MUMBAI: Hard rock band Guns N’ Roses first tour of India is off to a flying start. Tickets for the band’s maiden India tour early next month is touted as the country’s biggest ever.

While the surge in ticket sales is unsurprisingly led by venue cities- Mumbai, Gurgaon and Bangalore – where the band will be performing on 7, 9 and 12 December respectively, demand is also coming from other centres.

“I can’t speak for other promoters, but for us the response has certainly been overwhelming. Demand is coming from all over the country. It is strong from places like Pune, Kolkata and Chandigarh apart from the concert cities,” event organizer Mooz Entertainment VP Dilip Ramachandaran told Radioandmusic.com.

To meet demand, over 80 retail outlets for selling tickets to the Guns N' Roses India Tour - the highest ever done for any concert in the country- have been activated.

Prices start at Rs 1, 500 for Silver, Rs 3, 000 for Gold and goes up to Rs.10,000 for the seated ‘Platinum Lounge’ which include comfortable seating, dedicated and assisted parking and entry and unlimited complimentary multi-cuisine food and beverage.

The Gold tickets have been fast sellers and have been bought in groups, indicating that many Guns N’ Roses loyalists are treating this as an evening out for their friends and family, Mooz said.

At the moment, with sales going on all over the country a final number will have to be awaited Ramachandaran said.

“Fans can expect a never before concert experience. The concert will showcase stage, sound and lighting that is close to awesomeness. Rigs are being shipped in from the US and we at Mooz are just way too excited. These are free standing venues designed to accommodate a very large turnout. Possibly the largest ever for a rock concert in India.”

 Online sales of tickets are also brisk. According to ticketing portal KyZoonga.com tens of thousands of fans have been visiting the website every day since the announcement of the tour dates. The excitement is palpable even on social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter where fans have been constantly engaged via various contests and trivia on the upcoming tour, the site said.

“As the concert dates arrive closer, the demand for tickets has risen exponentially. Mumbai in particular has shown the most excitement and sales as rock fans stake their claim to watch this iconic band perform live,” co-founder and CEO Neetu Bhatia said in a release.

The American hard rockers have a special place in India’s new gen of rock fans as their rise coincided with the advent of cable television and MTV in India. A whole generation of India grew up on a diet of the band’s uncompromising music, lavish videos and large scale live shows.  

“This is the band that India has waited for a very long time and the country is buzzing with anticipation. Is it possible to get bigger than GnR? We think so. We hope to take the live entertainment experience in India to a whole new level. And certainly it is a rapidly growing market,” Ramachandaran said.