By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Keep it simple and they will come.

That philosophy paid off for Irish rockers U2, whose stripped-down tour of North American arenas made them the most popular draw on the surprisingly resilient concert circuit in 2001, according to sales data issued on Thursday.

The veteran quartet grossed $109.7 million in ticket sales from 80 shows on their "Elevation" tour -- No. 2 on the all-time list of tours surveyed by trade publication Pollstar. The Rolling Stones hold the record with $121.2 million for their 1994 "Voodoo Lounge" tour.

Thanks to higher ticket prices, industrywide sales inched higher to set a record for the third consecutive year -- $1.75 billion, up from $1.7 billion in 2000. That astounded officials at Pollstar who for the first half of 2001 had reported a 12 percent slide in sales from the year-ago period.

"It shocked the hell out of me," said Gary Bongiovanni, editor at the Fresno, Calif.-based magazine. "The ticket price increase is the explanation for why we hit record revenues, but it was something that we certainly didn't expect to see when we started our analysis."

Since about two-thirds of concert business is done between Memorial Day (May 28) and Labor Day (Sept. 3), the big money was banked after June 30 and before the Sept. 11 attacks hit the economy and made people nervous about attending big public events.

U2 DOWNSIZING PAYS OFF

The average ticket price for an act in the top 50 rose by about 9 percent to $47.66 in 2001, from $43.75 in 2000. In 1998, it cost an average of just $33.59 to see a top 50 act.

U2's 2001 tour marked a return to grace for the band following the underwhelming PopMart tour of big stadiums in 1997-98, when flashy stage props got in the way of the music. Still, that tour grossed $79.9 million, No. 9 on the all-time list. This time, with the hit album "All That You Can't Leave Behind" under its belt, U2 took an innovative tack.

It downsized to indoor arenas from outdoor stadiums, threw out the gimmicks and designed a simple stage complete with a heart-shaped catwalk that extended into the audience, encircling lucky fans up front.

Not unlike airlines whose business passengers subsidize the masses in coach class, U2 sold $45 tickets to fans who wanted to stand on the floor and then charged $135 for those who wanted good seats to the side, people referred to by U2's populist singer Bono as "Mr. and Mrs. Wall Street." The formula worked: Every show sold out.

"I thought that was a brilliant pricing strategy," said Bongiovanni.

The other big sellout tour was Madonna's extravagant "Drowned" tour, the pop diva's first trek through North America in eight years. Fans were happy to fork out up to $250 to watch Madonna NOT play her hits, and she grossed $54.7 million from just 28 shows -- No. 6 on the list.

But Madonna's average haul of $4.6 million per concert was the highest among all acts. By this measure, U2's $2.0 million average ranked No. 4.

BOY BANDS, VETERANS RAKE IN CASH

In overall grosses, U2 was followed by boy bands 'N Sync ($86.8 million) and Backstreet Boys ($82.1 million), the Dave Matthews Band ($60.5 million) and the Elton John/Billy Joel combo ($57.2 million)

Rounding out the top 10 after Madonna were Aerosmith ($49.3 million), Janet Jackson ($42.1 million), Eric Clapton ($38.8 million) and Neil Diamond ($35.4 million).

'N Sync and the John/Joel pairing ranked No. 2 and No. 3 among concert averages, with $2.4 million and $2.3 million, respectively.

Apart from U2 and Madonna, most acts occasionally had to contend with plenty of empty seats, but there were no disasters -- apart from the Electric Light Orchestra, whose arena tour was canceled before a note was played. Among notable disappointments who did hit the road, Bongiovanni cited the Paul Simon tour ($7.4 million from 31 shows) and the George Strait Country Music Festival ($5.8 million from seven shows).

Among the major acts, the Backstreet Boys were the hardest working, playing 98 shows in 73 cities. They were trumped only by 68-year-old country star Willie Nelson, who played 108 shows in 100 cities and grossed $5.5 million.

Among the acts gearing up for tours next year are Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, while Elton John and Billy Joel will also team up again. Bands such as the Rolling Stones and Fleetwood Mac have also signaled they may hit the road.