LOS ANGELES, Dec 5 — Irish rock band U2 topped the 2018 Forbes magazine list of the highest-paid musicians yesterday thanks in part to the group’s successful "Joshua Tree” world tour celebrating their classic 1987 album.

That tour helped the band collect US$118 million (RM490 million) in pre-tax earnings from June 1, 2017 to June 1, 2018, the magazine said. The performances featured well-known hits from The Joshua Tree album including Where the Streets Have No Name, With or Without You and I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.

The band’s earnings also included revenue from a new tour, "Experience + Innocence.”

British band Coldplay finished second on the Forbes list with US$115.5 million, mostly from its "A Head Full Of Dreams” tour.

Billions of streams helped 27-year-old British singer Ed Sheeran finish third with US$110 million. He was followed by Bruno Mars with US$100 million and Katy Perry with US$83 million. — Reuters