going to see them after this tour is over. And there's a lot of us older hardcore fans feeling the same way. Watch this space.

I really don't see what the problem is. Its the way they are selling the tickets, I was delighted to get my tickets early. I like being a member of the fan site as it allows me to see all the videos etc, and extra interviews. Why pay if you think its too expensive? It makes no sense. No one is forcing you to part with your cash. No one has really answered that one.

Personally, I think any band charging $40 for people to join a website for the privilage of getting the opportunity to buy tickets is shocking (and before I get flamed, I'm sure you get lots of stuff for your 40 dollars, but 90% of people joining will be for the sole purpose of getting their mits on the tickets). Is there a justification for this? We p*ss and moan about ticketmaster rape charges all the time, what is different about this process? That said, I live close enough to Croke Park to site in the auld garden, blow the froth off a few cans of special brew and enjoy the tunes without even having to look at bongo strutting his stuff. Sweet!

To be honest, i think the fans let the artists themselves off too easy when it comes to ticket prices. In the case of established artists, they must have some control over the ticket prices. People tend to blame the management company and leave it at that, but if the band had any respect for their fans they would try make sure that the price charged for tickets was reasonable. I remember going to see Snow Patrol in the Ambassador last year, and it was their first irish gig after they had broke the scene, at gigs prior to this gig, and including the Final Straw album launch gig, the t-shirts were selling for about 12 Euro. Quite a reasonable price. However at the ambassador gig the t-shirts had jumped to 25Euro. And there was a sign at the tshirt stand apologising for the price of the tickets and explaining that they were priced so high because everyone wanted a cut basically. A nice touch I felt.

i was discussing this whole "u2 tickets shocker" thing last night and it strikes me that it's again proof of the U2 marketing/hype/promo pudding. ALL ticket sales are lotterys. there is a limited no of tickets available for ALL shows so there will always be unhappy people if and when a popular show sells out. some eejit was on 2fm last night giving out that he clicked onto ticketmaster to buy u2 tix in new york and they were all gone. hello? isnt this a natural state of affairs? MSG is 20k capacity. There are 8 million people in NYC. even if only 1 percent are u2 fans, that's still 80k people looking for tickets, not to mention those outside NYC who will travel to see the show. regarding u2 and dublin shows - there is ALWAYS some kind of kerfuffle, be it bishops demanding lower ticket prices (point, '89) or this current u2.com bad buzz. u2 are experts at ambient marketing. i see that theyve sold 8.5m copies so far of their worst album (HTDAAB) and we can expect them to have doubled this by the end of the tour. as for prices, the market charges what the market thinks it can get away with. remember neil young or dylan in vicar st? high tix prices but happy punters because they were seeing these acts up close and personnel. while this does not apply to u2, the charges are similar - they and their promoters know that people will go doodally to see them in croker hence the high prices. i know i'd pay a ton to see tom waits or bruce springsteen in somewhere like vicar st if i had the chance. the problem with u2 and ireland was identifed years ago by bill graham (the only decent writer Hot press - ah s**te, i mentioned them again - ever had). theres an expectation and a chip on the shoulder and a begrudgery thing going on which has dogged them here since they first went "big". anything which can be subtley used to give them a bang on the ear or a push or a shove or a kick up the arse is used. everyone just waits for u2 to complain and whinge about such treatment but they never will - sure, why take the time out from saving the world/counting their money/buying groovy art/cleaning their motorbikes/getting their haircut?

All of the above comments are perfectly legitimate. If you are shocked, outraged and generally pissed off that U2 are charging huge prices for gigs and their website access then don't pay it and go about your merry way. If you do want to pay it then go right ahead. I think fair play to them.

£60 a ticket? That sounds about right from the world biggest up their own arse band. I'm sick and tired of U2. "Oh they're so good". "I love them, they're great". "They're so talented and their lyrics mean something". It's all b****x! Simple as. U2 are a shadow of their former self. A hanful of decent songs does not a make a good. Nor does it justify the level at which the band are adored. The only talented one in the band is Larry Mullen and I pity him for having to do the same drum arrangements over and over, thanks largely to the less than talented efforts the Edge(of a coma) and Adam(couldnt be more "wierd" if I tried, honestly, I couldnt. Cos I'm mad I am.) Clayton. I dont know who they think they are and I dont know who anyone else thinks they are, but here be the truth. They're talentless, over-rated, over-paid, pathetic excuses for a real band, and whoever gave them their first big shot at the top should be hung, drawn and quartered. Now THATS something I'd pay £60 to see.

Ticket prices have become outrageous. It's a crying shame. The fans should'nt have to forgo a show to make the point. The artists have the sway, if they all took the stand (together)the problem would'nt effect as many people. Respect to Pearl Jam and the likes! It's not even a case of, if you dont want to pay dont go, some people just cant afford the price of tickets these days. Tis the greed industry.

Easy y'all! Whether U2 are talented/float your boat is irrelevant to the u2.com circus. I would be the first to salute them if they sold all of their tix through the website bypassing ticketmaster etc thus giving the band a bigger slice of the cake. But this is not the case here.

No its not. Everyone is making buckets of cash. They sold 900000 tickets last week. People are so willing to part with their money to see the band. Some people think the prices are too high, they shouldn't go to the gigs then. They are not being disenfranchised, they just don't want to spend that type of money.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Its what makes the world a wonderful place. However, to say U2 charge too much to their concerts is one thing, to call them talentless is quite another. Optimus, I know U2's style is not like your beloved Guns N'Roses or other similar heavy metal band but it shows some ignorance on your part to not at least recognise that they are talented. Dont make assumptions there big mouth. They are talentless. They have a self reliance on one echo effect, the re-hashing of the last 3 records they've released and they know they'll sell tickets regardless. It's the Metallica syndrome all over again. U2 have become lazy. Compare them to the stones or zeppelin. There's no experimentation or diversity in U2. They have yet to hit THAT peak by which all of their other records are graded like every music fan the world over knows. And for your information, bon(z)o, because your assumptions are ridiculous, I used to like U2 before I woke up and decided that it was easier to ignore them like the talentless musicians that they are. They're such a lame export that are looked upon as the golden children of music. It's bulls**t. There's no talent in the same beats, the same effects, and the same crap lyrics. Call me crazy, but these days, I need something with a bit more heart and soul and less attractive packaging. But hey, thats me. I'm not as easily to manipulate and influence as the mass population are. Oh and guns n' roses, while admittedly being ONE of my favoured bands, are not metal. And U2, are definately NOT rock.

Thats put me back in my box.