Quote
exilestones




Long View Farm

Exit Jagger, the tumblin shattered gender bending black n blue heartbreaking hot stuffin slave boy of 42nd street - enter good ole Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones coming to your town this year.

Good Morning Mick - Kathy Holden and Mick Jagger

"Mick's habits are very regular," says
Long View Farm manager, Kathy Holden.
He wakes up in the early afternoon,
jogs, lifts weights. "He's into vitamins
and good foods. A healthy sort,"
laughs Holden, picking up the British lingo.

"This morning I went in at 7:30 and Ron
and his wife and Ian Maclagan were up.
This was for them the end of the night.
After finishing their work they're ready
for a party night. Keith and Ron don't
get up till 10 p.m." said Holden












Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-11-14 09:59 by exilestones.

Quote
exilestones

Good Morning Mick - Kathy Holden and Mick Jagger

"Mick's habits are very regular," says
Long View Farm manager, Kathy Holden.
He wakes up in the early afternoon,
jogs, lifts weights. "He's into vitamins
and good foods. A healthy sort,"
laughs Holden, picking up the British lingo.

"This morning I went in at 7:30 and Ron
and his wife and Ian Maclagan were up.
This was for them the end of the night.
After finishing their work they're ready
for a party night. Keith and Ron don't
get up till 10 p.m." said Holden

How did Mick work out his schedule to sync with Ron and Keith? If he is jogging and eating in the a.m., and then working out; then doing business stuff. But then he is also there at all rehearsals.

The famous junkie-time for Keith and Ron then. They eat breakfast at night (22:00) while Mick is the early bird and wakes up at around 13:00.
I wonder what would have happened if they had managed a real farm? The cock would have turned crazy probably...

Quote
Redhotcarpet
Me neither thank you exile

Thank you!

---

  

North Brookfield Sept 1981 - 71-year-old 
William Nelson lives on Oakham Road and 
has been jogging past Long View Farm for 
five years or takes long walks every day.

Nelson, too, has found himself caught-up 
 in recent events. He met Mick Jagger! 
  "He was nice to me," says Nelson.

Long View Farm

Dallas '81

Bill & Astrid on Long View Farm








           Stones Cinderella Story            




 1981 North Brookfield, Mass. A local college girl and Stones fan was selected among thousands and invited to visit with 
the Rolling Stones at their secluded rehearsal site in rural Massachusetts. 

    Carole Wegloski, 21, native of Fall River and a student at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, has related the details of 
her vain attempts to gain access to Long View Farm, and her unexpected selection by studio officials as the first and sole 
visitor to the premises of the studio during the stay in residence of the Rolling Stones. 

    "First of all, I offered in town to help deliver the liquor order, but the lady in the store named Helen said that wasn't allowed. 
So we went back (to the Farm) and got to know the security guards and a nice English guy named Alan."
 
    "I don't know why they chose me," Carole continued. "All I know is that I got a phone call, that I had to go to a secret meeting, 
and that they'd send an airplane for me the next day that had a bar and a bartender in it. I was told I had to come alone, and 
that I couldn't tell anybody. It was great, just like James Bond." 

    Gil Markle, owner of the studio, confirmed that Carole had been selected with the help of security man Jim Callahan and 
general manager for the band, Alan Dunn. "She went in as the representative of several thousand hopeful fans who've come by the 
Farm since mid-August. She got a full tour, met most of the band, and got to hear some rehearsals on the new sound stage. 
She saw it all."
 
    "The Stones are real people," Carole insists. "But it's so crazy up there, at the Farm. The phones are ringing off the hook, 
fan mail is stacked everywhere in piles, and people are trying every trick in the book to get in and see the band. I must have 
talked to Keith (Richards) for at least five minutes while he was making a Hot Toddy. Patti, his girlfriend, is really thin, just 
like Ron Wood's girlfriend, Jo. It's all the hype and the rumors and the myth which makes them seem not real. But that's not so. 
I saw them, and they're regular people." 

    Carole, who goes by the nickname "Wig," could throw little light on the Stones' penchant for surprise pre-tour performances 
in the area. "I didn't hear them talking about it, and I wouldn't say anything even if I did," she said. "All I can say is that 
they have a big map of the United States up on the wall in the kitchen, and that Massachusetts is bristling with colored pins. 
I think that must mean something." 

    Kathleen Holden, studio manager, ruled out the possibility of future surprise visits by fans. "This was Gil's idea, 
and it can't happen again. If Wig comes back herself, it will be to help out with the phones."

[www.studiowner.com]

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-11-20 20:19 by exilestones.

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Lil' Brian

Dallas '81

Thank you Lil' Brian. That is one rare photo. Wow. Just wow.

Quote
Redhotcarpet
Thank you Lil' Brian. That is one rare photo. Wow. Just wow.

My pleasure, Redhotcarpet!

Quote
Lil' Brian

Dallas '81

Incredible. Beautiful!
The thing is - this is the kind of experience where friendship or brotherhood is cemented. You go through a day like that together, and your bound.

Quote
Palace Revolution 2000

Quote
Lil' Brian

Dallas '81

Incredible. Beautiful!
The thing is - this is the kind of experience where friendship or brotherhood is cemented. You go through a day like that together, and your bound.

I WAS THERE!

October 31st. Halloween!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-11-22 00:34 by jumpontopofmebaby.

