The Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger: 'I'd love to play Hyde Park again'

Frontman says the Rolling Stones' gigs there earlier this month were not a time for reflection

July 25, 2013 11:34


Richard Johnson/NME

The Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger says that he would love to play Hyde Park again.

The band played two headline gigs in the London park earlier this month (July 6 and 13) to mark the close of their 50th anniversary tour. This week, they announced details of a live album recorded during the shows, which is available now on iTunes.

Speaking to NME about the gigs, Jagger says they were not a time to think back to the last time the band played there in 1969 at a huge, free concert shortly after the death of their bandmate Brian Jones. Jagger famously wore white and read from Shelley’s poem Adonaïs, and hundreds of white butterflies were released in Jones' memory. Comparing the 2013 date to 1969, he says: "Well the stage was less crowded. The funny thing is when you see the '69 one it's all your mates onstage sitting down. But this time I saw some of my kids sitting on the side of stage. It's like chalk and cheese really."

He added: "It's in the same place so it's very memorable but when you get out there you don’t really think about it. When you're there and you're getting ready, you take that in. But once you get out there, it's a gig, so you can't be thinking, 'Oh this is where we were last time,' or, 'That's the Post Office tower'. If you do that, you just blow everything. You can't think about reflections or where you are. The only thing you can do is concentrate on your performance."

When asked if he would play Hyde Park again, Jagger replied: "Not this year… I haven't given it any thought and nor has it been offered. But I’d love to do it. It's a great gig. I did enjoy it. It was beautiful… It turned out to be so wonderful with the sun going down behind the park. It was a perfect London evening."

[www.nme.com]

"Not this year"?

I don't think that would have been anyone's expectations...how far in the future is he planning in his head?

Ronnie and Keith will want to play Hyde Park again because they can smoke on stage without the Health Police coming after them.

Sounds like a Euro tour is definately on, just no date for Hyde Park as it hasn't been offered, but other places have? I'm reading between the lines.