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rolling stones steel wheels tour vancouver

The Rolling Stones’ pricey Vancouver gig rekindles memories of seeing them four times for free

By steve newton.

The Rolling Stones play Vancouver’s BC Place tonight (July 5), but I’m not going.

It’s not so much the exorbitant prices for concerts these days, or the fact that the Stones are now older than dirt.

It’s just that I’ve seen them play BC Place four times already, starting with the Steel Wheels Tour, which was already being jokingly labelled the “Steel Wheelchairs” Tour back in 1989.

I also saw the Stones on the Voodoo Lounge, Bridges to Babylon, and A Bigger Bang tours, but I was fortunate enough to be a professional concert reviewer at those times, which meant my ticket was free–as was the one for my lucky guest.

Those were the days.

Anyway, if you happen to be going to tonight’s gig, I hope it’s decent. And that Keef doesn’t keel over, ’cause we’re old buddies, as you can clearly see from this photo:

And if you aren’t going to see the Stones tonight, here’s what they were like in Vancouver back in 1989, 1994, 1998, and 2006.

Steel Wheels Tour, November 1, 1989

In what was surely the biggest Vancouver concert event of the ’80s, the Rolling Stones hit Vancouver for two nights last week amid a flurry of hype and much groveling for tickets. Now that Jagger and the boys have gathered up their money-bags (they play the Cotton Bowl in Dallas this weekend), one can take the time to analyze their local shows and come to a decision.

Was it all bloody worth it?

Let’s weigh the pros and cons. First off, on the downside, there’s the venue itself. If any group can make the dome sound decent, it should be the world’s greatest rock and roll band, but the sound was still weak–it’s been much better for bands like U2 and Supertramp . And though lacklustre sound might be forgiven in a venue built for football, what’s not so easy to ignore was the incredible deadness of the crowd.

After hearing all about the riot that occurred the last time the Stones played here, I was expecting the crowd to be bristling with wild enthusiasm and on its feet from beginning to end. But on Wednesday it was just a one-way street. The Stones rolled down it and the crowd of 53,000 politely watched from the sidewalk.

Now for the good stuff, the thumbs-up material. When it comes to songs, you can’t beat the Stones’ repertoire, and their choice of 25 tunes left little to complain about (although my older sister did beef about the exclusion of “Angie”). From their best-known tunes like “Brown Sugar” and “Satisfaction” (which finally got the crowd mildly riled up), to more obscure numbers like “2,000 Light Years from Home” and new ones from the band’s 29th album, Steel Wheels , the Stones’ set-list was a winner. It showed the band’s great emotional and musical range, from the opening stomp of “Start Me Up” to the show’s biggest lyrical highlight, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”.

Next to the super songs, the stage itself was a big–and I mean BIG–part of the Stones’ show. With some 800,000 pounds of black and orange scaffolding, two huge silver smoke-chutes, and silver netting draped over mountains of amps, the stage resembled the interior of a high-tech steel mill.

The 250-foot wide, 130-foot high structure was augmented by a colossal lighting set-up that included 80 spinning Varilites (computerized spotlights), 100 animated color changers, and 22 man-operated followspots. According to the Stones’ fact sheet, a half-million watts of power are consumed by the system each show.

Also quite amazing were the show’s two main effects–a pair of 55-foot, inflatable tarts that came out of nowhere to bob up and down at either side of the stage on “Honky Tonk Women”. A massive fan filled the giant dolls with air in roughly half a minute; it took about twice that time to deflate them.

But perhaps the most impressive part of the Stones’ show was the performance of the band itself–and in particular that of Jagger. All the fancy effects and classy tunes in the world could have been for naught if those songs weren’t performed with the verve and style that the Stones are famous for. Jagger strutted and pranced through every song, displaying a rippling stomach that men half his age would envy.

Guitarists Keith Richards and Ron Wood were happy to hang out in front of Charlie Watts’ vintage drum-kit, smoking ciggies and stumbling around while casually chopping away at their axes. Bassist Bill Wyman, the oldest Stone at 53, kept to himself at stage left, expressionless and still.

All in all, just being able to see this craggy-faced crew of legendary rockers do their thing was an enormous experience. And, on reflection, things like muddy sound and a dull crowd weren’t enough to spoil that satisfaction. The sheer fascination so many people have for the Stones was mirrored in the starry orbs of Vancouver’s own Colin James, who just before the show had been backstage rocking out with Richards and Wood. “I’m buying,” he announced, all bright-eyed as he swaggered up to the media bar. “I’ve just been jamming with Ron and Keith!”

And while I was happy for the upcoming young blues-rocker, the only sad part was, I’d just finished buying my own beer.

Voodoo Lounge Tour, December 17, 1994

There was one nagging question on my mind after the Rolling Stones ’ show last Saturday (December 17) at B.C. Place, and it kept elbowing for space in there with about a thousand Chuck Berry guitar riffs.

I couldn’t stop wondering just how in hell the Spin Doctors, of all bands, managed to scoop the opening spot on the extremely high-profile Voodoo Lounge tour. Could it be that when the Stones deserted Sony for Virgin Records, a contractual obligation meant they had to help a worn-out Sony act revive its plummeting career?

At any rate, the Spin Doctors’ 40-minute “warm-up” set was a tiresome exercise in lame pseudofunk that no Stones freak (or rock fan in general) should have had to sit through. It did help make the headliners sound even more impressive, though, which could have been the idea all along.

As if to drive home the fact that it has been around for more than three decades, the world’s greatest rock ’n’ roll band (next to the Who ) kicked things off with a tune from 1964, the Bo Diddley–inspired “Not Fade Away”.

Mick Jagger looked sharp in a two-tone, grey Sgt. Pepper –style coat, but Keith Richards had him beat in the footwear department, sporting bright-yellow runners. The flashy leather shoes seemed to incite Richards to shimmy and shake to the next half-dozen tunes, which were mostly fast-paced rockers from the past (“Shattered”) and present (“You Got Me Rocking”).

One new boogie tune, “Sparks Will Fly”, was accompanied on a giant screen by bizarre computer graphics of a spiky, flailing tongue, not to mention some of the rudest Jagger lyrics ever. I know it’s only rock ’n’ roll, but there’s still something mildly disconcerting about a 51-year-old bellowing “I wanna fuck your sweet ass!”

