I was discussing this with somebody earlier today, and I don't know the answer. But has Keith ever missed a gig? Has he been on stage at every Stones concert since '62, and never missed a show due to illness or not being in a proper state to play? I would imagine if Mick was sick the show would just be cancelled or postponed, and I'm sure that would be the case in more recent years for Keith too (though I've never heard of it) but in the older days before he was just as famous as Mick I could see them going on without him.

Keith has played every single Rolling Stones gig since they first appeared live. I think he is the only Rolling Stone to have done so.

I think Paul Jones replaced Mick for one gig at Ealing Jazz Club sometime in 1962. Brian missed some gigs here and there as we know, but not as many as Keith would like us to think.

Focusing on the 60's, Keith fairly quickly became the engine of the band, so although in theory they could have played without him, I reckon gigs just would have been cancelled had he not been able to play. Did that ever happen during 60's?

I think his run in's with the law during 70's must have had some affect on when and where they could tour during that time though.

A concert at Hampden Park - Glasgow during the Urban Jungle tour was cancelled due to Keith cutting his finger or something? I think that's right?

Others will know more about it...



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2012-02-15 04:30 by His Majesty.

And the whole leg of the ABB tour was postponed due to the head injury.

There was the whole "septic finger" episode in 1990. I think that was the first time that the Stones EVER had to cancel a gig, and it was due to Keith. Please correct me if I'm wrong on that. And no, I'm not counting things like the Cardiff Castle show. Did the Stones EVER pull a George Jones before 1990? (well, even the cancellations in '90 weren't quite like George No-Show Jones, as Keith had a more/less legitimate excuse..)

I do know that they did several gigs in the 60's without Brian Jones (due ostensibly to his asthma) but the didn't cancel. They played as foursome and didnt cancel.

If anyone is aware of gigs that were cancelled/rescheduled prior to 1990, please post!

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His Majesty
Keith has played every single Rolling Stones gig since they first appeared live. I think he is the only Rolling Stone to have done so.

I think Paul Jones replaced Mick for one gig at Ealing Jazz Club on 08 09 1962. Brian missed some gigs here and there as we know, but not as many as Keith would like us to think.

Focusing on the 60's, Keith fairly quickly became the engine of the band, so although in theory they could have played without him, I reckon gigs just would have been cancelled had he not been able to play.

I think his run in's with the law during 70's must have had some affect on when and where they could tour during that time though.

A concert at Hampden Park - Glasgow during the Urban Jungle tour was cancelled due to Keith cutting his finger or something? I think that's right?

Others will know more about it...

No. The Glasgow show (9th July) went ahead (I was there). The 3 shows that followed (Cardiff 11th July and two at Wembley Stadium on the 13th and 14th) were postponed). These were the first shows that I can recall the Stones ever postponed due to illness.

He is indeed the only Stone who has never missed a show (although Mick Taylor never did either) but between perforated fingers (1990), falling off a ladder and cracking ribs (1998) and the Fiji incident (2006) he's probably been more responsible for most postponements. All of them in Europe!

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whitem8
And the whole leg of the ABB tour was postponed due to the head injury.

It wasnt. The tour was meant to start in late May in Spain (27th May in Madrid, I think) and eventually opened on 11th July 2006 in Milan. A few of the postponed shows were rescheduled after that date on a 21-date tour (only 19 shows took place, as two Spanish shows on 14th and 16th August were cancelled when Mick had a throat problem)

The 2006 European tour :

[www.iorr.org]


The following shows were rescheduled due to Keith's injury

Paris 3/6 (moved to 28/7) - a second show due on 2/7 was cancelled
Bergen 6/6 (moved to 1/9)
Horsens 8/6 (moved to 3/9)
Vienna 20/6 (moved to 14/7)
Amsterdam 30/7 (rescheduled to 31/7 and the second show due on 1/8 cancelled)

I think the tickets for the 2nd Paris and Amsterdam shows ended up being valid for the first one.

Shows in Madrid, Barcelona, Brussels, Lyon, Gothenburg, St Petersburg,, Brno, Warsaw and Zagreb were cancelled altogether, although some of those shows did end up being re-sold for the 2007 tour some months later.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2012-02-15 05:03 by Gazza.

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Gazza
[but between perforated fingers (1990), falling off a ladder and cracking ribs (1998) and the Fiji incident (2006) he's probably been more responsible for most postponements. All of them in Europe!

Even with Mick's cold/voice problems?

