U2 took $131.5m (£83.6m) on the second leg of its 360 Degree tour, performing to 1,312,784 people in 22 sell-out shows. They were followed by AC/DC, ranked third with $122.6m (£77.9m), and Lady Gaga, in fourth place with $116.2m (£73.9m). Hip-hop collective Black Eyed Peas complete the top five with takings of $81.6m (£51.9m).
Theatre News - Belfast's new £18m home for the Lyric Theatre is to open in May 2011 after two years of construction and planning with a gala performance on its newly named Northern Bank Stage. The announcement comes as Northern Ireland's largest theatre company revealed a five-year sponsorship deal with the Northern Bank in exchange for naming rights to its main, 389-seat performance space. Artistic director Richard Croxford said the undisclosed six-figure sum was "particularly welcome at this time when cuts in public funding threaten to seriously diminish" the region's cultural life.
3D Circus - Avatar director James Cameron, Shrek filmmaker Andrew Adamson and Cirque du Soleil are to team up on a series of 3D movies. Those involved have refused to reveal any details, other than the films will feature Soleil performers, famed for their acrobatic live performances. The first movie project, which has yet to be named, is already in production. Cameron said footage that has already been shot will "mesmerize audiences of all ages around the world".
In The Sale Room - Eric Clapton is to sell off part of his extensive guitar collection to raise money for his rehab clinic. Highlights of the sale will include a guitar the musician played at the Cream reunion shows in 2005, estimated to sell for more than £13,000. More than 150 lots will be auctioned in the New York sale next year. Money raised will go towards the Crossroads Centre in Antigua, which Clapton founded in 1998 to help treat drug and alcohol addiction.
The sale will also feature a vast collection of amps and speakers, including a pair of Marshall speaker cabinets. Guitars donated by Jeff Beck, JJ Cale and Joe Bonamassa will also go under the hammer. Clapton has previously held auctions in 1999 and 2004. In the latter, Clapton's treasured Fender Stratocaster - called Blackie - fetched a record $959,500 (£607,500) at auction. Items will go on display at Bonhams in London from 23 to 26 January before the sale on 9 February.
Pardon - Jim Morrison has been pardoned by Florida's governor for an indecent exposure conviction dating back more than 40 years. The late singer of the Doors was convicted of exposing himself to a Miami concert audience in 1969. But his surviving band mates have denied he did this, and fans' memories are mixed. The Doors singer died in Paris in 1971, aged 27, before he could serve a jail sentence. "Nobody would like to have that charge hanging over their head, even if they are dead," Doors guitarist Robby Krieger told the Associated Press news agency. "I'm sure his family would be happy to see that go, especially since it never happened."
(Jim Evans)
