Los Angeles


Bobby wailing away on Brown Sugar in LA with the Stones!



LOS ANGELES, CA - 1981: Mick Jagger, lead singer of the British rock band The Rolling Stones, performs in front of 100,000 people during a 1981 Los Angeles, California, concert at the Los Angeles Coliseum. (George Rose)






---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Rock promoter, Jim Rissmiller, poses in the Los Angeles Coliseum during a 1981 Los Angeles, California, photo portrait session to promote a Rolling Stones concert. George Rose



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-02-25 22:05 by exilestones.

US magazine Special Report (part 1)

.






























all photos are from Philadelphia



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-02-26 02:51 by exilestones.

Funny how pale Mick was at the start of the tour. He had a pretty good tan going later in the tour.

Charlie wore the same tshirt in most concerts of 1981 tour. He should buy lots of it...

Loved seeing those photos from the US magazine. I had that issue up until a basement flood destroyed it about a year ago. Also loved seeing the photos from the infamous Philly #1 concert as it was my second Stones show, having first seen them at the same venue in 1978. It wasn't their best performance by far but it sure was fun!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-02-26 15:35 by HonkeyTonkFlash.

Quote
Kennedy
Funny how pale Mick was at the start of the tour. He had a pretty good tan going later in the tour.

I think he had too much pancake makeup on. In some pictures his face appears much whiter than the rest of him!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-02-26 15:39 by HonkeyTonkFlash.

Quote
HonkeyTonkFlash
It wasn't their best performance by far but it sure was fun!

That described basically the entire 1981 tour.

Quote
HonkeyTonkFlash

Quote
Kennedy
Funny how pale Mick was at the start of the tour. He had a pretty good tan going later in the tour.

I think he had too much pancake makeup on. In some pictures his face appears much whiter than the rest of him!

I actually think it's sunblock on his face.

Quote
Kennedy

Quote
HonkeyTonkFlash

Quote
Kennedy
Funny how pale Mick was at the start of the tour. He had a pretty good tan going later in the tour.

I think he had too much pancake makeup on. In some pictures his face appears much whiter than the rest of him!

I actually think it's sunblock on his face.

Hmmmm....makes sense!

HonkeyTonkFlash wrote:

"Loved seeing those photos from the US magazine. I had that issue up until a basement flood destroyed it about a year ago. Also loved seeing the photos from the infamous
Philly #1 concert as it was my second Stones show, having first seen them at the same venue in 1978. It wasn't their best performance by far but it sure was fun!"




I loved the Philly shows in '81. I always love the tour openers!


Look at me!



I had lost my copy of this magazine too. I thought it was the best tour document from 1981.

Was this the show where Ronnie lost his ring in to the audience and someone gave it back? Was this the show where Keith forgot the chords to Let It Bleed and Ronnie had to show him the chords in front of the the audience.

Keith forgetting the chords was my friend Lee's favorite part, "The greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World forgets how to play their own song!"

Was this the show where we got Tops, Mona and Down the Road Apiece? Maybe I'm mixing the first two shows together?

I'm glad we have great soundboard recordings from these shows. The 1981 shows were much different then much of the tour, playing faster like 1978, more guitar solos (Black Limo) since there was no saxophone yet. You Can't Always Get What You Want sounding more like Love You Live than Hampton 1981.

I don't get why people slam the '81 tour. I love it. A few tracks from Still Life are some of my favorites, Let's Spend the Night Together, Under My Thumb, Time is on my Side, Go-Go.

The King Biscuit had some great tracks too. I think they were Still Life left overs.


US magazine Special Report (part 2)


















If anyone has any 1981 or 1982 photos of any Stones concerts they took, especially with themselves at the concert, etc... Please post them in this thread. Thank you.

Exilestones wrote" I had lost my copy of this magazine too. I thought it was the best tour document from 1981.

