He may not have been able to perform his five-night stand in Croke Park but country megastar Garth Brooks has said that his heart is set on smashing U2's world record for the biggest tour attendances of all time.
Brooks is currently on his Man Against Machine tour and he has vowed that the box office take for the shows will overtake U2's record-breaking concert run after they sold 7.3 million tickets for their 360° Tour between 2009 and 2011.
4.5 million tickets have been sold for the Man Against Machine tour in more than 50 US cities since it kicked off in Illinois in September 2014, so Brooks is far off topping the Dublin band's take.
Brooks is aiming to take U2's title as the most successful concert performers of all time
However, he told Billboard magazine, "I'd like to beat U2 for country music's sake. We're 20 months into this tour and we're at 4.5 million, so I feel really lucky to be where we're at right now. If people keep showing up, so be it. If the people stop showing up, I don't have anything to bitch about. It's been a great run."
Brooks was scheduled to play five nights in Croke Park in July 2014 but pulled all the shows after licences were refused for two of the gigs at the Dublin stadium.
Irish fans react to the cancellation of Garth Brooks's Dublin shows in 2014
The singer is currently using part of the staging he had planned to use at Croke Park in his current shows and he calls the arrangement the "Irish ring".
Brooks also told Billboard that he still feels hurt and disappointed over the cancellation of the Dublin shows.
"I can tell you, next to losing my mom, that might have been the hardest day ever for me in music," he said. "That's how much it hurt. I just don't get it. To this day I scratch my head. I cannot figure this one out."
No shows outside of the US have been announced but earlier this summer, Lord Mayor of Cork Des Cahill claimed that Brooks would be playing concerts next year in Pairc Ui Chaoimh
However, a statement released by Brooks' spokesperson said: “We know of no such plans on his schedule.”
