Does anybody know the specific reason(s) Mick did not tour North America or Europe in 1988? Was it contractual to not tour (N. America) solo? Fear of weak ticket sales in America? Both?

I think in 1988 I was so desperate to see the Stones live I would have settled for a Jagger solo concert. I wonder if others here feel the same.

Quote
punkfloyd
I think in 1988 I was so desperate to see the Stones live I would have settled for a Jagger solo concert. I wonder if others here feel the same.

there's an old guy down the hallway who feels the same...

Saw Mick in Oct '88 in adelaide and it was great-ya gotta remember the Stones last toured Oz in '73 when I was 11 and I wasn't a stones fan yet

I would LOVE to see a Jagger solo concert. Wish he would have toured Wandering Spirit.

Quote
spsimmons
Wish he would have toured Wandering Spirit.

he did; but it was a rather short tour.

Quote
punkfloyd
Does anybody know the specific reason(s) Mick did not tour North America or Europe in 1988? Was it contractual to not tour (N. America) solo? Fear of weak ticket sales in America? Both?

I think in 1988 I was so desperate to see the Stones live I would have settled for a Jagger solo concert. I wonder if others here feel the same.

Good question, he was about to tour in late 87 (USA ?) before Jeff Beck slammed the door on him during rehearsals in London in August (if memory serves) for offering him peanuts to play. Why that delayed things so much, dunno...probably wanted to warm up in easier markets first...FF to the summer of 1988 when he met with Keith in NYC then to the RnR HOF induction, the Cohl offer, the "let's give it a shot at Eddie Grant's studio"...and the rest is history as they say. Something I didn't remember reading at the time was, according to Rocky Dijon, a rumour about a solo album with Satriani if the writing sessions with Keith had failed...to fulfil the 4 new record deal with CBS.

Quote
JohnnyBGoode

Whoa, for a second there I thought that this was a poor SNL skit.

Quote
JohnnyBGoode

So when the Stones got back together for Steel Wheels in 90 they decided to do this version of HTW, right? IT'S NOT THAT FAR OFF!!!!

Hmmm... the source of the 'Vegas' HTW - must build time machine and stop this from happening... then to track down whoever invented mullets.

was dying for a wandering spirit tour,20-25 shows.would of kicked ass.

Somebody said these were "easy markets", and I'm sure that's what it comes down to. I'm sure he wanted to tour places where he'd be properly adored and generate a lot of excitement.

Australia and Japan guaranteed he would be the center of attention. As lazzzybones said, The Stones had not toured Australia since '73.

And as for Japan...

God that Japan footage is just painful to watch. In 1988 I was near my peak of my devotion to the Stones. (I know weird timing, I was one of the few new teenage fans they picked up in the 80s). For the most part Jagger had never done anything to make him anything other than 100% cool to me. The football pants in 81, the faux-punk look of 78 and all the clown outfits of the 70s. They were all goofy and over the top, but he owned it and always exuded confidence.

Fast forward to 1988 and the video above (which I'd never seen until recently thanks to YouTube) and, well ... the emperor's new clothes.

Been sorta downhill for me ever since.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-01-20 04:14 by punkfloyd.

Quote
punkfloyd
God that Japan footage is just painful to watch. In 1988 I was near my peak of my devotion to the Stones. (I know weird timing, I was one of the few new teenage fans they picked up in the 80s). For the most part Jagger had never done anything to make him anything other than 100% cool to me. The football pants in 81, the faux-punk look of 78 and all the clown outfits of the 70s. They were all goofy and over the top, but he owned it and always exuded confidence.

Fast forward to 1988 and the video above (which I'd never seen until recently thanks to YouTube) and, well ... the emperor's new clothes.

Been sorta downhill for me ever since.

You summed up what I imagine a lot of Stones fans felt at the time - believe me, it wasn't just the new, younger fans. I was still devoted in 88 too, but Jagger had seriously lost some cojones and swagger.
Tough times.