Was this the show where Ronnie lost his ring in to the audience and someone gave it back? Was this the show where Keith forgot the chords to Let It Bleed and Ronnie had to show him the chords in front of the the audience.

Keith forgetting the chords was my friend Lee's favorite part, "The greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World forgets how to play their own song!"

Was this the show where we got Tops, Mona and Down the Road Apiece? Maybe I'm mixing the first two shows together?

I'm glad we have great soundboard recordings from these shows. The 1981 shows were much different then much of the tour, playing faster like 1978, more guitar solos (Black Limo) since there was no saxophone yet. You Can't Always Get What You Want sounding more like Love You Live than Hampton 1981.

I don't get why people slam the '81 tour. I love it. A few tracks from Still Life are some of my favorites, Let's Spend the Night Together, Under My Thumb, Time is on my Side, Go-Go.

The King Biscuit had some great tracks too. I think they were Still Life left overs.'

Yes, I do remember Ronnie losing his ring! And we got Tops but not the other two you mentioned. I also remember LIB falling apart in the first few bars but can't be sure who was playing the wrong chords. I loved the way they laughed it off and carried on! Those days - for me - were the good old days of the Stones playing without a net! I still love them now but I prefer the tours where they weren't afraid of taking risks in front of 80,000 or more people; that took some balls!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-02-27 18:23 by HonkeyTonkFlash.

PHILADELPHIA







....................................................................................................................







.................................................................................................................................................




.................................





....................................................................................................................................................................


Lynn Goldsmith September 25, 1981



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-03-01 06:28 by exilestones.

PHILADELPHIA






Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 2019-08-18 14:50 by exilestones.

PHILADELPHIA

..........................






............................................................................................

Lynn Goldsmith September 26, 1981



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-03-01 07:21 by exilestones.

.



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 2019-08-18 14:50 by exilestones.

=========PHILADELPHIA




...........................Chuck.Pulan...........................................


........................




.............






.................................................................................................................................................................................




..................

Clem Murray September 25, 1981


...................................................Allan Tannenbaum September 25, 1981..............................................................






........................... .................................. .................................






===============================================================================================================================================================================================================
===============================================================================================================================================================================================================



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 2019-08-18 14:53 by exilestones.

.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2019-08-18 14:54 by exilestones.

PHILLY PRESS


1981 Philadelphia Press Conference


-----------


Jagger stops by to visit with fans who rushed down to JFK Stadium for the Rolling Stones 1981 Tour announcement and press conference. Originally, the event was scheduled for Philadelphia's iconic Indepence Hall but was quickly changed after the news broke.

Chuck Pulin


John Bloodwell, former director of promotions for WMMR, is pictured with Mick Jagger while recording a promo for the radio station at JFK Stadium.
Jagger flubbed and stuttered his way through the promo after forgetting his words. The unedited spot was broadcast on WMMR, mistakes and all. For anyone who heard it, this is what the recording session looked like.

Bloodwell wanted a copy of this photo, but he didn’t want to pay the cost of printing and shipping. Rather than foot the bill myself, I just forgot about him., reasoning why should I lose money on this deal. The total cost was about $10, including shipping.

When I learned that John Bloodwell died some years later, I regretted not giving him the photo.
It would have lifted his spirits everytime he looked at that picture with Mick Jagger.


---------------


This photo appeared in US magazine (AS SEEN BELOW IN MAGAZINE) (published by Jann Wenner [Rolling Stone] a weekly competitor of People magazine) in 1981.


Mick Jagger poses with Press photographers at JFK Stadium during his visit to announce the Rolling Stones’ 1981 “Tattoo You” Tour itinerary. Photographers: 1 Akira

Suwa, Philadelphia Inquirer; 2 Scott Weiner, Retna; 3 April Saul, Philadelphia Inquirer; 4 Rusty Kennedy, Associated Press; 5 Roger Barone, South Philadelphia American; 6 DeMarco,

Independent Free Lancer. Photo: This photo appeared in US MAGAZINE, courtesy © Denis O’Keefe, Philadelphia Daily News.

