ROCKS OFF SETLISTS

THE "ROCKS OFF" ROLLING STONES SETLISTS PAGE

BY GARY GALBRAITH (with Gerardo Liedo)

1973 EUROPEAN TOUR

Empire Pool, Wembley, London – 9^th September 1973

1973 European Tour Overview

With ‘Goat’s Head Soup’ still fresh in the bowl, the Stones launched a seven weeklong European Tour to promote it, taking in shows in England, Scotland, Switzerland. Austria, West Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, and the Netherlands. A planned show at Cardiff (and then Pembroke) Castle in Wales on September 22^nd was cancelled as the local council wouldn’t grant a licence. Conspicuously absent from the itinerary was France, due to ongoing narcotics possession charges involving Keith. During the course of the tour, he would be banned from entering the country for two years. Tickets for one of the two concerts in Brussels on 17^th October were sold exclusively to citizens of France, so the fans in that country didn’t miss out entirely.

The line-up was fleshed out with the addition of a horn section and Billy Preston (who also opened the shows with his own band) on various keyboard instruments replacing Nicky Hopkins on piano. The tour wasn’t without incident personnel-wise as a bit of overzealous partying by Bobby Keys in Rotterdam resulted in him missing the show and being banished by Jagger from the Stones camp for several years, save for the occasional live cameo. Most notably this tour marked the final shows with Mick Taylor as a band member before he left the band in December 1974. The band would never quite sound the same again.

Goats Head Soup may well be a considerable step down in quality from the four albums that preceded it (your mileage may vary) but the shows on this tour brought the new material to life in magnificent fashion and is a serious contender for the title of ‘Greatest Stones Tour Ever’. The multiple tracks taken from shows in London, Newcastle and Brussels and mixed for distribution to various radio stations in Europe and King Biscuit Flower Hour are the sources for multiple bootlegs from the tour which are essential listening, the most famous of which is the amazing ‘Brussels Affair’ which largely consists of the matinee show from the Belgian capital plus a few songs from the final London concert. As is normal for the time period, audience recordings vary greatly in sound quality, but some of the more noteworthy picks include the opening night in Vienna (featuring a couple of new songs which were soon dropped from the set), Birmingham 1^st show and especially the early show from London on 8^th September, which is not only great quality for 1973 but one of the greatest performances of the band’s career. Supposedly one of the London shows was filmed for use by the BBC but never aired. If that’s the case, not including it on the ‘Goats Head Soup 2020’ reissue was a huge opportunity missed.

In November 2011, the Stones launched a series of six archive live download releases to tie in with their upcoming 50^th anniversary, the first of which was an official release of ‘The Brussels Affair ‘73. Rather than simply make the much bootlegged first show available, the download consists of a mix of both shows, resulting in some tracks being circulated for the first time. It’s a superb release – probably the definitive official document of the band’s performing career.

Number of shows – 42

Number of shows in circulation – 34.

Recommended shows – all of the circulating soundboard/radio recordings plus the audience recordings of London 8^th September (early show), Vienna and the first show in Birmingham.

Personnel - Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Mick Taylor, Charlie Watts, and Bill Wyman with Billy Preston (keyboards), Bobby Keys & Trevor Lawrence (sax/percussion), Steve Madaio (trumpet/trombone) and occasionally Ian Stewart (piano). On some shows, Manuel Kellough added congas on a few songs and Marshall Chess contributed trumpet on the final song.

Concert Listing

PART 1 of 2: 1^st to 26^th September

No.	Date	City	State/Country	Venue	Notes
15	1-Sep	Vienna	Austria	Stadthalle
16	3-Sep	Mannheim	West Germany	Eisstadion
17	4-Sep	Cologne	West Germany	Sporthalle	Early Show
18	4-Sep	Cologne	West Germany	Sporthalle	Late Show
19	7-Sep	London	United Kingdom	Empire Pool, Wembley
20	8-Sep	London	United Kingdom	Empire Pool, Wembley	Early Show
21	8-Sep	London	United Kingdom	Empire Pool, Wembley	Late Show
22	9-Sep	London	United Kingdom	Empire Pool, Wembley
23	11-Sep	Manchester	United Kingdom	King’s Hall, Belle Vue
24	12-Sep	Manchester	United Kingdom	King’s Hall, Belle Vue
25	13-Sep	Newcastle	United Kingdom	City Hall	Early Show
26	13-Sep	Newcastle	United Kingdom	City Hall	Late Show
27	16-Sep	Glasgow	United Kingdom	Apollo Theatre
28	17-Sep	Glasgow	United Kingdom	Apollo Theatre
29	19-Sep	Birmingham	United Kingdom	Odeon Theatre	Early Show
30	19-Sep	Birmingham	United Kingdom	Odeon Theatre	Late Show
31	23-Sep	Innsbruck	Austria	Olympiahalle
32	25-Sep	Berne	Switzerland	Festhalle
33	26-Sep	Berne	Switzerland	Festhalle	Early Show
34	26-Sep	Berne	Switzerland	Festhalle	Late Show

