Spanning five continents and 41 shows, the long-awaited reunion of the famously feuding Gallagher brothers – Oasis Live '25 – is set to rake in as much as half a billion dollars. It's truly amazing what a massive payday can fix, even a decades-long family rift. And there's nothing quite like a globetrotting series of sellout dates to boost the bank balance.

Drawing on the incredible financial power of nostalgia and the unmatched pull of iconic artists hitting the stage once more, these arena-packing legacy gigs bring in serious cash. From rock legends rising from the ashes to pop sensations reuniting after years apart, read on for the highest-grossing comeback tours by ticket sales, adjusted for inflation.

All dollar amounts in US dollars.

The Spice Girls gave their fans what they really, really wanted in 2007 when Ginger sensationally rejoined the gang, and all five original members took to the stage for The Return of the Spice Girls Tour. The reformed group zig-a-zig-ah-ed across the globe between December 2007 and February 2008, with 47 shows in five countries. They generated $70.1 million, around $105 million (£81m) in today's money, from the sale of 581,066 tickets.

In 2019, they spiced up the stage again with another comeback tour across the UK and Ireland, though this time without Posh. Its inflation-adjusted gross came in at a tidy $99 million (£76m), proving girl power can still pack stadiums.

Genesis made a triumphant return in 2021 with The Last Domino? Tour, their first in 13 years and a swan song for the longest-lasting line-up of Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford, and Tony Banks. With Collins’ son Nic on drums, the band played 47 shows across Europe and North America from September 2021 to March 2022.

Ending their touring career on a high note, the prog-rock luminaries shifted 562,579 tickets, generating $100 million, around $110 million (£85m) today.

Heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath officially bowed out with The End Tour, a thunderous farewell comeback from January 2016 to February 2017. Comprising 81 shows and selling over a million tickets, the global juggernaut earned $84.8 million, the equivalent of $111 million (£86m) today.

Fittingly, the final gig took place in the band's hometown of Birmingham, closing the book on a genre-defining legacy. Black Sabbath's inimitable frontman, Ozzy Osbourne, would take his last curtain call years later, also in Birmingham, weeks before his death on 22 July. More on that shortly.

As a perfectionist with paralysing stage fright, live performances are an ordeal for Barbra Streisand, so concerts, much less full-blown tours, are a rarity for the velvet-voiced singer. The 1999 to 2000 Timeless Tour was her first in six years and only the third of her illustrious decades-long career at that point.

Starting on Millennium Eve and ending in September 2000, the tour consisted of just 10 shows in New York, Las Vegas, Sydney, and Melbourne. But with ticket prices eye-wateringly high, they grossed a total of $70 million, which translates to $131 million (£101m) today. 

The Queen of Pop, famed for her constant reinvention, returned to the road in 2001 after an eight-year break from touring, though she did stay busy during the hiatus, releasing music, making movies, and raising a family. The Drowned World Tour, which put the spotlight on her bold sonic and style shifts from the late 1990s and early 2000s, spanned 47 shows across the US and Europe.

It drew 730,000 fans and grossed $76.8 million, around $140 million (£108m) today, bolstering Madonna’s status as a live force and not just a studio icon.

The Jonas Brothers hit the road in 2019 for the first tour since the band's breakup six years earlier. Beginning in August of that year and ending conveniently right before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in February 2020, the Happiness Begins Tour featured 90 shows across North America and Europe.

A hefty 1.2 million tickets were sold and the tour pulled in $122 million, the equivalent of $154 million (£118m) today.

Though not a multi-city tour, the Back to the Beginning concert in Birmingham's Villa Park on 5 July earns a place in this round-up due to its extraordinary financial success. Billed as Ozzy's final public performance and featuring the original Black Sabbath lineup for the first time in 20 years, the all-star event raised over $190 million (£145m) for charities, making it the highest-grossing benefit concert in history. Ozzy died just a few weeks later.

This colossal payday, driven by immense public demand to see the Prince of Darkness take his final bow, made it an unforgettable, record-breaking capstone to the metal trailblazer's storied career.

In 1999, Bruce Springsteen reconnected with the E Street Band for the first time in 11 years, embarking in April of that year on a 15-month global tour that totalled 133 shows in 62 cities.

Ticket sales were buoyant, especially in the Boss' native New Jersey, where 300,000 were sold for the 15 dates at the Continental Airlines Arena (now the Meadowlands Arena) in East Rutherford. The tour grossed $45.2 million in 1999, while the 2000 dates turned over $61.4 million for a grand total of $106.6 million, which is $200 million (£154m) in 2025 money.

British boyband Take That made music history in 2011 when they smashed the record for the highest-grossing concert series, taking the accolade from none other than Bruce Springsteen. The return of Robbie Williams after 15 years sent fans into a frenzy and the group's eight nights at Wembley Stadium grossed a substantial £38 million, which is $73 million (£56m) adjusted for inflation.

The Progress Live Tour, which ran from April to July of 2011, included an additional 21 shows in the UK and Europe. Altogether, the 29-show tour sold over 1.3 million tickets and generated an incredible £114 million in revenue, equivalent to $220 million (£169m) in 2025 money.