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Gazza
between perforated fingers (1990), falling off a ladder and cracking ribs (1998) and the Fiji incident (2006) he's probably been more responsible for most postponements. All of them in Europe!

He should be reminded of this when ever he bitterly recalls a certain Mr Jones missing gigs during early 60's. ><



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-02-15 04:45 by His Majesty.

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ryanpow

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Gazza
[but between perforated fingers (1990), falling off a ladder and cracking ribs (1998) and the Fiji incident (2006) he's probably been more responsible for most postponements. All of them in Europe!

Even with Mick's cold/voice problems?

Yes. I dont think Mick missed any shows due to voice problems until '95 or so (or was it 1998, I know that after the 'broken ribs' delay to the Euro tour that year, some shows were pulled soon after the start in Italy and Spain when Mick had a sore throat).

However, Mick getting the flu or a sore throat tends to mean at the worst maybe 2-4 shows being rescheduled or cancelled. Breaking bones etc meant several weeks of shows being affected. Its not just a case of him getting fit again, but when youre playing stadiums in Europe, its logistically VERY difficult to reschedule concerts before the football season starts again. The reason why most of the shows in 2006 ended up being cancelled as opposed to postponed was because it simply wasnt possible to reschedule them.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-02-15 05:02 by Gazza.

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Gazza
I dont think Mick missed any shows due to voice problems until '95 or so (or was it 1998, I know that after the 'broken ribs' delay to the Euro tour that year, some shows were pulled soon after the start in Italy and Spain when Mick had a sore throat).

Milan and Bilbao 1998. There were a few shows in the beginning of 1998 as well (Toronto and Syracuse, I think) that had to be postponed due to Mick's laryngitis. In 1997, they delayed the "Live at the 10 spot" show about two weeks for the same reason. Then there were some postponements in Europe 2003 and in the US at ehe end of 2006. And of course, San Jose 1999.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-02-15 07:24 by erikjjf.

Fun topic. Keith probably has the greatest gap between live absences (which seems to be none) and studio absences (of which there are many).

Thanks for the answers.

So shows cancelled/postponed yes, but they've never done a show with Keith absent, except for possibly in the earliest days. Although that's a maybe.

I certainly wouldn't have expected them to, but my friend who doesn't know much about the Stones except for the music (and armed with some knowledge about Keith's off-stage activities) had asked me how many shows Keith had to miss due to being in no shape to play. I told him I had never heard of a Keith-less Stones concert, but before I made a definitive statement I thought I'd ask the experts.

And I understand how vital Keith is, but I've heard quite a bit of talk that there were times in the past (back before my days) where the Stones were "Mick Jagger and the band" to a lot of the general public, back before Keith became comparably famous. So I wondered if they had ever just been like "The Show Must Go On".

right, as noted above Keith is the only one that the Stones have never played without.

but since we're discussing cancellations/postponements as well:
the dates that didn't take place in Japan in 1973 were ruled out because of Mick's drug busts in 67 and 69.
at that point Mick was the only one with any drug convictions. isn't it strange

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Gazza
but between perforated fingers (1990), falling off a ladder and cracking ribs (1998) and the Fiji incident (2006) he's probably been more responsible for most postponements. All of them in Europe!

so what is the actual number of shows rescheduled due to Keith's assorted misadventures - 8?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-02-15 09:36 by with sssoul.

What about Wyman? I don't think he missed a gig from the day he started.

Mathijs

are we talking physically missed a show?
I think we could make a strong argument there were times in 75/76 when he wasn't 'all there'.

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Mathijs
What about Wyman? I don't think he missed a gig from the day he started.

Mathijs

Bill was off and on in december 62/january 63, and then (sorry to break it to you! :E)
in the 90s he quit. so he's missed a bunch



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-02-15 11:09 by with sssoul.

The Stones would never carry on with a show if Keith couldn't be there. He is the heart and soul of the band (along with Charlie). To many people, The Rolling Stones are Mick and Keith. A show without Keith is practically illegal. It would be like The Beatles performing without John or Paul onstage.

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with sssoul

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Mathijs
What about Wyman? I don't think he missed a gig from the day he started.

Mathijs

Bill was off and on for several months, and then quit. so he's missed a bunch

Off and on in the early 60s? Yeah he still misses every gig.