	1-Sep	3-Sep	4-Sep (early show)	4-Sep (late show)
	Vienna, Austria	Mannheim, West Germany	Cologne, West Germany	Cologne, West Germany

1	Brown Sugar	Brown Sugar	Brown Sugar	Brown Sugar	1
2	Bitch	Bitch	Gimme Shelter	Gimme Shelter	2
3	Gimme Shelter	Gimme Shelter	Happy	Happy	3
4	Happy	Happy	Tumbling Dice	Tumbling Dice	4
5	Tumbling Dice	Tumbling Dice	Star Star	Star Star	5
6	100 Years Ago	100 Years Ago	Angie	Angie	6
7	Star Star	Star Star	You Can’t Always Get What You Want	You Can’t Always Get What You Want	7
8	Angie	Angie	Dancin’ With Mr. D	Dancin’ With Mr. D	8
9	Sweet Virginia	Sweet Virginia	Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)	Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)	9
10	You Can’t Always Get What You Want	You Can’t Always Get What You Want	Midnight Rambler	Midnight Rambler	10
11	Dancin’ With Mr. D	Dancin’ With Mr. D	Silver Train	Silver Train	11
12	Midnight Rambler	Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)	Honky Tonk Women	Honky Tonk Women	12
13	Silver Train	Midnight Rambler	All Down The Line	All Down The Line	13
14	Honky Tonk Women	Honky Tonk Women	Rip This Joint	Rip This Joint	14
15	All Down The Line	All Down The Line	Jumpin’ Jack Flash	Jumpin’ Jack Flash	15
16	Rip This Joint	Rip This Joint	Street Fighting Man	Street Fighting Man	16
17	Jumpin’ Jack Flash	Jumpin’ Jack Flash			17
18	Street Fighting Man	Street Fighting Man			18

	Live debuts for songs 6-8, 11 and 13	Live debut for song 12	This recording has been listed by some	Unverified setlist.
			as coming from the late show on the	No circulating recording.
			same date.	Possible setlist based on the pattern
				of setlists around this time.
				Please see comments for early show.

	7-Sep	8-Sep (early show)	8-Sep (late show)	9-Sep
	London, United Kingdom	London, United Kingdom	London, United Kingdom	London, United Kingdom

1	Brown Sugar	Brown Sugar	Brown Sugar	Brown Sugar	1
2	Gimme Shelter	Gimme Shelter	Gimme Shelter	Gimme Shelter	2
3	Happy	Happy	Happy	Happy	3
4	Tumbling Dice	Tumbling Dice	Tumbling Dice	Tumbling Dice	4
5	Star Star	Star Star	Star Star	Star Star	5
6	Angie	Angie	Angie	Angie	6
7	You Can’t Always Get What You Want	You Can’t Always Get What You Want	You Can’t Always Get What You Want	You Can’t Always Get What You Want	7
8	Dancin’ With Mr. D	Dancin’ With Mr. D	Dancin’ With Mr. D	Dancin’ With Mr. D	8
9	Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)	Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)	Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)	Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)	9
10	Midnight Rambler	Midnight Rambler	Midnight Rambler	Midnight Rambler	10
11	Silver Train	Honky Tonk Women	Honky Tonk Women	Honky Tonk Women	11
12	Honky Tonk Women	All Down The Line	All Down The Line	All Down The Line	12
13	All Down The Line	Rip This Joint	Rip This Joint	Rip This Joint	13
14	Rip This Joint	Jumpin’ Jack Flash	Jumpin’ Jack Flash	Jumpin’ Jack Flash	14
15	Jumpin’ Jack Flash	Street Fighting Man	Street Fighting Man	Street Fighting Man	15
16	Street Fighting Man				16

				Songs 2-3, 8-10 and 15 aired on
				various European and US FM radio
				broadcasts taken from the tour.