The music world's ultimate comeback queen, Tina Turner proved her enduring power with one of the most monumental tours of the 1990s. Her highest-grossing tour post-1980s renaissance was Wildest Dreams, a spectacular run of 259 sellout shows that touched every continent apart from Antarctica.

Running from April 1996 to August 1997, the tour captivated over 3.5 million fans and grossed $130 million, which translates to $261 million (£200m) in today's money.

The hotly anticipated return of Christine McVie, who had left the band in 1998, ignited Fleetwood Mac's On With the Show Tour. Between September 2014 and November 2015, the classic Rumours lineup of Mick Fleetwood, Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, John McVie and Christine McVie played 120 shows across the world.

These electrifying performances, which marked Fleetwood Mac's final tour with the fabled five-member configuration, notched up $199 million in ticket sales, equivalent to $271 million (£208m) in today's money.

In the wake of their bitter 1980 breakup, Don Henley declared the Eagles would reunite “when hell freezes over”. Fourteen years later, the era-defining band stunned the music world and got back together, jokingly naming their comeback tour and live album after the famous remark.

Mixing new songs with cherished classics, the reformed Eagles played 160 shows across North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania from May 1994 to August 1996. As well as delighting fans, the reunion turned out to be a major money-spinner, pulling in ticket sales of $152 million, around $313 million (£240m) in 2025 money.

After a four-year break from touring and a tumultuous period in the media glare, Michael Jackson staged an epic comeback with 1996’s HIStory World Tour. Spanning 82 shows across five continents, it drew over 4.5 million fans and became the then-highest-grossing solo tour of all time, generating $165 million in ticket sales, equivalent to $332 million (£255m) today.

While disturbing allegations and other controversies overshadowed his later years, the tour marked a glittering return and cemented Jackson's status as the King of Pop.

Sting, Andy Summers, and Stewart Copeland gave fans of The Police exactly what they'd been hankering for in 2007: their first tour in over 20 years. This long-overdue reunion ran from May 2007 to August 2008, encompassing 151 shows across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Oceania.

The tour hauled in an astounding $362 million, which amounts to around $542 million (£416m) today. At the time, it became the third-highest-grossing tour ever. And as Copeland later revealed, it made the band more money than it had earned in total up to that time.

Pink Floyd’s Division Bell Tour was both a stellar comeback and their final outing as a touring band. With Roger Waters out of the picture, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright took the reins for 110 shows across Europe and North America between March and October 1994.

Famed for its awe-inspiring production complete with an enormous circular screen and mesmerising laser displays, the tour earned $250 million, $544 million (£418m) today, making it the highest-grossing rock tour in history up to that point.

In 2016, Metallica unleashed their comeback album Hardwired... to Self-Destruct and took to the road to showcase the critically acclaimed record. Encompassing 143 dates across four continents, the tour, which lasted from October 2016 to August 2019, attracted immense crowds: the band's sole gig in metal-loving Finland, for instance, drew 1% of the country's entire population.

Almost 4.2 million tickets were sold globally, generating $434 million, which translates to $548 million (£421m) in 2025 money.

Not to be outshone by his former Pink Floyd bandmates, Roger Waters launched his very own record-breaking spectacle in 2010: a breathtaking staging of The Wall album. Consisting of 219 shows across North America, Europe, South America, and Oceania, the comeback tour, which lasted three years, grossed $459 million, or around $636 million (£488m) today.

At the time, it became the highest-grossing tour by a solo artist, dethroning Madonna. Taylor Swift has since nabbed the crown, but The Wall Live remains one of the most ambitious solo tours in music history.

Australia's most successful touring band, AC/DC have made a mint on the road. Clearly proving that absence makes fans' hearts grow fonder, the Aussie rockers made a phenomenal comeback in 2008 with their first album and tour in eight years.

Starting in October 2008 and ending in June 2010, the multi-continent, 168-show Black Ice World Tour was enjoyed by 4.9 million fans, drumming up ticket sales of $441 million, around $654 million (£502m) today.

The Rolling Stones are the most lucrative live band in history, with total revenue from touring coming in at a humongous $2.6 billion (£2bn).

The band's seminal Voodoo Lounge Tour, which marked a comeback after a four-year hiatus and their first without bassist Bill Wyman, blasted off in August 1994. Running for a year, it encompassed 134 shows across six continents. The highest-grossing tour in history at the time, it shifted 6.5 million tickets, more than any other tour in our round-up, to generate $320 million, which works out at $677 million (£520m) in today's money.

Much like Don Henley’s “when hell freezes over” moment, Axl Rose previously dismissed the idea of reuniting with Slash with a sharp “Not in this lifetime”, a remark he made to TMZ in 2012 while out in LA with Lana Del Rey. Four years later, he ate his words and turned them into the title of the band’s blockbuster comeback tour.

Starting in April 2016, Not in This Lifetime... ran until November 2019 and ended up becoming the most successful reunion tour ever. With the classic lineup back after 23 years, Guns N’ Roses played 158 shows across six continents, sold 5.37 million tickets and grossed $584 million, which is a whopping $737 million (£565m) today.

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