'A Bigger Bang' makes biggest bucks in history for the Stones

It's only rock'n'roll, but it's worth a fortune. The current Rolling Stones "A Bigger Bang" tour has been ranked the highest-grossing tour in history after generating £226m so far.

The band have played 110 shows to 3.5 million fans since the tour kicked off in August last year, overtaking U2, whose "Vertigo" tour grossed £195m. The figures were compiled by Billboard magazine, which draws up an annual list of the rock world's big hitters.

This was despite a series of setbacks to the tour. Several dates had to be rescheduled when guitarist Keith Richards fell from a tree while on holiday in Fiji and underwent brain surgery. There were also delays and cancellations due to lead singer Mick Jagger's throat problems. Sir Mick, 63, returned briefly to the UK to spend time with his father, Joe, who died on 11 November of pneumonia, aged 93. The tour is expected to continue into 2007.