Although he may be in dire need of a good soapy mouthwash, Jagger is certainly looking healthy these days. By the time the band had ripped into “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”, he had peeled off the grey coat, a purple vest, and a blue silk shirt, and was down to a tight black tee.

When he scampered along the stage-left ramp above where we were located on the floor, it was clear the sinewy rock god has been taking care of himself. Richards, on the other hand… Well, he had Jagger beat in the footwear department.

“Any requests?” asked Mick after tinkling the keyboards on “Far Away Eyes”, one of the set’s rare mellow tunes. A partially zonked-out guy behind me screamed “Brand New Car!”, but Jagger must not have heard him, because he sang “Heartbreaker” instead—which was all right by me.

“We’re gonna do a really ancient one for ya,” he announced before returning to ’64 for another cover, Bobby Womack’s “It’s All Over Now”, which the band played while televised live in black-and-white for that archival feel.

It wasn’t quite the same seeing the Stones minus Bill Wyman’s standoffish demeanour, but new bassist Darryl Jones handled himself admirably, knowing better than to get too involved in the onstage antics of Jagger, Richards, and Ron Wood.

The Stones got plenty of strong backup from vocalists Lisa Fischer and Bernard Fowler, and a killer brass section also earned its keep. Longtime Stones saxophonist Bobby Keyes was a particular crowd-pleaser, putting his jugular vein to the test during a frantic solo on “Miss You”.

The high point of the show came when Richards banged out the opening chords to “Honky Tonk Women”, the slinky classic that most typifies what the Stones are all about. During that number, film clips of such femmes fatales as Greta Garbo, Brigitte Bardot, Marilyn Monroe, Betty Boop, and Queen Elizabeth II (!) were flashed on the huge screen—along with live shots of various local honky-tonkers shuffling in the crowd.

The most elaborate visual effect was saved for “Sympathy for the Devil”, when an array of giant inflatables—including a guitar-strumming Elvis, a nun, a goat’s head, and a punk baby—came to distended life across the top of the stage.

While the Stones cranked out “Street Fighting Man”, various stagehands tugged on the backs of the balloons to get them bobbing along, then in a matter of seconds all were deflated, yanked away, and tucked out of sight.

Tidy folk, those British.

Two hours after it started, the Stones’ set rumbled to a close, but the crowd of 50,000 brought the band back for an encore of (what else?) “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”. Somebody in wardrobe must have had a Phyllis Diller flashback, though, because Mick returned wearing a knee-length black skirt over his pants and Keith had on a pink plush jacket.

Are those guys wacky or what?

Bridges to Babylon Tour, January 28, 1998

I’ve seen my fair share of B.C. Place rock concerts over the years, but none that have left me as perplexed as last Wednesday’s (January 28) Stones show. It started out shockingly lame before transforming into something wild and wonderful, and I would have sworn that the current, corporate Stones were way too predictable for that.

The show kicked off as you’d expect any Stones gig might, with Keith Richards striding up to the front of the stage and dramatically slashing out the opening chords of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”. But after I’d recovered from the sight of the grey-haired codger bounding about in a full-length, leopard skin–patterned coat, it became clear that something was terribly amiss. Here was “the world’s greatest rock ’n’ roll band”, as some say, in the throes of perhaps its finest song, and I wasn’t feeling anything. I should have been caught up in the thrill of the moment, cheering and punching the air, but I could hardly get my toes to tap along to the gutless sound rolling off the stage.

There was no edge at all to the guitars, and the trademark trash-can slam of Charlie Watts’s drums was strangely neutered. It’s common knowledge that the acoustics are iffy in the B.C. Place echo chamber, but I wasn’t taking notes from any nosebleed section or tucked-away media lounge. I was right down in front of the stage, 14th row centre, so the feeble sound production was flabbergasting.

Even more worrying than that, though, was the realization that the band wasn’t playing well. I stood there dumbfounded while the legendary combo walked through “Let’s Spend the Night Together” and then delivered a sluggish “Gimme Shelter”. There was none of the usual rowdy interaction between Richards and Mick Jagger, who made a point of totally ignoring each other. Jagger appeared particularly perturbed, and by the time “Ruby Tuesday” came around he was loudly cursing about the feedback from his mike.

Immediately following a so-so version of “Under My Thumb”, Jagger approached guitarist Ronnie Wood and clearly proclaimed, “Thank you, Ronnie, we couldn’t have done it without you,” which I instantly took to be a backhanded swipe at Richards. On the next number, “Miss You”, Richards responded by hunkering down in front of Watts’s drum kit for a smoke, stabbing petulantly at his guitar as if to say, “Okay, Mick, you can carry this one, pal.” For his part, Jagger scratched ineffectively at his own guitar while slinky backup vocalist Lisa Fischer rubbed his ass and then salaciously licked her fingers.

You go, girl!

Around this time I started wondering if maybe this was it, if these feuding fogies were gonna stomp off the stage and leave me holding a ticket stub for the last Rolling Stones show ever. But then the tone of the show started to change. A hydraulic catwalk was extended from the original stage to a comparatively tiny one in the middle of the floor, and the Stones rambled across it to take their positions on the circular platform. They only played three songs in this club-sized setting—“Little Queenie”, “The Last Time”, and “Like a Rolling Stone”—but somehow that brief encounter in close quarters managed to enliven the group like a double shot of Geritol.

Next thing I knew, the Stones were rocking out like the street punks of old, and with their revitalization the sound system’s gremlins were banished, strangely enough. Jagger and Richards still weren’t buddy-buddy, but any antagonisms they may have harboured for one another got channelled into hot-blooded versions of “Sympathy for the Devil”, “Tumbling Dice”, “Honky Tonk Women”, and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”.

By the time the band quit to the classic reverberations of “Brown Sugar”, I was wondering what had happened to the Mick and Keith impostors who were up there 22 tunes ago.

A Bigger Bang Tour, November 25, 2006

A lot has been made of the astronomical ticket prices the Rolling Stones charged on their recent stop in Vancouver, but considering today’s out-of-control construction costs (see 2010 Olympics), there’s some merit to their exorbitance. It looked as if the Stones’ 300-person production crew had built a five-storey apartment complex on the stage. The immense structure—28 metres high and 62 metres wide—wasn’t just for show, though: two viewing platforms on either side of it were jammed with fans who, one suspects, paid extra to be located so close to the action, where they could make like they were part of the show.

Mick Jagger didn’t study economics at college for nothin’, you know.

