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| Monkey Woman |
From http://www.rollingstones.com
March 06, 2003
Rolling Stones and their Western decadence destined for forbidden city
The Sunday Herald reports:
News that the ageing rockers are to play China was greeted with delight, indifference and scepticism, finds Hector Mackenzie in Beijing
In a week that saw China having to cope with the aftermath of an earthquake that killed more than 265 people, two explosions in its most prestigious universities and a state visit by Fidel Castro, events in Iraq were finally forced down the domestic news agenda. The chances then that a couple of old rockers past their sell-by date could grab a share of the headlines would normally be pretty slim.
Unless, that is, they happen to be Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, against all the odds still rocking after 40 years. Rumours about a gig in China's capital city had circulated for months last year before apparently dying a death.
It seemed that the closest fans in the mainland would get to the Forty Licks World Tour would be two gigs in Hong Kong, where premium tickets were being snapped up for a cool �230 . Then came confirmation of two mainland gigs: one in free-wheeling Shanghai on April 1 and the other in the real heart of power, Beijing, three days later.
Jagger had declared at the launch of the Rolling Stones' latest juggernaut (the band's 150-strong production team travels in its own 747 along with 30 tonnes of equipment) in New York last year that a tour taking in Asia was meaningless without a date in the world's most populous country.
Although another popular partnership, George Michael and Andrew Ridgley, managed to storm the barricades of Communist China more than 15 years ago with pop duo Wham!, it seemed that opening the gates to Jagger and Richards, considered by many here as Western decadence incarnate, was taking things just a step too far.
Could the fact that the grandfathers of rock both turn 60 in this, the year of the goat, have any significance? What harm can they possibly do? Granted, it might prove necessary to keep an eye on that young scamp Ronnie Wood, 55, on rhythm guitar. But there can be no worries about the band's coolest member, Charlie Watts: when he's not behind the drum kit, the 61-year-old is more likely to be checking out the capital's burgeoning jazz scene than raising hell in its nightclubs.
Indeed, there's an air of inevitability about it all. If you can wander from historic Tiananmen Square to go and grab a Big Mac and before sipping a latte at a Starbucks inside the Forbidden City, why on earth shouldn't you also check out the world's greatest rock'n'roll band? Since entry into the World Trade Organisation , China is very much a player on the world stage. Car ownership is at an all-time high, Beijing is racing ahead with preparations for the 2008 Olympics and the drive is on to develop the impoverished western regions (in which, incidentally, last Monday's earthquake struck.)
Jagger might even have found leaders here nodding in agreement: a tour of Asia would be pointless without playing China. The Stones, who generally don't get out of bed for a fee of less than $1 million (�656,000), have reportedly made an exception here to make the sums all add up.
Ironically, while they're playing in a nation of 1.3 billion people, a very substantial portion of which would love to see them play, the Beijing gig in the Capital Gymnasium will have a capacity of around 7000. Suggestions that tickets will be reserved for those with connections and the government elite have been scotched by Stones insiders who say a way will be found to ensure real fans get hold of some at a nominal price.
That said, the cheapest ticket will go for 600 yuan -- about �50. That's a month's income for some here.
Confirmation of the gig has been greeted with a mixture of excitement, scepticism and indifference. Music lover Tian Yan was barely out of nappies when Jagger and Co started hitting the headlines in the 1960s. She said: 'Everyone has heard of them. To be honest, I would be more excited if it was 30 years ago and they were playing their best stuff at their peak. And if I could afford to buy a ticket.'
The city's massive ex-pat community takes in everyone from breadline students to high-rolling businessmen and well-rewarded embassy staff. German chef Uwe Faust's reaction was: 'I would love to get hold of tickets. Any idea how?'
Australian journalist Paul Gates wryly commented: 'They were old when I was young and now I'm getting old myself. Can the boys still rock? Because the tickets will be pricey, only true fans and people who want to see a bit of history will turn up. I may be among them.'
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| Monkey Woman |
And from Mickjagger.com message board:
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Rolling Stones to Mark 40th Anniversary
Mar 6, 2:04 PM (ET)
BEIJING (AP) - The Rolling Stones are coming to China to celebrate their 40th anniversary, but most Chinese don't know Mick, concert organizers said Thursday.
Until this year, not a single disc by the Stones and their lead singer, Mick Jagger, had ever been officially released in the world's most populous nation, said Dai Renzhi, a spokeswoman for EMI Records China. The company released "40 Licks," the Stones' compilation album, in China earlier this year.
Dai spoke at a news conference in Beijing to publicize the band's plan to play their first-ever China shows in April, with one performance in Shanghai and one in Beijing.
Sales of the CD so far have been "good," Dai said, giving no sales figures.
"In the West, their shows sell out in hours or a few days," said Chen Jixin, president of concert organizer Beijing Time New Century Entertainment Co. "But very few people
here can name the band members or their best songs."
The British rock band's management was "puzzled" when organizers told them they needed time to educate Chinese music fans about the Stones and time to promote their tour dates, Chen said.
Still, other Stones music is widely available in China. Illegal editions of their compilation album, "Hot Rocks 1964-1971," for example, sell for 10 yuan ($1.20) in
several stores across the Chinese capital.
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| fmk438j |
quote:
Monkey Woman wrote:
Until this year, not a single disc by the Stones and their lead singer, Mick Jagger, had ever been officially released in the world's most populous nation
Imagine if with the capitalisation (is this the right word?) of China the stones fanbase across the country explodes.
With over a billion people, maybe the stones will sell tens of millions as the fans take up the back catalogue.
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| Monkey Woman |
You're dead right, fmk! I'm sure it features on Mick's list of Things To Do for 2003. 
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| Prodigal Son |
If they're wondering what the Stones will bring to a Chinese fanbase that's waited 30 years, then look out. They're gonna be blown away. The Stones truly will have the hugest fanbase in the world if they conquer the millions and millions and millions and... uh, well, yeah millions of Chinese fans. This is gonna be a cool thing for the Stones to do. |
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| F505 |
The Chinese might not know Mick but Jagger do know the Chinese girls: Chinese girls, they're so gentle- they're really such a tease. You never know quite what they're cookin' inside those silky sleeves.... |
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