U2 loses nearly $150 million

Sometimes people wonder why concert tickets are so expensive. Numbers released by U2 manager Paul McGuinness shed a bit of light on the massive sums that certain bands shell out during a tour.

U2 will lose around $150 million since it was forced to postpone the North American leg of its 360^o tour after singer and frontman Bono underwent emergency back surgery.

The manager reveals, "If we play or not, touring still costs us £500,000 a day."

A member of the group’s entourage adds: "Bono and the band are covered by insurance but the cost of overheads and missed revenue could easily reach £100 million by the time he’s fit enough to tour again."

U2 will be announcing some new dates in 2011 to replace the shows that had to be cancelled this year.

In the meantime, Bono is making a speedy recovery from his back surgery. He was spotted last week driving himself to dinner with friends in France, near the villa where he is recuperating.