The band picked a killer tune to open with, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”, and Jagger started his nonstop sweatin’-to-the-oldies workout in a silver topcoat that he soon doffed for “It’s Only Rock ’n Roll (But I Like It)”. “We haven’t been here since the Voodoo Lounge tour in 19-something,” he proclaimed, “and everybody said it would be raining, but it’s snowing.”

The unnecessary weather update was followed by “Oh No, Not You Again”, the obligatory new song from the band’s latest CD, A Bigger Bang . Around this time, the concert took its one and only nose-dive, as the substandard 1983 number “She Was Hot” showed up, complete with cheesy ’80s footage played on what must be the world’s biggest video screen.

Classy opener Bonnie Raitt came out to join Jagger for “Shine a Light”, a ballad from the landmark Exile on Main Street , but she didn’t seem particularly inspired during the duet. When the group followed that with another ballad, A Bigger Bang ’s “Streets of Love”, it was time to head to the concession stand for a caffeine jolt. (Rejoining the brutal beer lineups wasn’t an option, as they’d already stopped selling alcohol, perhaps in consideration of the worsening road conditions.)

When I returned to my seat, the Stones were in the midst of a down ’n’ dirty “Midnight Rambler”, and the cup of Colombian brew now seemed totally out of place—more so when a four-piece horn section joined in for Exile ’s awesome “Tumbling Dice”. Let It Bleed’s “You Got the Silver” kicked off a three-song showcase by Keith Richards that saw the crowd of 51,000 smother the scary-lookin’ rock god in fanatical applause. Someone on the floor even held up an inflatable palm tree in recognition of Keef’s recent tropical tumble.

During “Miss You”, the entire band was transported on a mobile mini stage to the other end of the stadium, so that the bums in the cheap ($175) seats could feel special. “This is a real old one for ya,” hollered Jagger, introducing 1965’s “Get Off of My Cloud”. That tune received a strong response, though not as intense as “Start Me Up”.

Back on the main stage a huge, inflatable version of the Stones’ trademark tongue and lips hailed the arrival of “Honky Tonk Women”, and as the band made its way back, Jagger, 63, saucily raised his T-shirt to expose the abs of an athletic 12-year-old.

“Sympathy for the Devil” ended with two face-warming blasts of flame shot from the lofty top of the stage and appearing to burn out just short of BC Place’s flammable-looking ceiling. Audience members exchanged worried Great White glances, but thankfully the roof failed to catch fire like a marshmallow that’s overstayed its campfire welcome.

The place went nuts when “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” was included in the encore, and as deafening blasts were accompanied by a cascade of fireworks and enormous gold streamers, the 116th and final show on the Stones’ A Bigger Bang tour came to a thundering halt.

In a perfect world, the set list would have included “Shattered”, “Hang Fire”, and “Little T and A”, but hey, you can’t always get what you want.

To read more than 300 of my other Vancouver concert reviews go here .

Rolling Stones to make only Canadian tour stop in Vancouver in 2024

FILE - The Rolling Stones perform at a celebration for the release of their new album, "Hackney Diamonds," Oct. 19, 2023, in New York. On Tuesday, Nov. 21, the legendary English band announced that they're taking “Hackney Diamonds,” their first album of original material in 18 years, on the road.

By Charlie Carey

Posted November 21, 2023 8:37 am.

Last Updated November 21, 2023 8:41 am.

Rock and roll legends The Rolling Stones have announced they’re coming to Vancouver — the English band’s only stop in Canada.

The Stones are playing at BC Place on Friday, July 5, 2024.

It’s the only Canadian date on the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s tour in support of their new album, Hackney Diamonds .

The tour itself kicks off in Houston, TX, on April 28 and wraps up in Santa Clara, CA, on July 17.

Exciting news Vancouverites! Thrilled to hear that the Rolling Stones will be taking centre stage at BC Place next year. Mark your calendars, spread the word, and get ready to rock. To Mick, Keith, and Ronnie thanks for bringing your swagger to our awesome city. pic.twitter.com/KLCVrH40c9 — Mayor Ken Sim (@KenSimCity) November 21, 2023

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim is “thrilled” to hear that Mick, Keith, and Ronnie will be hitting the stage.

Posting to X, Sim is thanking the band for “bringing your swagger to our awesome city.”

“Get ready to rock,” Sim said.

Tickets go on sale Dec. 1. CityNews 1130 is welcoming the Rolling Stones to BC Place Stadium, and in celebration, giving away two tickets to the event. Enter here for your chance to win a pair of tickets .

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Remembering the Stones in Vancouver (with Charlie Watts)

As you've no doubt heard by now, the Rolling Stones lost their heartbeat yesterday.

The legendary band's drummer, Charlie Watts , passed away at the age of 80, and the group will never be the same again.

The Rolling Stones played Vancouver a few times--most infamously at the Pacific Coliseum on June 3, 1972. I was only 15 at the time, and wasn't really into the Stones that much. A month earlier they'd released what's often called their finest album, Exile on Main St. , but in 1972 I just wanted to listen to Deep Purple's Machine Head, Alice Cooper's School's Out, and Mott the Hoople's All the Young Dudes .

The Rolling Stones were my older sister's band, and I'd grown up with the Beatles as my number-one, anyway.

Turns out it was a good thing I didn't try to see the Stones in Vancouver in 1972, because an ugly riot broke out, and a lotta folks--including cops--got hurt.

The next time Mick and the boys hit town, though, on November 1, 1989, at BC Place Stadium, I was primed and ready to go. I'd been mightily impressed by some of their albums in the seventies ( Some Girls ) and '80s ( Tattoo You ), and their new CD at the time, Steel Wheels-- while no Some Girls-- included some cool tracks, like "Can't Be Seen".

As always, Charlie Watts' drumming was bang-on on that Keef-sung ditty.

Fortunately for me I got the nod to review the concert for the Straight , and my writeup ran a week later in the paper. Here it is:

In what was surely the biggest Vancouver concert event of the '80s, the Rolling Stones hit Vancouver for two nights last week amid a flurry of hype and much groveling for tickets. Now that Jagger and the boys have gathered up their money-bags (they play the Cotton Bowl in Dallas this weekend), one can take the time to analyze their local shows and come to a decision.

Was it all bloody worth it?