Rolling Stones singer, Mick Jagger, talks with Electric Factory Concerts promoter, Larry Magid, center, as Philadelphia City Representative, Dick Doran, left, observes. Jagger held a press conference in JFK Stadium to announce the Stones’ 1981 “Tattoo You” tour itinerary. Jagger began his day in Boston and the morning was documented by Gil Markel













==============================================================================================================================================================================================================









US magazine Special Report (part 3)

























========================================================================================================================================================================================



=======================================================================================================================================================================================================



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2019-08-18 14:58 by exilestones.

RE/P Files: Showco Doing The Audio For The Rolling Stones At The LA Coliseum
by Robert Carr

From the archives of the late, great Recording Engineer/Producer (RE/P) magazine, this feature provides an in-depth look at the sound reinforcement systems assembled for the Rolling Stones

on tour in 1981. The text is presented unaltered, along with the original graphics. As a point of comparison, go

(http://www.prosoundweb.com/article//50_counting_sonic_truth_for_the_rolling_stones_latest_tour/) to read about the systems for the Stones tour earlier this year.

It’s safe to say that the recently completed Rolling Stones tour of America was far from being ordinary.

This was the legendary Rolling Stones who, without question, have been the premier rock and roll band for generations of teenagers, and constant companions to the present middle-class

America since the band’s initial introductions during the rebellious, formative years of the Sixties.

The Stones are the super-group that everybody thought rode to fame and fortune on the coat tails of the Beatles, but who are still going stronger than over 11 years after the Fab Four’s

disintegration in 1970. Today, the Rolling Stones comprise one of the few remaining acts whose albums go Gold and/or Platinum on, or before, the day of their release.

Legend has it that nothing connected with the Rolling Stones is normal, or matter-of-fact. The band members are consummate showmen both on and off
the stage, and everywhere they go a certain aura of craziness exists. R-e/p’s brief encounter with Rolling Stonedom proved educational, for sure, but was not without its frustrating aspects

as well.

Apart from maybe one day, Showco had no rehearsal time with the band prior to going out on the road. So much equipment had to be transported, set up, and torn down, that “relaxing” was a

forgotten word on this tour. Equipment checks and system tunings were reduced to a minimum, if not eliminated altogether. Ninety to 100,000 fans flooded the larger outdoor venues show after

show. And, in light of all that, the Stones played the largest dollar-grossing tour in the history of rock and roll.

Showco was chosen to not only to provide sound reinforcement for the tour, but also to contract most of the other services, such as lighting, staging, set construction, trucks, buses, and

so on. Since all the outdoor shows were done primarily in massive arenas where no stages exist, United Production Services, which specializes in outdoor shows, was called in to supply the

scaffolding, stage construction, and crew. Showlite, a company not affiliated with Showco, was responsible for all the lighting equipment and their support crew.

An oversized stage area, vast amounts of scaffolding, and large number of lights necessitated the provision of two complete sets of stage and lighting gear. The alternating sets were

leap·frogged to every other town on the itinerary, thereby allowing sufficient set-up and travel time between shows.



Monitor mixer B.J. Schiller at Interface Electronics console.


Showco used only one PA system, however, which was added to or subtracted from depending on whether the show was being held indoors or out. Fortunately, with so many capable subcontracted

firms participating to pull the show together, Showco was able to reduce its manpower to a nucleus of five people.

The outdoor shows, being more demanding than those indoors in terms of a substantial increase in equipment, required the addition of four more crew members, who were flown in specifically

for those dates.

Stage engineer B.J. Schiller handled the house mix for the 1978 Rolling Stones tour of America. He explains the change in attitude between then and now: “On the last tour the band did 12

outdoor shows, and about 15 indoors at small theaters. They wanted to scale down the tour and present a more intimate show. This time they pulled out all the stops. They booked about 15 or

20 huge outdoor shows, with the idea that if the first one is sold out, they’d add a second. This whole tour is a money maker.

