Rolling Stones concerts
Encyclopedia
Since 1963, the English
rock group The Rolling Stones
has performed hundreds of concerts around the world, being one of the world's most popular live music attractions.
In their early years of performing, the band would undertake numerous short tours of the United Kingdom
and North America
, playing in small- and medium-size venues to audiences composed largely of screaming girls. As time moved on, their audience based expanded (in terms of both size and diversity) and they would increasingly favour larger arena
s and stadium
s. For many years, the group would choose to play North America
, Continental Europe
, and the United Kingdom
on a three-year rotating cycle.
Many audio recordings exist of Rolling Stones concerts, both official and unofficial. nine official concert albums (ten in the US) have been released by the band. There also exists an unreleased live album entitled Brussels Affair. Several of their concerts have also been filmed and released under a variety of titles, such as Stones in the Park which records the band's performance at Hyde Park
in 1969.
The most famous and heavily documented of all the band's concerts was the Altamont Free Concert at the Altamont Speedway in 1969. For this concert, the biker gang Hells Angels
provided security, which resulted in a fan, Meredith Hunter
, being stabbed and beaten to death by the Angels. Part of the tour and the Altamont concert were documented in Albert and David Maysles
' film Gimme Shelter
. As a response to the growing popularity of bootleg recording
s, the album Get Yer Ya-Yas Out!
(UK 1; US 6) was released in 1970; it was declared by critic Lester Bangs
to be
the best live album ever.
The biggest concert the band gave was in Rio de Janeiro
, Brazil
, during the "Bigger Bang Tour" , in 2006.
On February 2, 2011, the Rolling Stones released an official statement denying that they had made any plans for a 2011 tour.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
rock group The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
has performed hundreds of concerts around the world, being one of the world's most popular live music attractions.
In their early years of performing, the band would undertake numerous short tours of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, playing in small- and medium-size venues to audiences composed largely of screaming girls. As time moved on, their audience based expanded (in terms of both size and diversity) and they would increasingly favour larger arena
Arena
An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...
s and stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
s. For many years, the group would choose to play North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, Continental Europe
Continental Europe
Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands....
, and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on a three-year rotating cycle.
Many audio recordings exist of Rolling Stones concerts, both official and unofficial. nine official concert albums (ten in the US) have been released by the band. There also exists an unreleased live album entitled Brussels Affair. Several of their concerts have also been filmed and released under a variety of titles, such as Stones in the Park which records the band's performance at Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
in 1969.
The most famous and heavily documented of all the band's concerts was the Altamont Free Concert at the Altamont Speedway in 1969. For this concert, the biker gang Hells Angels
Hells Angels
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is a worldwide one-percenter motorcycle gang and organized crime syndicate whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation. Their primary motto...
provided security, which resulted in a fan, Meredith Hunter
Meredith Hunter
Meredith Curly Hunter was a male spectator at the Altamont Free Concert. During the performance by The Rolling Stones, Hunter pulled out a gun after being punched by a Hells Angel and was then stabbed to death by a Hells Angel serving as a security guard...
, being stabbed and beaten to death by the Angels. Part of the tour and the Altamont concert were documented in Albert and David Maysles
Albert and David Maysles
Albert and David Maysles were a documentary filmmaking team whose cinéma vérité works include Salesman , Gimme Shelter and Grey Gardens . Their 1964 film on The Beatles forms the backbone of the DVD, The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit...
' film Gimme Shelter
Gimme Shelter (documentary)
Gimme Shelter is a 1970 documentary film directed by Albert and David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin, chronicling the last weeks of The Rolling Stones' 1969 US tour, which culminated in the disastrous Altamont Free Concert. The film is named after "Gimme Shelter", the lead track from The Rolling...
. As a response to the growing popularity of bootleg recording
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
s, the album Get Yer Ya-Yas Out!
Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert
`Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!´ The Rolling Stones in Concert is a live album by The Rolling Stones, released 4 September 1970 on Decca Records in the UK and on London Records in the US. It was recorded in New York and Maryland in November 1969, just before the release of Let It Bleed...
(UK 1; US 6) was released in 1970; it was declared by critic Lester Bangs
Lester Bangs
Leslie Conway "Lester" Bangs was an American music journalist, author and musician. He wrote for Creem and Rolling Stone magazines, and was known for his leading influence in rock 'n' roll criticism....
to be
the best live album ever.
The biggest concert the band gave was in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, during the "Bigger Bang Tour" , in 2006.
On February 2, 2011, the Rolling Stones released an official statement denying that they had made any plans for a 2011 tour.