Let's weigh the pros and cons. First off, on the downside, there's the venue itself. If any group can make the dome sound decent, it should be the world's greatest rock and roll band, but the sound was still weak--it's been much better for bands like U2 and Supertramp. And though lacklustre sound might be forgiven in a venue built for football, what's not so easy to ignore was the incredible deadness of the crowd. After hearing all about the riot that occurred the last time the Stones played here, I was expecting the crowd to be bristling with wild enthusiasm and on its feet from beginning to end. But on Wednesday it was just a one-way street. The Stones rolled down it and the crowd of 53,000 politely watched from the sidewalk.

Now for the good stuff, the thumbs-up material. When it comes to songs, you can't beat the Stones' repertoire, and their choice of 25 tunes left little to complain about (although my older sister did beef about the exclusion of "Angie"). From their best-known tunes like "Brown Sugar" and "Satisfaction" (which finally got the crowd mildly riled up), to more obscure numbers like "2,000 Light Years from Home" and new ones from the band's 29th album, Steel Wheels , the Stones' set-list was a winner. It showed the band's great emotional and musical range, from the opening stomp of "Start Me Up" to the show's biggest lyrical highlight, "You Can't Always Get What You Want".

Next to the super songs, the stage itself was a big--and I mean BIG--part of the Stones' show. With some 800,000 pounds of black and orange scaffolding, two huge silver smoke-chutes, and silver netting draped over mountains of amps, the stage resembled the interior of a high-tech steel mill. The 250-foot wide, 130-foot high structure was augmented by a colossal lighting set-up that included 80 spinning Varilites (computerized spotlights), 100 animated color changers, and 22 man-operated followspots. According to the Stones' fact sheet, a half-million watts of power are consumed by the system each show.

Also quite amazing were the show's two main effects--a pair of 55-foot, inflatable tarts that came out of nowhere to bob up and down at either side of the stage on "Honky Tonk Women". A massive fan filled the giant dolls with air in roughly half a minute; it took about twice that time to deflate them.

But perhaps the most impressive part of the Stones' show was the performance of the band itself--and in particular that of Jagger. All the fancy effects and classy tunes in the world could have been for naught if those songs weren't performed with the verve and style that the Stones are famous for. Jagger strutted and pranced through every song, displaying a rippling stomach that men half his age would envy. Guitarists Keith Richards and Ron Wood were happy to hang out in front of Charlie Watts' vintage drum-kit, smoking ciggies and stumbling around while casually chopping away at their axes. Bassist Bill Wyman, the oldest Stone at 53, kept to himself at stage left, expressionless and still.

All in all, just being able to see this craggy-faced crew of legendary rockers do their thing was an enormous experience. And, on reflection, things like muddy sound and a dull crowd weren't enough to spoil that satisfaction. The sheer fascination so many people have for the Stones was mirrored in the starry orbs of Vancouver's own Colin James, who just before the show had been backstage rocking out with Richards and Wood. "I'm buying," he announced, all bright-eyed as he swaggered up to the media bar. "I've just been jamming with Ron and Keith!" And while I was happy for the upcoming young blues-rocker, the only sad part was, I'd just finished buying my own beer.

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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) was called the "Urban Jungle Tour"; it ran from May to August 1990.

These would be the last live concerts for the band with original member Bill Wyman on bass guitar. This tour would also be the longest the band had ever done up to that point, playing over twice as many shows as their standard tour length from the 1960s and 1970s.

The tour was an enormous financial success, cementing The Rolling Stones' return to full commercial power after a seven-year hiatus in touring marked by well-publicized acrimony among band members.

1 Tour Background
2 Set Lists
3 Tour Dates
4 Personnel

Tour Background [ ]

A Steel Wheels pre-tour 'surprise show' took place on August 12, 1989 at Toad's Place in New Haven, Connecticut with a local act, Sons of Bob, opening the show for an audience of only 700 people who had purchased tickets for $3.01 apiece.

The official Steel Wheels Tour kicked off later that month at the now-demolished Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During the opening show in Philadelphia, the power went out during "Shattered" and caused a slight delay in the show. Jagger came out and spoke to the crowd during the delay.

The Stones returned to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and played two sold out concerts at B.C. Place Stadium.

Fan reaction for tickets was unprecedented. One local radio station 99.3 The Fox even had a man (Andrew Korn) sit in front of the station in a bath tub filled with brown sugar and water for free tickets to the concert. Total attendance was 6.2 million.[citation needed]

The stage was designed by Mark Fisher with participation of Charlie Watts and Mick Jagger. Lighting design was by Patrick Woodroffe.

Canadian promoter Michael Cohl made his name buying the concert, sponsorship, merchandising, radio, TV and film rights to the Steel Wheels Tour. It became the most financially successful rock tour in history up to that time.

Rival promoter Bill Graham, who also bid on the tour, later wrote that " Losing the Stones was like watching my favourite lover become a whore ."

Performances from the tour were documented on the album "Flashpoint" and the video, "Live at the Max" both released in 1991.

The opening acts for the tour included Living Colour, Dan Reed Network, Guns N' Roses and Gun.

In August of 1990, an extra concert in Prague, Czechoslovakia, was added. Czechoslovakia had overthrown the Communist regime nine months earlier and The Rolling Stones' concert was perceived as a symbolic end of the revolution.

Czechoslovakia's new president Václav Havel, who was lifelong fan of the band, helped to arrange the event, and met the band at the Prague Castle before the show. The expenses were partially covered by Havel and by the Czechoslovak Ministry of industry.

The attendance was over 100,000. The band chose to donate all the revenues from this gig (over 4 million Czechoslovak korunas) to the Committee of Good Will, a charity run by Havel's wife, Olga Havlová.

Set Lists [ ]

For the opening night of the "Steel Wheels Tour," the setlist was as follows (all songs composed by Jagger/Richards unless otherwise noted):

"Start Me Up"
"Shattered"
"Sad Sad Sad"
"Undercover of the Night"
"Harlem Shuffle" (Relf/Nelson)
"Tumbling Dice"
"Ruby Tuesday"
"Play With Fire" (Nanker Phelge)
"Dead Flowers"
"One Hit (to the Body)" (Jagger/Richards/Wood)
"Mixed Emotions"
"Honky Tonk Women"
"Rock and a Hard Place"
"Midnight Rambler"
"You Can't Always Get What You Want"
"Little Red Rooster" (Dixon)
"Before They Make Me Run"
"Paint It Black"
"2000 Light Years from Home"
"Sympathy for the Devil"
"Gimme Shelter"
"It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)"
"Brown Sugar"
"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"
"Jumpin' Jack Flash" (encore)

For the final night of the "Urban Jungle Tour" (the last Rolling Stones concert with Bill Wyman) the band played:

"Harlem Shuffle"
"Street Fighting Man"
"Jumpin' Jack Flash"
"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (encore)

Other songs played on the tour:

"Almost Hear You Sigh" (Jagger/Richards/Jordan)
"Blinded By Love"
"Boogie Chillen" (Hooker)
"Can't Be Seen"
"Factory Girl"
"I Just Want to Make Love to You" (Dixon)
"Salt of the Earth"
"Terrifying"
"Indian Girl"

Tour Dates [ ]

Personnel [ ].

