OutTwo Stories
Stories from the live-music archive: the lives of songs on stage, tour histories, legendary venues, festival line-ups and guides to going out, told with setlists, footage and data.
The life of a song on stage: debuts, disappearances, comebacks, last nights.
Sweet Caroline: the singalong that outgrew its singer
Neil Diamond has played it more than any other song he wrote. Then he stopped touring, and ballparks, boxing arenas and football crowds kept singing it without him. The live life of Sweet Caroline.
Iris: how many times the Goo Goo Dolls have played it live
A song written for a film about an angel became the band's signature, and 28 years later it's still in the set most nights. Here's its live life, year by year.
Useless: the Depeche Mode song that disappeared for 19 years
In 1998 Depeche Mode played “Useless” almost every night. Then it vanished for four whole tours, came back for one, and was last heard on the final night of that tour in Berlin.
Tour histories, rival tours and the years bands lived on the road.
Coldplay's Music of the Spheres tour in numbers
It started in Costa Rica in March 2022 and paused at Wembley three and a half years later, as the most-attended tour there has ever been. Here's the Music of the Spheres tour, by the numbers.
149 nights: the Eras Tour by the numbers
It began in Arizona in March 2023 and ended in Vancouver 21 months later, as the biggest-grossing tour there has ever been. The Eras Tour, by the numbers.
No phones, 13 years, one No. 1: how Tool won by refusing
Most bands spend their careers saying yes. Tool built theirs on no: no phones at the show, no streaming for two decades, no new album for thirteen years. Then they went to No. 1.
The rooms that made the music: who played there, and what happened.
Madison Square Garden: the arena where Billy Joel played 150 times
It sits on top of a railway station, it holds about 20,000 people, and for half a century the biggest acts in the world have treated it as home. The gig history of Madison Square Garden, and the people who keep coming back.
Wembley Stadium: a hundred years of gigs under the towers and the arch
The old stadium gave us Live Aid, Queen in 1986 and Michael Jackson's seven sold-out nights. The new one has broken its own crowd record and keeps adding nights. The story of Wembley as a music venue.
The Roundhouse: the engine shed that became Camden's great room
It was built to turn steam locomotives, was out of date within a generation and spent decades full of gin. Then Pink Floyd plugged in. The story of the Roundhouse.
Festival histories and line-ups: who headlined, year by year.
Open'er Festival: every headliner, from Warsaw 2002 to Gdynia 2027
It began as a one-day show at a Warsaw skating track with The Chemical Brothers. Twenty-five years later it fills an airfield on the Baltic coast, and The Chemical Brothers are coming back. Every Open'er headliner, year by year.
Coachella: every headliner, year by year
It began with a Pearl Jam gig in a polo field, lost $850,000 in its first year, and became one of the most profitable festivals in the world. Here's every Coachella headliner, year by year.
Glastonbury: every Pyramid Stage headliner, and how it began
In 1970 a Somerset dairy farmer charged £1, threw in free milk and lost money. Today his festival sells out before a single act is announced. The story of Glastonbury, and every Pyramid Stage headliner.
Going out, done better: tickets, where to stand, gigs alone, first festivals.
Festival packing list: what to bring and what to wear
Pack for the worst weather, travel light, and never forget the three things everyone forgets. The complete checklist for a festival weekend, plus a short version for day tickets.
How to get concert tickets (without getting scammed)
Presales, queues, codes, 'in-demand' prices and fake sellers on Instagram. What the ticket companies' own rules say, what changed after the Oasis sale, and how to get in without getting ripped off.
Pit, floor, seats or lawn? How to choose where to stand at a concert
GA, pit, golden circle, lawn, row GA0: what the ticket words mean, where the sound is best, and how to pick the right place for the night you want to have.