U2 and Eagles top touring acts in 2005, Elton #7

Let's have a standing O for the old guys.

Of the 10 top-grossing concert tours of 2005, eight of the acts are considered, well, veterans.

U2 had the top-grossing tour, according to year-end figures from Billboard magazine. Bono and company's Vertigo tour grossed $260 million and attracted 3 million people to 90 sellout concerts.

1. U2, $260 million.

2. The Eagles, $117 million.

3. Neil Diamond, $71 million.

4. Kenny Chesney, $63 million (with the second-highest attendance draw, 1.1 million)

5. Paul McCartney, $60 million

6. Rod Stewart, $49 million

7. Elton John, $45.5 million, plus $30 million for his Las Vegas show

8. Dave Matthews Band, $45 million

9. Jimmy Buffett, $41 million

10. Green Day, $36.5 million

Because Billboard ranks only completed tours, the list doesn't include the Rolling Stones, an otherwise likely contender for the top spot.

Pollstar, the concert industry's leading trade magazine, will release its 2005 ranking by month's end.

Pam Anderson sequence dropped, NBC feared it too hot

Pamela Anderson was cut from TV screens after her steamy pole dance proved too hot for viewers.

The curvy star was dropped from an Elton John television special after her performance on a giant screen behind Elton singing his hit 'The Bitch is Back' was deemed too provocative for family viewing.

The show, called 'Elton John: The Red Piano' and filmed at the eccentric singer's show at Las Vegas' Caesars Palace, was broadcast by American TV giant NBC without the song.

Critics, who had watched preview copies of the show, had suggested the accompanying on-stage video of the scantily-dressed star could offend audiences.

Meanwhile, sexy Pammy has confessed she won't be inviting her ex husband Tommy Lee to the family's Christmas dinner - because she wouldn't be able to resist having sex with him.

The beautiful blonde - who has two sons with the Motley Crue drummer - says Tommy makes her think of nothing but sex.

The 38-year-old former 'Baywatch' babe said: 'Tommy still makes me think of sex, not mashed yams and turkey.'

Bernie Taupin nominated for Golden Globe

Bernie nominated for a Golden Globe award (isn't everyone...);

and Taupin's collaboration with Gustavo Santaolalla, "A Love That Will Never Grow Old," is from Ang Lee's cowboy romance Brokeback Mountain, with a performance by country legend Emmylou Harris.

NBC's "Red Piano" a ratings flop

It seems the NBC special "Elton John: The Red Piano" was down 17% from what normally airs in the 8-9PM timeslot, sci-fi drama "Surface." Maybe it had something to do with the predictable song selection that NBC bored us all with. Or maybe its just that music specials generally do poorly these days.

Network TV concert specials haven’t done particularly well this
holiday season. Just ask Faith Hill, Kenny Chesney, and now Elton John. His
NBC special “Elton John: The Red Piano” averaged just a 2.5 overnight rating
among viewers 18-49 in the 8 p.m. timeslot last night, down significantly from
“Surface,” which usually airs in that timeslot. “Red Piano” was off 17
percent versus a 3.0 overnight average for the last four original episodes of
“Surface,” and the show had improved in each of those four weeks. The
concert special wasn’t lacking in holiday glitz. NBC used 36 high-definition
cameras to capture John’s Las Vegas stage show. But that wasn’t enough to pique
the interest of viewers, who similarly shunned country stars Faith Hill and
Kenny Chesney last month in separate specials the night before
Thanksgiving

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"Elton John: The Red Piano" on NBC December 12 -rescheduled

UPDATE: NBC has moved the show to December 12 @ 8PM.
From the AP:

NEW YORK Nov 15, 2005 — Elton John brings his Las Vegas show to television with his first NBC special, "Elton John: The Red Piano," on [Dec. 12. ]

The special will feature John's show from Caesars Palace, incorporating his performance with videos from director David LaChapelle, including two that feature Justin Timberlake as a young Elton John and Pamela Anderson performing a pole dance, NBC announced Monday.

Last December, the rock legend was honored in a star-studded tribute at the Kennedy Center in Washington.