The Rolling Stones

Mick Jagger – lead vocals, guitar, harmonica, percussion
Keith Richards – guitar, vocals
Ronnie Wood – guitar
Bill Wyman – bass guitar
Charlie Watts – drums

Additional musicians

Matt Clifford – keyboards, backing vocals, percussion, French horn
Bobby Keys – saxophone
Chuck Leavell – keyboards, backing vocals and musical director
Bernard Fowler – backing vocals, percussion
Lisa Fischer – backing vocals on the North American & Japanese tours only
Cindy Mizelle – backing vocals on the North American & Japanese tours only
Lorelei McBroom – backing vocals on the European tour only
Sophia Jones – backing vocals on the European tour only

The Uptown Horns

Arno Hecht – saxophone
Bob Funk – trombone
Crispin Cioe – saxophone
Paul Litteral – trumpet
1 Lollapalooza 1991
2 Electric Light Orchestra
3 Budweiser Superfest 1982

Statistics Stats
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Rolling Stones, The
November 2, 1989 Setlist

The Rolling Stones Setlist at BC Place Stadium, Vancouver, BC, Canada

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Start Me Up Play Video
Bitch Play Video
Sad Sad Sad Play Video
Undercover of the Night Play Video
Harlem Shuffle ( Bob & Earl cover) Play Video
Tumbling Dice Play Video
Miss You Play Video
Ruby Tuesday Play Video
Angie Play Video
Dead Flowers Play Video
Rock and a Hard Place Play Video
Mixed Emotions Play Video
Honky Tonk Women Play Video
Midnight Rambler Play Video
You Can't Always Get What You Want Play Video
Before They Make Me Run ( Keith Richards on lead vocals ) Play Video
Happy ( Keith Richards on lead vocals ) Play Video
Paint It Black Play Video
2000 Light Years From Home Play Video
Sympathy for the Devil Play Video
Gimme Shelter Play Video
It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (but I Like It) Play Video
Brown Sugar Play Video
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction Play Video
Jumpin' Jack Flash Play Video

Edits and Comments

21 activities (last edit by GorgeMutonChop , 13 Jul 2024, 04:26 Etc/UTC )

Songs on Albums

Gimme Shelter
Midnight Rambler
You Can't Always Get What You Want
Mixed Emotions
Rock and a Hard Place
Sad Sad Sad
Brown Sugar
Dead Flowers
Tumbling Dice
Before They Make Me Run
Honky Tonk Women
Jumpin' Jack Flash
Paint It Black
Sympathy for the Devil
Ruby Tuesday
It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (but I Like It)
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
Start Me Up
2000 Light Years From Home
Undercover of the Night
Harlem Shuffle by Bob & Earl

Complete Album stats

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Oct 29 1989 Shea Stadium Queens, NY, USA Add time Add time
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Nov 04 1989 Day on the Green 1989 #3 Oakland, CA, USA Add time Add time
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Where Memories Are Made! Concert Edition

April 28 th , 2021

In this week's 'Where Memories are Made!' feature, we're looking back at some of the most iconic concerts at BC Place. From David Bowie to Taylor Swift, the stadium has been the stage for some of the world's biggest stars. The energy felt during a show at BC Place is indescribable and we look forward to the day when we can be together again under one roof enjoying these performances. We asked British Columbians to share their favourite concert memories at BC Place - here are YOUR responses!

David Bowie - Serious Moonlight Tour - August 8, 1983

"Seeing David Bowie with opening act Peter Gabriel back in 1983, shortly after the stadium opened." - Matt B.

"My favorite memory is seeing David Bowie in 1983, so amazing and tickets were only $22.00!" - Lee C.

Simon & Garfunkel - Summer Evening Tour - August 22, 1983

"When I was 12 years old my parents took me to my first ever concert at BC Place Stadium. The concert: Simon & Garfunkel. The tour was their last before an extended hiatus and the first time they had ever played Vancouver. I recall being amazed seeing the brand new BC Place Stadium. At the time, I was not old enough to appreciate the importance of the show, but in retrospect I'm pleased to know that I was able to see a legendary band before things fell apart and the magic was gone." - Tracy T.

"I saw Simon and Garfunkel. It was my graduation year from high school and I had the best time with thousands of new friends all grooving to their brilliant music." - Lianne C.

Supertramp - Famous Last Words Tour - September 3, 1983

"I travelled down from Prince George with a group of friends to see Supertramp in 1983!" - Debbie D.

The Jacksons - Victory Tour - November 16, 17, 18, 1984

"My first concert was at BC Place! It was The Jacksons Victory Tour in 1984. It sparked a love of live music that has followed me my whole life. What a show!" - Ryan K.

"My favourite memory was seeing The Jacksons when I was 9! 35 years later it is still my favourite concert experience ever. There were so many people singing, dancing in their seats and loving every minute of it! To this day, it is still one of the most visually stunning shows I've ever seen. It was amazing! Seeing Michael and his brothers on stage was a memory I will never forget." - Kristie P.

"I saw The Jacksons - I was in grade one and it was my first concert!" - Barb B.

"My favourite memory of BC Place was seeing The Jacksons Victory Tour in 1984! I wanted to go so bad that my big brother found a single ticket for me. He then drove me to the concert and waited to pick me up and take me home after. It was a surprise of a lifetime!" - Kim B.

Bob Dylan and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - True Confessions Tour - August 1, 1986

"I think my favourite memory of BC Place was the first time I saw it in 1986. I had tickets to see Bob Dylan with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. I lived in Kamloops and we drove down for the show. I was in awe of the size of the place and the changes that were taking place outside for Expo '86." - Jim C.