“Our sound reinforcement philosophy has remained pretty much the same,” Shiller continues. “We’ve just made the system a lot bigger, with much higher quality. So far I’m very happy with it

and the sound.”


House mixer Jack Maxson
at the Series 2400 console.

What is that design philosophy? Jack Maxson, one of the principals behind Showco—who also mixed house sound for the tour—sees the primary focus as being to “keep it simple, and get the

volume out there with very few effects. There’s nothing really sophisticated; we just need to reproduce the sound. That’s what the band wants.”

However, these kinds of large, outdoor venues are not the most ideal place to hold a concert. A ‘sound analysis of the Los Angeles Coliseum before the show revealed a 1.5-second slap echo

out of the arc farthest from the stage. Being an outdoor stadium with sections of concrete seats around the entire perimeter, there was really no place to hang damping material for acoustic

control; Showco sound engineers were at the mercy of the architect’s original plan.

[www.youtube.com]

Stones in Philly

Quote
exilestones

Was this the show where Ronnie lost his ring in to the audience and someone gave it back? Was this the show where Keith forgot the chords to Let It Bleed and Ronnie had to show him the chords in front of the the audience.

Keith forgetting the chords was my friend Lee's favorite part, "The greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World forgets how to play their own song!"



HonkeyTonkFlash:
Yes, I do remember Ronnie losing his ring! And we got Tops but not the other two you mentioned. I also remember LIB falling apart in the first few bars but can't be sure who was playing the wrong chords. I loved the way they laughed it off and carried on! Those days - for me - were the good old days of the Stones playing without a net!

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2019-08-18 14:59 by exilestones.

.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-08-18 14:59 by exilestones.

I have often updated this thread on previous pages. Aberdeen updated on page 5 last night. Other concerts updated too.

NYC 1981 After Show Mick going to his NYC apartment



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-03-22 16:23 by exilestones.

What exactly made the Philadelphia shows such a mess? I hear them often referred to as pretty poor shows but for what reason?

Quote
Sam4741
What exactly made the Philadelphia shows such a mess? I hear them often referred to as pretty poor shows but for what reason?

I guess you'd have to ask whomever said the shows were poor. There some great material from those shows but not ever song was perfect or polished such as "Mona" and "Tops" but it was great to hear them, warts and all! "Black Limousine" was much better one of the nights than the other.

There soundboard recordings available of both these shows. Give them both a listen and tell us what you think.




--------------


The Stones' Sloppy Start

First two shows in Philadelphia were marred by sound issues, but the Stones played on

By Kurt Loder - Rolling Stones 1981

The 180,000 people who turned out to see the opening shows of the Rolling Stones' 1981 concert tour at Philadelphia's John F. Kennedy Stadium couldn't have cared less that the band was out of shape and two or three times older than many of those in the audience. After all, the whole point of seeing the Stones in a blimp nest like JFK is not simply to hear them, but to spend some time with them. So, despite the boomy sound (the stadium is best known as the site of motorcycle races and high-school games) and the sometimes grating rustiness of the group's stage act, the Stones grabbed the crowd with the opening strains of "Under My Thumb" and never let go through a hit-filled twenty-six-song set that lasted more than two hours. The Stones were back, for the first time in three years, and they proved there's still nothing remotely like them in rock & roll.

The Stones' entourage — sixty-eight people for the outdoor gigs, fifty-two for arenas and theaters — flew down from Long View Farm in Massachusetts, where they had been rehearsing, in a leased Altair aircraft. Secluding themselves in the Barclay Hotel in midtown Philadelphia, they commandeered thirty-four rooms on three floors (Keith Richards and Charlie Watts on one floor, Ron Wood and Bill Wyman on another, Mick Jagger on the third) and maintained a low profile until the eleven a.m. show time on the first day.

