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Stones Final Tour: Reunion, Harlem?
Monday, May 06, 2002
By Roger Friedman
Tomorrow, the Rolling Stones, the greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world, will make a dramatic announcement � or a bunch of them.
The band that formed in 1962 and has kept the world rapt with both their music and their personal lives will descend from a yellow blimp bearing their red-lips logo onto a field in the Bronx. According to my sources, what they will tell the gathered press corps is sure to be newsworthy. In fact, some of the things they won�t say will be just as big.
For one thing, I am told that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are in discussions with retired bandmates Mick Taylor and Bill Wyman to join them for a few dates of this possible final tour .
Then there is a rumor � still unconfirmed � that the band will play a date at the world famous Apollo Theater here in New York. Since the Stones' brand of rock is rooted on the R&B made famous at the Apollo, this is sure to be a landmark event.
�They don�t want to call this a 40th anniversary tour,� says my source, �but I think this is definitely the last one.�
Of course, The Who say that every couple of years � and then reunite as if nothing ever happened.
The Apollo date is interesting because it�s tied to a plan my source says will give fans some rare opportunities to see the legendary band for the last time. �They want to alternate a stadium, arena, club in each city,� my source says. �There�s talk that you could buy a package � tickets to all three. For the club date you would be eligible to go, but seated on a first come, first serve basis.�
This part sounds a little tricky to me, but maybe it would work. Or it could be it�s wishful thinking.
At any rate, the Rolling Stones deserve credit, don�t they? Their last good record was 1981�s Tattoo You, but they�ve managed to extend their career for 22 years, issuing albums directly tied to tours.
The group is now considering a box set for a fall release as well, with five or six new songs. Such a box set would be a masterstroke of diplomacy, because the Stones� recordings fall into two separate categories. Everything through 1971�s �Hot Rocks� album is licensed to Allen Klein�s ABKCO Records. Everything issued after mid-1971 � from Sticky Fingers on � is now at Virgin/EMI after a long life at Atlantic Records. Klein would have to agree to let Virgin have some of his vintage recordings. Of course, everything can be worked out for the right price.
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