Neil Diamond - September 12, 1986

"My favourite BC Place memory was seeing Neil Diamond in concert back in 1980s. There were so many people of various ages singing along together. The concert was awesome, especially being surrounded by such a large crowd!" - Mark D.

Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet Tour - July 2, 1987

"My oldest brother took me to BC Place for my first concert when I was 13. It was Bon Jovi and I had the time of my life there. From the people to the music to the venue, it was all fantastic to me!" - Bobbi C.

David Bowie - Glass Spider Tour - August 15, 1987

"I saw David Bowie on his Glass Spider Tour at BC Place in the late 1980s! I had floor seats and remember being blown away by the concert." - Chris C.

U2 - The Joshua Tree Tour - November 12, 1987

"The U2 Joshua Tree Tour in 1987. BC Place was packed full! My favourite memory is seeing the encore song Sunday Bloody Sunday and the crowd singing along with the stadium lit up from lighters glowing. The atmosphere was amazing!" - Chris H.

Pink Floyd - A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour - December 10, 1987

"Watching Pink Floyd in 1987. When the inflatable pig flew down above our heads, we were mesmerized. It was a show I’ll never forget!" - Tania W.

Rolling Stones - Steel Wheels Tour - November 1, 1989

"My favourite BC Place memory was seeing the Rolling Stones there as a teenager with my brother and parents. My brother and I had bugged my parents for months about getting tickets, leaving not so subtle hints around the house, and we thought they had ignored us. Then they surprised us with tickets and we got to experience our first concert at BC Place!" - Ashley C.

New Kids on the Block - The Magic Summer Tour - September 5, 1990

"My favourite memory was my very first concert: New Kids on the Block in 1990. I was almost 16 years old and had flown down to Vancouver from Smithers. With 45,000 screaming teenage girls in the crowd, my hearing STILL hasn't recovered! - Kate R.

"I remember going to the New Kids on the Block concert when I was a teenager. I went with my sister and best friend and we were so excited that my friend almost fainted!" - Cathy M.

The Three Tenors - World Tour - December 31, 1996

"My favourite memory at BC Place was the New Year's Eve concert by The Three Tenors!" - Linda G.

U2 - PopMart Tour - December 9, 1997

"The U2 concert at BC Place in 1997. The love and energy was so immense that when the concert ended, the fans stayed in their seats and continued to take in the energy created by the band throughout the show. I will forever remember that feeling." - Chad D.

KISS - Alive! The Millennium Concert - December 31, 1999

"On December 31, 1999, KISS played a New Year's Eve show and it was the best party ever!" - Dan T.

Rolling Stones - A Bigger Bang Tour - November 25, 2006

"I had the best experience at BC Place in 2006 when we went to see the Rolling Stones! They have always been my favourite band and they put on an amazing show. I couldn't believe how energetic Mick was as he danced across the stage all evening. It was a wonderful night that I will always be grateful for!" - Kristin H.

Madonna - Sticky & Sweet Tour - October 30, 2008

"My first Madonna concert in 2008 was an evening I'll never forget! It was an amazing show and had energy that only BC Place can facilitate." - Darlene C.

AC/DC - Black Ice World Tour - August 29, 2009

"My favourite memory is the AC/DC concert on August 29, 2009. I took my best friend who, though she was 50, had never been to a concert before. We were amazed at the crowds. Once we were inside my friend stumbled while trying to make our way to the seats and injured her ankle. The BC Place staff helped get her tp her seat so that she could still enjoy the concert and even came to check on her a couple of times during the show. I will never forget how the staff at BC Place made my friend's first concert unforgettable, despite her injury. Kudos!" - Tammy S.

Roger Waters - The Wall Live - May 26, 2012

"Attending the Roger Waters concert with my husband is my favourite memory at BC Place. We have been Pink Floyd fans since we were youngsters and this was an amazing experience! We even sprung for VIP seats and the view was phenomenal. It was one of the best Christmas presents we ever gave ourselves! BC Place is an amazing concert venue, the sound was remarkable and suffered minimal distortion even at great volumes. A wonderful venue to be sure!" - Tamara D.

Paul McCartney - On the Run Tour - November 25, 2012

"Taking my 73-year-old mum to finally see Paul McCartney perform live! She was born and raised in Liverpool but never got to see the Beatles live." - Karen M.

"On November 25, 2012, I attended BC Place for the first time to see Paul McCartney perform. It was a fabulous 3-hour show along with pyrotechnics. I was very impressed with the sound quality in the stadium and will forever remember the show that was put on by the iconic Beatle!" - Alan M.

"I remember when Paul McCartney played there for the first time in 2012. The place was packed with people singing along and having a great time. The roof was lit up like the Union Jack and everyone was in a great mood!" - Barb T.

Taylor Swift - The Red Tour - June 29, 2013

"I saw Taylor Swift with my daughter at BC Place in 2013 and it was amazing! We’d never seen a concert in such a large venue before. It was a great evening and overall experience at the stadium." - Tara S.

Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z - Legends of the Summer Tour - July 31, 2013

"My favorite BC Place memory was seeing Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z perform. It was incredible!" - Samantha Y.

One Direction - On the Road Again Tour - July 17, 2015

"It was seeing One Direction with my 13-year-old daughter on July 17, 2015! It was a fantastic concert and a special present for my daughter's birthday." - Stacey P.

Taylor Swift - The 1989 World Tour - August 1, 2015

"My 9-year-old daughter was huge fan of Taylor Swift and her birthday was coming up. I found out Taylor Swift would be performing at BC Place and decided to surprise my daughter with a flight to Vancouver and floor seats to the show. She was so excited and had the biggest smile on her face throughout the concert. The best moment of the night was when Taylor was circling above the crowd and my daughter was screaming with excitement and waving at her. It made my night! It was an amazing concert and a memory that will last a lifetime for both of us." - Nadine H.

"My favourite BC Place memory was when I surprised my daughter with floor tickets to see Taylor Swift and a hotel room to stay downtown for the night!" - Diane L.

AC/DC - Rock or Bust World Tour - September 22, 2015

"Being a big AC/DC fan, I was thrilled to be with my husband and our son at the show on September 22, 2015. It was a fantastic performance that I will always remember. Just being there with all of the other fans enjoying the show was a great experience for all of us!" - Beverly W.

