U2‘s Las Vegas residency at Sphere came to a close earlier in March. The 40-night residency topped the charts the month before the shows concluded in February.
Billboard is reporting that U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere topped the February box office. 10 of the residency's 40 shows were played in that month and they grossed $56.5 million in that span and sold 166,000 tickets.
That's another remarkable feat for a groundbreaking residency. U2 was the inaugural band to play at the new Las Vegas venue. Phish, Dead and Company, and the Eagles are going to play the venue next.
What is U2:UV?
U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere is the band's first-ever concert residency. The shows commemorated the band's 1991 album, Achtung Baby. In turn, they played the album in its entirety. This meant deep cuts like “So Cruel” and “Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World” were played for the first time in decades.
Bono, The Edge, and Adam Clayton were joined by Bram van den Berg for the residency. U2's drummer Larry Mullen Jr. sat out the residency due to health issues.
Throughout the 40 shows, the band had plenty of surprises up their sleeves. From appearances by Lady Gaga to playing “Sweetest Thing,” the band found a way to keep things fresh. During the final show on March 2, the band even played “40” for the first time in nearly a decade.
Of course, the big selling point of the Sphere residency was the visuals. During songs like “The Fly” and “Even Better Than the Real Thing,” amazing imagery was projected onto the screen in 16K resolution. From an Elvis kaleidoscope to optical illusions, each visual packed a punch.
Who are U2?
U2 is one of the biggest rock bands of all time. They made their debut with their 1980 album, Boy. From there, they released classic hits such as “I Will Follow,” “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” and “Pride (In the Name of Love).” The Joshua Tree was the band's big break and from there they were launched into superstardom.
Achtung Baby was pivotal to the band's growth. The album introduced a brand new song and attitude for the band. No longer was U2 the quasi-gospel group that they spent much of the '80s sounding like. They had a new edge (no pun intended) to them and became more self-aware than ever.
Recently, U2 has been in the “Songs of” era. This began in 2014 with Songs of Innocence. They would subsequently release Songs of Experience and Songs of Surrender. The latter was a tie-in to Bono's autobiography, Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story.
Songs of Surrender featured 40 re-worked arrangements of U2's back catalog. The likes of “With or Without You” and “Out of Control” were completely reimagined for the new album.
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