Mick's 1988 solo tours are really the template for every Stones show that followed. For all the knocks Chuck takes, the fact remains he wasn't part of the 1988 tours and all the hallmarks of the so-called Vegas era are there. That "Gimme Shelter" performance from Tokyo is bizarre since Mick is practically guesting on the song instead of fronting the band.

very much of the time and dated. interesting time capsule

Here is one thing that I agree with Keith on 100% if Mick Jagger was going to do a solo tour he should have done a solo tour and not played Rolling Stones songs with another band. Keith had a much better solo show than Mick.

When Mick's Australian tour was announced, some friends & I were considering going (using after school job money to buy tickets). Numerous parents & teachers told us not to waste our money - It should be the Stones or nothing. We followed the advice - vaguely remember that it was shown on TV anyway.

But then now that I'm a full-time working adult, I can't afford Stones tickets anyway

jaggers solo tour was ok but it wasn't the stones and he had a keith stand in, called jimmy rip. each time he was introduced the crowd booed him. i guess jagger would have gotten the hint that everybody wanted to see the keith just as much as jagger himself. and to have a lookalike competitor beside him just didn't cut it.

stones shows way better...

Quote
T&A

Quote
punkfloyd
I think in 1988 I was so desperate to see the Stones live I would have settled for a Jagger solo concert. I wonder if others here feel the same.

there's an old guy down the hallway who feels the same...

Thats me!

The Los Angeles Times has an archived article by Robert Hilburn on its website from 1988, generally about how Japan had become more lucrative for Western pop stars to tour. Even though the article isn't primarily about Mick, he's in a lot of it, and comments about his touring there and why he did so.

link here >>> [articles.latimes.com]

Some highlights from the article regarding why Mick toured in Japan and not America:

[Hilburn writing] "Because the Stones have been feuding and inactive, an impatient Jagger made two solo albums—and toyed last year with the idea of a solo tour in America.

"He said the tour plans were abandoned because of the problems with a band, but there was also speculation in the industry that other reasons were involved.

"One theory was that Jagger was nervous about going on a solo tour because of the disappointing sales performance of the second solo album, `Primitive Cool.'

"A second was that Jagger postponed the dates because it might have irreparably damaged relations with the other Stones, especially guitarist Keith Richards.

"Japan provided the perfect solution to the latter."

Below are direct Mick quotes from the article:

JAGGER: "'Playing Japan made everything seem fresh. It wasn't like going back to all the old places. I think this whole experience helped boost my confidence.'

"It was odd hearing someone of Jagger's stature talk about the need for self-confidence.

"`Well," he said. `The last (solo album) didn't do all that well. I think you have to get out and play if you expect people to pay attention to your records. You can't just put them out and expect everyone to run out and buy them.'"

The link above has more Mick stuff/quotes.

Quote
punkfloyd
God that Japan footage is just painful to watch. In 1988 I was near my peak of my devotion to the Stones. (I know weird timing, I was one of the few new teenage fans they picked up in the 80s). For the most part Jagger had never done anything to make him anything other than 100% cool to me. The football pants in 81, the faux-punk look of 78 and all the clown outfits of the 70s. They were all goofy and over the top, but he owned it and always exuded confidence.

Fast forward to 1988 and the video above (which I'd never seen until recently thanks to YouTube) and, well ... the emperor's new clothes.

Been sorta downhill for me ever since.

Imho you should close your eyes when listening to music. I really don't care how Mick dresses as long as he comes up with good music. Ok in 88 the music matched the clothes!

Quote
gotdablouse

Quote
punkfloyd
Does anybody know the specific reason(s) Mick did not tour North America or Europe in 1988? Was it contractual to not tour (N. America) solo? Fear of weak ticket sales in America? Both?

I think in 1988 I was so desperate to see the Stones live I would have settled for a Jagger solo concert. I wonder if others here feel the same.

Good question, he was about to tour in late 87 (USA ?) before Jeff Beck slammed the door on him during rehearsals in London in August (if memory serves) for offering him peanuts to play. Why that delayed things so much, dunno...probably wanted to warm up in easier markets first...FF to the summer of 1988 when he met with Keith in NYC then to the RnR HOF induction, the Cohl offer, the "let's give it a shot at Eddie Grant's studio"...and the rest is history as they say. Something I didn't remember reading at the time was, according to Rocky Dijon, a rumour about a solo album with Satriani if the writing sessions with Keith had failed...to fulfil the 4 new record deal with CBS.

