10 Bands Who Set Guinness World Records

Led Zeppelin

We’re fascinated by the odd and unusual. We are also fascinated by facts. Put them both together, and you have The Guinness Book of World Records. What makes this book so captivating, is that it not only houses common records, such as the fastest car, but also the odd, crazy and unusual, such as the most Brussels sprouts eaten in one minute. In this article, we’re going to take a look at 10 bands who broke Guinness World Records. Let this list of 10 whet your appetite for more, as there are heaps upon heaps of entries where rock bands have broken world records. Some of the bands who broke world records will be recognizable to you, while others you may not have heard about. Never the less, We know you’ll find these facts interesting and will leave you yearning to know more.

10. Longest Album Title

The honor of the longest album title belongs to the British band, Chumbawamba. The title is 156 words long, so If you’re ready, here it is: “The Boy Bands Have Won, and All The Copyists and The Tribute Bands and The TV Talent Show Producers Have Won, If We Allow Our Culture to Be Shaped by Mimicry, Whether From Lack of Ideas or From Exaggerated Respect. You Should Never Try to Freeze Culture. What You Can Do Is Recycle That Culture. Take Your Older Brother’s Hand-Me-Down Jacket and Re-Style It, Re-Fashion It to The Point Where It Becomes Your Own. But Don’t Just Regurgitate Creative History, or Hold Art and Music and Literature as Fixed, Untouchable and Kept Under Glass. The People Who Try to ‘Guard’ Any Particular Form of Music Are, Like The Copyists and Manufactured Bands, Doing It The Worst Disservice, Because The Only Thing That You Can Do to Music That Will Damage It Is Not Change It, Not Make It Your Own. Because Then It Dies, Then It’s Over, Then It’s Done, and The Boy Bands Have Won.”

9. The Highest Grossing Live Concert Tour from a Band

The highest grossing live rock concert tour goes to that awesome band from Ireland, U2. The name of the tour was U2’s 360 Degrees Tour. Ticket sales for the tour amassed to a proper $736.45 million. The tour lasted from June 2009 to July 2011. If the profits from their merchandise sold during that time could be counted, the total would most certainly be immense. Here’s another fun fact: Their stage was known as “The Claw” and was the largest stage ever built for a concert tour.

8. Longest Classic Rock Song

The longest rock and roll song lasted a total of 43:50 minutes, and was performed by the progressive rock band, Jethro Tull. The song was composed by Jethro Tull’s lead vocalist, Ian Anderson. 1972’s Thick as a Brick is both a song and an album. This is because one song, “Thick as a Brick”, is the entire album. Part one was placed on side one, and part two on side two. The track centers around a small boy who is faced with two career choices: To be an artist or soldier. When push comes to shove, the boy decides to follow the path of his dad and become a soldier. As a result, the boy grows into a man who flows into the world of conformity–the very world he once fought against.

7. The Longest Live Concert

The Grateful Dead played The longest live concert ever. The concert was held at the Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco. The Winterland Ballroom or Winterland Arena had a rich history beginning in the late 1920’s. However, it was to have its last show in 1978, and would feature The Grateful Dead as concert headliners. The show which ran from December 31, 1978, to January 1, 1979 was 8 hours long. The Grateful Dead setlist was comprised of 36 songs played to the max. Other bands included on the lineup were The New Riders of The Purple Sage and The Blues Brothers, with six of the eight hours taken up by The Grateful Dead.

6. Most Live Albums Released

The title for the most live albums released goes to The Grateful Dead. Even If you aren’t aware of their music, you’ve probably heard of them. That’s because this is the band that attracted “Dead Heads”. Dead Heads were entire groups of fans that followed The Grateful Dead during their concerts. As of February 1, 2019, The Grateful Dead released 167 live albums. Even though the band split in 1995 after the death of Garcia, they continued to release recordings of live concerts as albums.

5. Largest Concert

In 1994, Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro over 3.5 million people attended Rod Stewart’s New Year’s Eve concert. Stewart captured two records that night: The world’s largest live concert, and the largest free rock concert of all time. It seems 1994 was a banner year for Stewart, as he was also inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that same year. As for the number, some consider the true attendance to be closer to 4.2 million depending on your source.

4. Loudest Band

Throughout modern rock history, there’s been quite a few bands competing for the title of loudest band. Past bands who’ve achieved this honor include Led Zeppelin, Kiss, Motorhead and AC/DC, among others. But the loudest so far is Kiss. In 2009 Kiss blasted away at 136 decibels during their concert in Ottawa. Please note that this was on July 15, 2009, which is the last year this title was celebrated as an official category in order to protect band members and fans. The reason being its been found that loud sounds cause not only physical pain, but can permanently damage ones hearing.

3. Longest Concert Tour

Songkick is a company under the Warner Music umbrella that keeps track of concerts and found that 30 Seconds to Mars held the record for the longest tour. According to The Guinness Book of World Records, that tour comprised 309 shows. As a result, 30 Seconds to Mars became known as the hardest working rock band of 2010 as well. The final show of the tour was held on December 7, 2011 at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom.

2. The 2022 Guinness World Records Hall of Fame

Anyone who knows anything about pop music is familiar with BTS. BTS is a Kpop group from South Korea who have captured the world’s attention. So much so, that the group have just been inducted into the 2022 Guinness World Records Hall of Fame after breaking a total of 23 Guinness World Records! According to the Guinness World Records, “As for their ability to Have fun, amaze and communicate through music and dance moves, as well as their dedication for breaking records…that is certainly what makes BTS as The perfect fit for Our Hall of Fame 2022!”.

1. The Longest Time for an Album to Return to No. 1 in The UK

On September 26, 1969, The Beatles released their studio album, Abbey Road. The album was a success in both the US and UK, housing such iconic tracks such as “Something” and “Come Together”. Punch the time clock to 2019, when The Abbey Road Anniversary Edition album was released. Guess what? The album hit the number one spot on The UK charts again, 50 years after The initial release. According to Paul McCartney’s tweet, “It’s hard to believe that #AbbeyRoad still holds up after all these years. But then again, it’s a bloody cool album.” The real surprise is that The Beatles already held the exact world record when their 1967 album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band had its Anniversary Edition released in 2017!

Final Thoughts

If our article on bands who broke world records left you thirsty for more, then know that you’re not alone. Learning about facts such as these can often ignite the curious cat within us. One bit of information links to another bit of information and another. Our minds are built to absorb, to inhale information, each bit ready to connect to another in order to form a larger construct. The Guinness Book of World Records is a fascinating read for anyone who finds the oddities of life interesting. In other words, enjoy your journey into the strange and unknown world of Guinness World Records, because sometimes learning new things is about nothing else but having fun.

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