Dead to tour after 'amazing' gigs

About 70,000 fans saw the weekend's concerts

The surviving members of rock group The Grateful Dead will go ahead with a US tour after declaring their reunion an "amazing, stunning success".

The weekend's gigs were the first time Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir had performed major concerts together since the death of founder Jerry Garcia in 1995.

The 15-date winter tour was planned before the reunion - but depended on the surviving members having a good weekend.

"Since it was a far better than good weekend I am certainly confident the shows will go," Dennis McNally, the band's publicist and biographer said.

About 70,000 fans - known as Dead Heads - went to see the group, who are performing under the name The Other Ones, in East Troy, Wisconsin.

The tour will take place in November and December and will see the group travel around the Midwest and east coast.

But Mr McNally did not know when tickets would go on sale, he said.

The first reunion gig, on Saturday, 3 August, took place two days after what would have been Jerry Garcia's 60th birthday.

Local police said 141 people were arrested over the weekend, mainly for drug possession and use.

Garcia died in a drug rehabilitation clinic, causing a nationwide outpouring of grief.

Bob Dylan said in a tribute at the time: "There's no way to measure his greatness or magnitude as a person or as a player. He had no equal."

The Grateful Dead have one of the most dedicated followings of the psychedelic rock scene after a cult following built up around their music and live shows.