	11-Sep	12-Sep	13-Sep (early show)	13-Sep (late show)
	Manchester, United Kingdom	Manchester, United Kingdom	Newcastle, United Kingdom	Newcastle, United Kingdom

1	Brown Sugar	Brown Sugar	Brown Sugar	Brown Sugar	1
2	Gimme Shelter	Gimme Shelter	Gimme Shelter	Gimme Shelter	2
3	Happy	Happy	Happy	Happy	3
4	Tumbling Dice	Tumbling Dice	Tumbling Dice	Tumbling Dice	4
5	Star Star	Star Star	Star Star	Star Star	5
6	Angie	Angie	Dancin’ With Mr. D	Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)	6
7	You Can’t Always Get What You Want	You Can’t Always Get What You Want	Angie	Angie	7
8	Dancin’ With Mr. D	Dancin’ With Mr. D	You Can’t Always Get What You Want	You Can’t Always Get What You Want	8
9	Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)	Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)	Midnight Rambler	Midnight Rambler	9
10	Midnight Rambler	Midnight Rambler	Honky Tonk Women	Honky Tonk Women	10
11	Honky Tonk Women	Honky Tonk Women	All Down The Line	All Down The Line	11
12	All Down The Line	All Down The Line	Rip This Joint	Rip This Joint	12
13	Rip This Joint	Rip This Joint	Jumpin’ Jack Flash	Jumpin’ Jack Flash	13
14	Jumpin’ Jack Flash	Jumpin’ Jack Flash	Street Fighting Man	Street Fighting Man	14
15	Street Fighting Man	Street Fighting Man			15

	Unverified setlist.	None of the circulating recordings	Songs 1,5 and 7 aired on	Unverified setlist.
	No circulating recording.	include song 15.	various European and US FM radio	No circulating recording.
	Possible setlist based on the pattern		broadcasts taken from the tour.	Possible setlist based on the pattern
	of setlists around this time.			of setlists around this time.

	16-Sep	17-Sep	19-Sep (early show)	19-Sep (late show)
	Glasgow, United Kingdom	Glasgow, United Kingdom	Birmingham, United Kingdom	Birmingham, United Kingdom

1	Brown Sugar	Brown Sugar	Brown Sugar	Brown Sugar	1
2	Gimme Shelter	Gimme Shelter	Gimme Shelter	Gimme Shelter	2
3	Happy	Happy	Happy	Happy	3
4	Tumbling Dice	Tumbling Dice	Tumbling Dice	Tumbling Dice	4
5	Star Star	Star Star	Star Star	Star Star	5
6	Dancin’ With Mr. D	Dancin’ With Mr. D	Dancin’ With Mr. D	Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)	6
7	Angie	Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)	Angie	Angie	7
8	You Can’t Always Get What You Want	Angie	You Can’t Always Get What You Want	You Can’t Always Get What You Want	8
9	Midnight Rambler	You Can’t Always Get What You Want	Midnight Rambler	Midnight Rambler	9
10	Honky Tonk Women	Midnight Rambler	Honky Tonk Women	Honky Tonk Women	10
11	All Down The Line	Honky Tonk Women	All Down The Line	All Down The Line	11
12	Rip This Joint	All Down The Line	Rip This Joint	Rip This Joint	12
13	Jumpin’ Jack Flash	Rip This Joint	Jumpin’ Jack Flash	Jumpin’ Jack Flash	13
14	Street Fighting Man	Jumpin’ Jack Flash	Street Fighting Man	Street Fighting Man	14
15		Street Fighting Man			15

				Unverified setlist.
				No circulating recording.
				Possible setlist based on the pattern
				of setlists around this time.

	23-Sep	25-Sep	26-Sep (early show)	26-Sep (late show)
	Innsbruck, Austria	Berne, Switzerland	Berne, Switzerland	Berne, Switzerland

1	Brown Sugar	Brown Sugar	Brown Sugar	Brown Sugar	1
2	Gimme Shelter	Gimme Shelter	Gimme Shelter	Gimme Shelter	2
3	Happy	Happy	Happy	Happy	3
4	Tumbling Dice	Tumbling Dice	Tumbling Dice	Tumbling Dice	4
5	Star Star	Star Star	Star Star	Star Star	5
6	Dancin’ With Mr. D	Dancin’ With Mr. D	Dancin’ With Mr. D	Dancin’ With Mr. D	6
7	Angie	Angie	Angie	Angie	7
8	You Can’t Always Get What You Want	You Can’t Always Get What You Want	You Can’t Always Get What You Want	You Can’t Always Get What You Want	8
9	Midnight Rambler	Midnight Rambler	Midnight Rambler	Midnight Rambler	9
10	Honky Tonk Women	Honky Tonk Women	Honky Tonk Women	Honky Tonk Women	10
11	All Down The Line	All Down The Line	All Down The Line	All Down The Line	11
12	Rip This Joint	Rip This Joint	Rip This Joint	Rip This Joint	12
13	Jumpin’ Jack Flash	Jumpin’ Jack Flash	Jumpin’ Jack Flash	Jumpin’ Jack Flash	13
14	Street Fighting Man	Street Fighting Man	Street Fighting Man	Street Fighting Man	14
15					15

	Unverified setlist.
	No circulating recording.
	Possible setlist based on the pattern
	of setlists around this time.

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