Concert tour chronology
|
The Rolling Stones British Tour 1966 The Rolling Stones' 1966 British Tour was a concert tour by the band. The tour commenced on September 23 and concluded on October 9, 1966.-Tour band:*Mick Jagger - lead vocals, harmonica*Keith Richards - guitar, backing vocals... The Rolling Stones European Tour 1967 The Rolling Stones' 1967 European Tour was a concert tour by the band to promote their new album Between The Buttons and new single Lets Spend The Night Together and Ruby Tuesday. The tour commenced on March 25 and concluded on April 17, 1967... The Rolling Stones American Tour 1969 The Rolling Stones' 1969 Tour of the United States took place in November 1969. Rock critic Robert Christgau called it "history's first mythic rock and roll tour", while rock critic Dave Marsh would write that the tour was "part of rock and roll legend" and one of the "benchmarks of an... The Rolling Stones European Tour 1970 The Rolling Stones' 1970 European Tour was a concert tour of Continental Europe that took place during the late summer and early fall of 1970.-History:... The Rolling Stones UK Tour 1971 The Rolling Stones' 1971 UK Tour was a brief concert tour of England and Scotland that took place over two weeks in March 1971.-History:The Stones had not staged a tour proper in their homeland since autumn 1966... The Rolling Stones American Tour 1972 The Rolling Stones American Tour 1972, often referred to as the S.T.P. Tour , was a much-publicized and much-written-about concert tour of The United States and Canada in June and July 1972 by The Rolling Stones... The Rolling Stones Pacific Tour 1973 The Rolling Stones Pacific Tour 1973 was a concert tour of countries bordering the Pacific Ocean in January and February 1973 by The Rolling Stones. The tour is sometimes referred to as the Winter Tour 1973... The Rolling Stones European Tour 1973 The Rolling Stones 1973 European Tour was a concert tour of Great Britain and Continental Europe in September and October 1973 by The Rolling Stones.-History:The tour followed the release of the group's album Goats Head Soup on 31 August... Rolling Stones Tour of the Americas '75 The Rolling Stones' Tour of the Americas '75 was a 1975 concert tour originally intended to reach both North and South America. The plans for concerts in Central and South American never solidifed, however, and the tour covered only the United States and Canada.-History:This was the Stones first... Rolling Stones Tour of Europe '76 The Rolling Stones' Tour of Europe '76 was a concert tour of Europe that took place in Spring 1976.-History:Tickets were in high demand; on 1 April the promoters announced that they had received more than one million applications in the mail for tickets for three shows at London's Earls Court;... Rolling Stones US Tour 1978 The Rolling Stones' US Tour 1978 was a concert tour of the United States that took place during June and July 1978, immediately following the release of the group's 1978 album Some Girls. Like the 1972 and 1975 U.S. tours, Bill Graham was the tour promoter... Rolling Stones American Tour 1981 The Rolling Stones' American Tour 1981 was a concert tour of stadiums and arenas in the United States to promote the album Tattoo You. It was the largest grossing tour of 1981 with $50 million in ticket sales... Rolling Stones European Tour 1982 The Rolling Stones' European Tour 1982 was a concert tour of Europe to promote the album Tattoo You. It was in effect the European continuation of their long and successful 1981 US tour, and promoted by Bill Graham... Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour The Rolling Stones' Steel Wheels Tour was a concert tour which was launched in North America in August 1989 to promote the band's album Steel Wheels; it continued to Japan in February 1990, with ten shows at the Tokyo Dome. The European leg of the tour, which featured a different stage and logo,... Voodoo Lounge Tour The Voodoo Lounge Tour was a worldwide concert tour by The Rolling Stones to promote their 1994 album Voodoo Lounge. This was their first tour without bassist Bill Wyman; he was replaced by Darryl Jones. The tour grossed $320 million, becoming the highest grossing tour of any artist at that time... Bridges to Babylon Tour The Bridges to Babylon Tour was a worldwide concert tour by The Rolling Stones in support of their then-latest album Bridges to Babylon, followed by 1999's No Security Tour.-History:... No Security Tour The No Security Tour was a Rolling Stones concert tour encompassing 25 cities in North America in 1999. It was in support of their concert album No Security and recent studio album Bridges to Babylon.-History:... Licks Tour The Licks Tour was a lengthy, worldwide concert tour held during 2002 and 2003 by The Rolling Stones. Its start was somewhat concurrent with the compilation album Forty Licks, which was released on October 1, 2002.... A Bigger Bang Tour A Bigger Bang Tour was a worldwide concert tour by The Rolling Stones which took place between August 2005 and August 2007, in support of their album A Bigger Bang... |
Sources
- Carr, RoyRoy CarrRoy Carr is an English music journalist. He joined the New Musical Express in the late 1960s and has edited NME, VOX and Melody Maker magazines...
. The Rolling Stones: An Illustrated Record. Harmony Books, 1976. ISBN 0-517-52641-7