Most likely Keith didn't miss any gig in the early days. I mean at the time when the group wasn't so fixed yet and they could have substitutes (even like with Jagger mentioned here, but I don't know that for sure). But I recall reading somewhere - some Keith bio maybe? - that Keith's mother said that Keith would go to the every gig and rehearsal no matter how ill he was - namely, his position in the band wasn't so sure yet. He was scared if he would not turn up, there will be another guy, and he will be not missed...

- Doxa



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-02-15 10:55 by Doxa.

Keith never missed a show because there are no Stones without him. But the Stones certainly started about a thousand shows three hours late because they were waiting for Keith to score, show up, or wake up.

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Mathijs
What about Wyman? I don't think he missed a gig from the day he started.

Mathijs

But he's missed since the day stopped.

But Bill has turned up for at least two shows since he left, he just didn't play !

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with sssoul
right, as noted above Keith is the only one that the Stones have never played without.

but since we're discussing cancellations/postponements as well:
the dates that didn't take place in Japan in 1973 were ruled out because of Mick's drug busts in 67 and 69.
at that point Mick was the only one with any drug convictions. isn't it strange

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Gazza
but between perforated fingers (1990), falling off a ladder and cracking ribs (1998) and the Fiji incident (2006) he's probably been more responsible for most postponements. All of them in Europe!

so what is the actual number of shows rescheduled due to Keith's assorted misadventures - 8?

Just rescheduled?

3 in 1990
5 in 2006
and the first 3 weeks of the 1998 tour - [www.iorr.org]

'Cancelled' is another matter - several of the 1998 and 2006 shows were cancelled.

As I recall, in 1998 they managed to reschedule a few of the postponed shows due to a) the UK tour being postponed for tax reasons and b) several of the French shows being cancelled due to poor ticket sales due to the World Cup.

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on what shows you have tickets for), the Stones are more likely to reschedule a show postponed due to ill-health in place of a show which isnt selling very well.

The Tshirts at Berlin in 1998 had the original date on, not the August date

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with sssoul
but since we're discussing cancellations/postponements as well:
the dates that didn't take place in Japan in 1973 were ruled out because of Mick's drug busts in 67 and 69.
at that point Mick was the only one with any drug convictions. isn't it strange

Good Call

He's missed alot of notes over the years.

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rocker1
There was the whole "septic finger" episode in 1990. I think that was the first time that the Stones EVER had to cancel a gig, and it was due to Keith. Please correct me if I'm wrong on that. And no, I'm not counting things like the Cardiff Castle show. Did the Stones EVER pull a George Jones before 1990? (well, even the cancellations in '90 weren't quite like George No-Show Jones, as Keith had a more/less legitimate excuse..)

I do know that they did several gigs in the 60's without Brian Jones (due ostensibly to his asthma) but the didn't cancel. They played as foursome and didnt cancel.

If anyone is aware of gigs that were cancelled/rescheduled prior to 1990, please post!

The Cardiff castle '73 (& Pembroke castle - same day) were both cancelled by the respective county councils - my sister had a ticket for Cardiff - the Cardiff show that was postponed was the 1990 show.....put back from Wednesday 11.7.1990 to Monday 16.7.1990 - as you say - because of the septic finger.............I went to that one........



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-02-16 00:25 by EddieByword.

...and I didnt go to the Dublin show scheduled for that same day (16th July) because they sold only 5,000 tickets before cancelling the gig using some pathetic excuse about being unable to ship their equipment across the Irish Sea in time.

Even Ronnie made a cyncical quip about the 'reason' when he played his show at Dublin's Vicar Street in 2001.

That finger business in 1990, I actually turned up to wembley to be greated with "Rolliong stones Concerty cancelled" on a massive electronic board over Wembley. I have never seen so many depressed people in my life, myself included.

He actually cut his finger on a guitar string.

I think that Bill Wyman also never missed a show since he started except in the early days when he was still working. I wonder if that counts. Brian Jones obviously missed some shows where he did not turn up for whatever reasons. Mick Taylor never missed a show.

For me, missing a show means to miss it unannounced or because of illness, not because you have to work when the band still does not make enough money to allow members to concentrate on the music.

I often aked myself exactly when the Stones were at the point where they were able to live as musicians only.

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stonesdan60
The Stones would never carry on with a show if Keith couldn't be there. He is the heart and soul of the band (along with Charlie). To many people, The Rolling Stones are Mick and Keith. A show without Keith is practically illegal. It would be like The Beatles performing without John or Paul onstage.

I agree but I remember when the wembley show was cancelled I got home a saw a 'fan' on the news complaining about the cancellation saying they 'should have got another guitarist'!