Not entirely correct -Jagger rehearsed and auditioned in February 1988. It is not entirely sure whether Jeff Beck walked out of the rehearsals, or that he didn't even start them. Jagger toured Japan and Australia, and planned to tour Indonesia as well. Indonesia was scrapped due to safety according to some, but the actual reason was money. Ticket prices simply where too high for Indonesia.

Mathijs

I think he gives the answer himself in the article:
"He said his main goal is to get together with the Stones for another album and tour. Failing that, however, he said he would consider taking this show to America."

But they got together and we got a Stones tour instead.

Quote
Mathijs

Quote
gotdablouse

Quote
punkfloyd
Does anybody know the specific reason(s) Mick did not tour North America or Europe in 1988? Was it contractual to not tour (N. America) solo? Fear of weak ticket sales in America? Both?

I think in 1988 I was so desperate to see the Stones live I would have settled for a Jagger solo concert. I wonder if others here feel the same.

Good question, he was about to tour in late 87 (USA ?) before Jeff Beck slammed the door on him during rehearsals in London in August (if memory serves) for offering him peanuts to play. Why that delayed things so much, dunno...probably wanted to warm up in easier markets first...FF to the summer of 1988 when he met with Keith in NYC then to the RnR HOF induction, the Cohl offer, the "let's give it a shot at Eddie Grant's studio"...and the rest is history as they say. Something I didn't remember reading at the time was, according to Rocky Dijon, a rumour about a solo album with Satriani if the writing sessions with Keith had failed...to fulfil the 4 new record deal with CBS.

Not entirely correct -Jagger rehearsed and auditioned in February 1988. It is not entirely sure whether Jeff Beck walked out of the rehearsals, or that he didn't even start them. Jagger toured Japan and Australia, and planned to tour Indonesia as well. Indonesia was scrapped due to safety according to some, but the actual reason was money. Ticket prices simply where too high for Indonesia.

Mathijs

Right, Indonesia rings a bell now, not the February rehearsals though. I'm positive he rehearsed with Beck though and I'm also pretty sure it was in August 1987 because there was an interview done in London at that time in "Rock & Folk" (or Best ?) for PC where the intervewer said Mick was in a crummy mood apparently because the rehearsals with Beck weren't going well and that he had in fact just slammed the door, but I think he asked Mick who said he didn't want to talk about it. Might still have that somewhere and I think there are some details in a Beck biography I must have somewhere too...

Quote
Rocky Dijon
Mick's 1988 solo tours are really the template for every Stones show that followed. For all the knocks Chuck takes, the fact remains he wasn't part of the 1988 tours and all the hallmarks of the so-called Vegas era are there. That "Gimme Shelter" performance from Tokyo is bizarre since Mick is practically guesting on the song instead of fronting the band.

You nailed it with "guesting" on the song(s). I think that is the feeling I have gotten since 1989. Even the shambolic opening footage of Philly 1981 is more sincere that these slick overproduced shows.

Can you imaging what is going on in Mick's head when Keith @#$%& up the opening to HTW of the solo in SFTD in every tour since 1989.

Quote
JohnnyBGoode

It's obvious to me the only reason Jagger reunited with the Stones are financial ones.

It never made sense for me to go to a Jagger solo show to see him perform a setlist that features about 2/3 Stones material!
And – besides financial reasons – he himself found out that this didn't make sense.
Finally - selling out shows in Japan (especially in the late 80s) has never been a real test. I guess I know why Jagger avoided the important places/markets, i.e. Europe and the US.

Playing with very competent musicians doesn't make sense, is that what Jagger was referring to, or just covering Stones music ?

Quote
T&A
he did; but it was a rather short tour.

Wandering Spirit Tour??? That 1 private show for friends and industry insiders was a tour???

Quote
nick

Quote
T&A
he did; but it was a rather short tour.

Wandering Spirit Tour??? That 1 private show for friends and industry insiders was a tour???

if five shows in 2012 can constitute a tour, then i see no reason to establish a lower limit....