George Thorogood and the Destroyers were the perfect opening act: Thorogood's Chuck Berry-based R&B fetish nearly equals the Stones', and his band's sax-stoked, slide-guitar sound cut through the stadium's dense acoustics like a shiv. Being a local hero didn't hurt Thorogood any, either. But the fact that he could hold his own — and more — on the Stones' sprawling, custom-made stage was still impressive.

Designed by Japanese artist Kazuhide Yamazaki, the stage was the largest mobile concert set ever built: sixty-four feet wide, with eighty-foot ramps stretching out from the right and left sides, and another 150 feet of fluttering silk strips streaming into the bleachers. The massive scrims surrounding the stage — painted with post-modernist pastel renderings of cars, guitars and long-playing records — were constructed with 10,000 square feet of cloth (enough, according to one source, to outfit three clipper ships with complete sets of sails).

Journey, which followed Thorogood at both Philadelphia dates, were less successful at commanding this formidable structure. Nonetheless, their performances — abysmally muddy the first day, spirited and surprisingly effective the second — made audible points with the sizable hard-pop contingent in attendance.

Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts kicked off the Stones' sets by locking into the rolling riff of "Under My Thumb," while Mick Jagger — whip-thin and wired in a yellow quilted jacket, scarlet T-shirt and white wool leotards — stomped and scrambled across the stage and onto the wings, pumping his hips, primping his hair, kung-fu fighting to the bleachers and singing like the master he is. Keith Richards, crouched close to the floor as if preparing for jungle combat, and Ron Wood pumped out the trademark licks for "Let's Spend the Night Together," "Let It Bleed," "Mona," "All Down the Line," "Honky Tonk Women" and, from their new album, "Neighbours" and "Start Me Up."

Much of the band's roiling interplay was inaudible over the loudspeakers, but by the time Jagger scampered up a cherry-picker crane in the middle of a thundering "Jumping Jack Flash" and swung out over the crowd, blowing kisses and dropping armloads of red and white carnations, frenzy reigned. The Stones finished the first day's set with "Satisfaction" and the second day's with "Street Fighting Man." Then they were gone, leaving acres of stinking garbage and scores of buzzing heads in their wake.

The Stones reportedly were unhappy with the Philadelphia shows. After the first one, they retired directly to their hotel rooms and went to sleep, awaking later to discuss the sound problem, which was partially alleviated by the second show. It seemed obvious that they would get tighter and better as the tour progressed, no matter what setbacks might arise. (In Buffalo, the second stop on the tour, forty-knot winds destroyed the original stage set, requiring the erection of a duplicate, and Jagger's mike kept smacking into his mouth as he sang, necessitating dental work at the next stop on the tour — Rockford, Illinois, where the Go-Go's opened — to repair the loosened diamond embedded in his right incisor.)

Only eighty percent of the tour dates had been definitely booked when the Stones hit the road, and it was assumed they would be playing some impromptu, small-club dates along the way. By the time they reached San Diego on October 7th, however, no such gigs had materialized, although the Stones had tracked down veteran R&B sax player Lee Allen in Chicago for some jamming, and were hoping to entice Sonny Rollins (who plays sax, uncredited, on three cuts on Tattoo You) to join them for some East Coast dates later in the tour.

The tour had gotten off to a low-key, yet promising, start. Logistics were being handled with military precision by Bill Graham's organization. (Graham himself was a colorful sight in Philadelphia, tearing around backstage with a red garter on his arm and a perfectionist's fire in his eyes.) The efficient tour management gave the Stones plenty of time to concentrate on working out the kinks in their performances. It was a good, if not great, start. Clearly, the best was yet to come.

This is a story from the November 12, 1981 issue of Rolling Stone.



Read more: [www.rollingstone.com]














Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2019-08-18 15:00 by exilestones.

BY SCHILD

Ron Wood

Philadelphia 1981 originally posted by Chippy