Coldplay - A Head Full of Dreams Tour - September 29, 2017

"My favourite memory of BC Place is from September 2017. My wife is an over the top Coldplay fan and planned a family trip to Vancouver for their concert. BC Place was full of fans and really set the stage for an amazing concert by one of the best bands in the world. I will never forget that concert!" - Nick R.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z - On the Run II Tour - October 2, 2018

"Getting to see Beyoncé live for the OTR II tour was amazing and I will never forget it! It was pretty cool to take my niece to her first concert too. I set the bar really high for her next one!" - Simmerjit J.

Luke Bryan - What Makes You Country Tour - October 13, 2018

"It was definitely when I saw Luke Bryan in 2018 with my husband! We had such a blast and it is one of my favorite concerts I've been to." - Ann Jolene H.

Paul McCartney - Freshen Up Tour - July 6, 2019

"My favourite memory at BC Place was seeing Paul McCartney in 2019. He is such a legend and he played all the songs I grew up with. It was extra special for me because it was my 50th birthday and I had relatives attend the concert from Kamloops, Burnaby and Victoria. It was wonderful to share a musical experience with them. The entire audience was really happy to be there. Great venue!" - Janice H.

"Seeing Paul McCartney in 2019 was the first time I experienced an event at BC Place and it was amazing! The show itself was beyond incredible and I loved how open it felt. Seeing Paul McCartney for the first time is something I will never forget. I hope to be fortunate enough to return to BC Place for more amazing events in the future." - Corry H.

Mumford & Sons - Delta Tour - August 7, 2019

"My favourite memory at BC Place happened recently when I had the chance to see Mumford & Sons. I got floor seats for my good friend and I and we ended up really close to the stage. The atmosphere was magical and we had an amazing time!" - Chrissy R.

Do you have a favourite concert memory at the stadium? Share in the comments below!

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5 songs the Rolling Stones should play in Vancouver this Friday

The Rolling Stones tour set list averages 20 tunes per show and fans vote on one song per night. Here are five possibles for B.C. Place this week

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The Rolling Stones Hackney Diamonds Tour

5 songs the rolling stones should play in vancouver this friday back to video.

When: July 5, 8 p.m. Where: B.C. Place Tickets and info: From $197.50 at Ticketmaster.ca

Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ron Wood and the cast of other players who make up the Rolling Stones tour retinue will set up shop at B.C. Place a performance this weekend.

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The tour is the legendary rock act’s first since ace drummer Charlie Watts died in 2021. Nominally, it’s in support of Hackney Diamonds, the 24th studio album from the U.K. band that dropped Oct. 30, 2023. The first record of original material since 2005’s A Bigger Bang has received some of the best reviews the group has had since 1981’s Tattoo You.

The group is playing all three singles — Angry, Mess it Up and Sweet Sounds of Heaven — nightly, and Richards sings Tell Me Straight from the record as well. That leaves another 16 spots to fill in the average 20-song set list. The band is showcasing classics from its storied career with a fair amount of variety in the selection of “must play” chestnuts to deep album cuts.

Fans vote in one song per show, and these have typically been pretty obvious selections such as Let it Bleed, Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker) and She’s a Rainbow, all from albums released in the group’s 1960/’70s heyday.

Based on setlist.fm data, Mick and the lads aren’t showing much love for any of the music released post-Tattoo You right up to A Bigger Bang.

While there’s no doubt that any of the six albums from 1981 to 2005 are ever going to knock Some Girls or Sticky Fingers from the Stones’s top albums list, a dive into their material found five songs entirely worthy of being incorporated into any show right next to Paint it Black and Honky Tonk Women.

Here are 5 songs fans should consider voting in for the Stones to play at their concert in Vancouver:

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1. Pretty Beat Up

Album: Undercover of the Night | Year: 1983

Why: As the band tried to keep in stride with emerging trends in the pop music of the 1980s, it often failed to retain the swagger and soul that has always defined its bluesy rock ‘n’ roll. This full-frontal funk-out does little more than ride the groove for four minutes while Jagger mumbles the title over and over. It works because the hook is so relentless, and gives both Richards and Wood plenty of time to jam, as well as boasting a blast of Maceo Parker-style sax that would slay in a live setting.

2. Too Rude

Album: Dirty Work | Year: 1986

Why: There is very little to recommend Dirty Work, an album so mired in the worst excesses of late-’80s gated drums and layer-upon-layer of reverberating guitar shimmers. But Richards singing this Lindon Roberts song that was a hit for reggae artist Half Pint is classic. Imagine UB40 playing Red Red Wine after drinking far too much of it barely able to hold the beat together and you’ve got this track. The song was a regular feature in sets by Richards and the Expensive Winos and should be brought back into the fold.

3. Break the Spell

Album: Steel Wheels | Year: 1989

Why: Remember all the Steel Wheelchair jokes when the band went on tour supporting this album? Guess they proved the naysayers wrong many times over as the Stones keep on rolling. One of the reasons is likely due to the fact that the Blues basis of the music is just so much fun to play at any age. That is made clear on this dirty boogie that featured some truly awesome Bill Wyman bass licks bubbling underneath distorted harmonica and Mick sounding like Chester Burnett’s British cousin.

4. Suck on the Jugular

Album: Voodoo Lounge | Year: 1995

Why: Another slinky funk cut that finds Mick leading the crew in a shoutout lyric that is perfectly made for a fan singalong in concert — complete with perfectly placed F-bombs and a freewheeling vibe — this loose and lazy jam session somehow rises above its fairly obvious place as album filler, becoming one of the deepest cuts on the entire record. Who doesn’t want to hear Jagger talking about all getting together to feel all right, all night?

5. Flip the Switch

Album: Bridges to Babylon | Year: 1997

Why: The opening track on Bridges to Babylon was easily the roughest rocker the group had dropped in many years. All the reasons to love the Stones are here in this one: a great riff; a relentlessly driving rhythm section; some searing lead guitar from Richards; Motown-type backing vocal hooks that get your toe tapping; and Jagger managing to make singing about the contents of his shaving kit as though they were more than a little bit risqué. This song should have become a set mainstay long ago.

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Rolling Stones in Vancouver: 5 history-making moments from 1965 to 2024

The Rolling Stones released the single Time Is On My Side in North America in June 1964. Sixty years later, the U.K. quintet might play the hit at B.C. Place on July 5.

Looking through the archives, there are plenty of highlights through history of the band making music and mayhem in town from 1965 to shows leading up to this week’s event.

Here are five spins down memory lane from long ago. Believe it or not, there was a time before the legendary rockers had reached the heights of having their trademark beamed onto Vancouver City Hall.

