New Kids Set a Couple of 1990 Records

New Kids on the Block set a box-office record for number of concert tickets sold in a calendar year and were last year’s top-grossing touring act, taking in nearly $74 million.

New Kids outsold their closest rivals, the Rolling Stones, 3,291,987 tickets to 3,253,563, according to Pollstar, the concert promoter’s trade magazine. The Stones’ “Steel Wheels” tour in 1989 grossed $98 million.

In total concert earnings in 1990, The New Kids far outdistanced runner-up Billy Joel’s $43 million. Rounding out Pollstar’s Top 10:

* Paul McCartney ($37.9 million)

* Grateful Dead ($29 million),

* Janet Jackson ($28.2 million),

* Aerosmith ($27.4 million),

* M.C. Hammer ($26.3 million),

* Motley Crue ($24.7 million),

* --Phil Collins ($23.8 million) and

* Eric Clapton ($20.7 million).

McCartney had the year’s highest-grossing performance. His two-night stand at USC’s Memorial Stadium (capacity 59,176) brought in $3,550,560.