1. Rolling Stones debut concert at PNE Agrodome on Dec. 1, 1965, and return to the PNE Forum on July 19, 1966

The band first performed Time Is On My Side to 5,400 ecstatic fans at the PNE Agrodome on Dec. 1, 1965. Vancouver Sun photographer Ken Oakes captured the event, where benches were smashed by the crowd surging forward. No photos of the band were included in the coverage.

Among those who attended that local debut was music lover and four-time Delta city councillor Jeannie Kanakos. She spoke to reporter John Mackie about being there for a March 2017 story, recalling, “It was heaven to be 15 years old and at a Rolling Stones concert with screaming girls.” The photo of Kanakos that ran in the paper the next day captured her in full shout as the band played.

The average set list on that tour averaged a mere nine songs, averaging around 25 minutes. This was so early in the band’s career that the Mick Jagger/Keith Richards writing team was only responsible for about two tunes per show.

News reporter Jes Odam was assigned to cover the show, where the top ticket price was $4.50. His lead paragraph about a fan responding to a look from Jagger is brilliant: “He looked at me and smiled,” said the girl, aged about 15. And she fainted on the spot.

Captured backstage pre-show, the group look like a bunch of clean-cut teens. It wouldn’t be long before their bad lads of rock ‘n’ roll image would be solidified forever. Columnist Jack Wasserman noted the band stayed at Burnaby’s Villa Hotel and ordered in food from Bamboo Terrace restaurant in Chinatown. His contributed with the whole Stones vs. Beatles debate in the column, observing:

“For the benefit of any old squares in the audience,” he wrote, “the Rolling Stones are five young Britons with the longhair coiffures. At this particular moment, they happen to be as big, if not bigger, than the Beatles. If I am any judge … and this might kill their image … they are also better than the Beatles.”

What a difference seven months makes. The Stones returned to North America in support of their fifth album since the 1964 debut England’s Newest Hitmakers. Titled Aftermath, the album was the first entirely credited to the Jagger/Richard writing team and was a complete revelation in terms of where the group was headed after its earlier blues covers.

From the opening growl of Mother’s Little Helper to the misogyny of Under My Thumb to the pastoral Lady Jane, this was a band arriving as true rock music superstars. Along with the music expanding, so did the band’s cool style and burgeoning reputation as decadent bad boys of rock ‘n’ roll. Now songs such as The Last Time, Play With Fire, Paint It Black, 19th Nervous Breakdown, and Have You Seen Your Mother Baby, Standing in the Shadow? exploded off the stage.

After the band finally took to the stage following a 90-minute delay that put fans in a street fighting mood, the Stones eventually played a 60-minute set.

2. The Rolling Stones Exile On Main Street tour launch June 3, 1972 at Pacific Coliseum

Widely considered now to be one of the greatest rock albums of all time, Exile On Main Street was not particularly well-received on its May 12, 1972, release. Add in that the tour in support of the album was the band’s first since the disastrous 1969 concert in Altamont, Calif., where four people died, and the Vancouver show was a concern for Vancouver police.

It was also the launch of the tour, so demand was incredibly high for a group who were already enormously popular. The sold-out show — $6 a ticket — attracted hundreds of fans outside the venue who began acting like Canucks fans when they didn’t get what they wanted. A full-blown riot ensued, with the next day’s Province front page heralding “Rioters hurl rocks, firebombs” and, in another story, reported that 30 police officers were injured by rioters.

Inside, Sun critic Jamie Lamb noted the experience was one of a polite professional performance. “Mick Jagger is the devil with a bullhorn and the Devil’s call, though loud, is sophisticated,” noting “the stoned young basking not so much in the music as the mystique of the Rolling Stones.”

3. Kilimanjaro Curry and B.C. Place concert in that order in 1989

Mick sang, “You’re not the only one with mixed emotions” on the lead single Mixed Emotions, and fans nodded their heads in agreement about Steel Wheels.

The 19th studio album from the band marked the end of the group’s corporate ties with Columbia Records, and the tour marked the group’s first two-night stand at B.C. Place performing for 53,000 fans at both shows. With concerts now running around two and a half hours, the band could fit a lot of material in a set, and the two shows were loaded with hits from the 1960s to around the early 1980s.

A few tracks from the new record were included, which has been true of the band’s shows for many decades. Anyone who really wants to hear a new release played live by these legends can’t always get what they want.

Vancouver Province writer Kerry Moore did some sleuthing about where the band dined during its stay and discovered that Gastown’s Kilimanjaro Restaurant was on the menu. The opening sentence in her Nov. 15, 1989 story sings: “Mick likes it hot and spicy.”

4. The Voodoo Lounge lands at B.C. Place in 1994

“Fans make pilgrimage to timeless rock star altar,” declared the Vancouver Province story by reporter Stuart Hunter, who described the band as “Rock ‘n’ roll’s aging lounge lizards.” The Vancouver Sun critic Katherine Monk review shouted “IT WAS A GAS, GAS, GAS: Mick, Keith and the gang improve with rough aging.”

Judging from the lively photo of Keith Richards by photographer Mark Van Manen, the band certainly showcased ample energy at the show which featured a fire-breathing robotic snake, 15-metre high Mardi Gras inflatables of Elvis, goats, a priest and more. The band’s arena productions have continued to boast bigger and brasher sets over the ensuing decades.

Monk’s review quoted a fan stating Mick Jagger’s bum looked better than it did in the 1960s. Folks will have to confirm how it’s shaking 30 years later.

5. Business at the Bridges To Babylon Tour in 1998

In a Vancouver Sun story dated Jan. 28, 1998, writer John Armstrong dived into the spectacular earnings from merchandising on the Bridges To Babylon tour.

While merchandise rivalling or eclipsing ticket proceeds in terms of a tour’s gross revenues is normal today, the Stones were world leaders in making the modern tour march market mayhem. The biggest difference from then and now was that ticket prices for this tour started at $49.50, or about what it now costs to park downtown for the length of a concert.

It’s much easier to afford a $80 T-shirt under those conditions. But one point made by Armstrong still holds true today: “For almost two decades, the Rolling Stones have carried a whiff of finality with them on tour. Each time, part of the draw is that they may finally retire from performing. Concertgoers buy souvenirs anticipating they may never get another chance.”

That was written over a quarter century ago. The band plays on.

— with research from Postmedia librarian Carolyn Soltau