Long View Farm

photos by Ron Pownall

Our Secret STONES Gig -- 30 years ago Tonite!
September 14, 2011 at 11:59pm



Rob Barnett

“Ladies and Gentlemen. I cannot @#$%& believe this: THE ROLLING STONES!”

I spoke those words onstage September 14, 1981, to introduce “the world’s greatest rock and roll band” in a secret club gig I dreamed up and pulled off with Mick Jagger and The Stones at a place called Sir Morgan’s Cove in Worcester, Massachusetts. I was a 21 year-old DJ and the Music Director at a legendary rock station called WAAF, then based in Worcester.





Less than a year earlier, on the night before John Lennon was murdered, I’d started my first paying radio gig on the air at WAAF. Our station was less than 20 miles away from one of the most beautiful, unusual settings for a recording studio in North Brookfield, Massachusetts called Long View Farm. This farm would become ‘home’ for the Rolling Stones in the summer of 1981.

I was in a local bar late one night and recognized a Long View staffer. He’d had a few too many and said, “You’ll never believe who’s coming to stay at the farm!” After a fruitless guessing game, my friend told me he was sworn to secrecy. “They’ll kill me if I tell you who it is.” A couple of drinks later, I procured the answer. The Rolling Stones were secretly about to move into the Long View complex to live and work for weeks of rehearsals for a new world tour to promote their just-released new album, "Tattoo You." The album included “Start Me Up.”

I called the main man at Long View, Gil Markle, and I think that call went something like this:

Rob: Hi Gil. It’s Rob.

Gil: Hi Rob.

Rob: I know.

Gil: Sorry?

Rob: I know.

Gil: You know what?

Rob: I can’t tell you how I know, but I do know the Rolling Stones are on their way to Long View Farm. I can only guess how important it is for you to keep this information as secret as possible and I’m willing to do everything in my power to help keep this news off WAAF - if you’re willing to help me with one simple request.

Gil: And what would that be?

Rob: I want to interview the Stones during their stay at your place.

I can’t remember how the rest of that awkward conversation went. But I do remember it was the last time I could get Gil Markle to return a phone call about any of this. I decided to go guerilla.

Considering the circumstances, it was an unfair request of my friend Gil. But from the minute I learned the Stones were living and working 20 minutes from my house and my rock radio station

- I became an obsessed laser beam with a big idea.

Days later, we learned Mick Jagger was set to announce the Stones’ Tattoo You tour dates at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia (slated to be the first official show on that tour). I realized that if they were living in North Brookfield, Massachusetts, there was a high likelihood Mick might use the Worcester airport to fly to and from the press conference.

The airport was about the size of a postage stamp. The minute we confirmed Mick Jagger was in Philly, I drove to the Worcester airport with my tape recorder and our news reporter, Lana Jones. We hid behind a bush on the runway at the airport. We were virtually the only people there. No press. Nothing.

I can’t remember how long we waited nervously – never knowing for sure this plot would work. Then, we heard a small engine plane approach the runway. It touched down and taxied to a stop.

When the door opened, three men got out: Gil Markle, Rolling Stones security chief Jim Callahan and Mick Jagger.

We approached and Gil gave me a look that married shock and awe. As best as I could read them, Mick and the mountain named Callahan seemed non plussed.

“Mick. My name is Rob Barnett from WAAF and I wanted to ask you if we could do a short interview.” Mick made an instant decision and said, “Sure. But I gotta take a piss first.” When he emerged from the bathroom I held the mic inches away from those lips. My hand was shaking like I had Parkinson’s.

I’ve got to find and link that audio here when I can. After we established a decent vibe and my hand stopped shaking, I asked Mick about their upcoming world tour of stadiums and threw a curveball by asking if he’d ever consider playing a small club, or a theatre at this stage in the band’s career. I knew they’d only done this once before during the 70s at a club called the El Mocambo in Toronto. Mick agreed that a good place with good sound is a good vibe. I still remember the look in his eye when I implied that rehearsing the new mega tour in front of a tiny audience could be a very cool idea.

When the interview wrapped, Lana and I drove back to WAAF at about 100 miles per hour. I raced into the studio and played the tape on the air. Minutes later, the hotline rang. It was Gil.

He said we played the interview so fast Mick and the band didn’t get a chance to hear it. Now it was Gil making requests. He asked if we’d repeat the interview for them all to hear it.

I wrote up a proposal (on a typewriter) for a secret Rolling Stones club gig to be presented by our radio station, WAAF. The insanely audacious little document was packed with the naïve intention and raw emotions of a 21 year-old rock and roll dreamer.

A few weeks earlier, The Stones’ original bass player, Bill Wyman, had just released an odd little disco single called “Je Suis un Rock Star,” I was able to arrange an interview with Bill Wyman to help promote his solo project and at the end of our interview, I handed him a handful of hard copies of my proposal for the Stones.

The next day, I got a call from Ian Stewart. "Stu" was the Rolling Stone you never saw on album covers. He was a bit older than the men he still called “the lads.” Ian Stewart was one of the greatest boogie woogie piano players ever and a true rock gentlemen. The band sent him to meet me at a pub at a place no longer around called The Paxton Inn. Our first visit felt like I was meeting with a longtime friend. We shared stories about life and music and I think we met about three more times in the days ahead - hashing out details for what was to become one of the best radio station promotions and surprise rock and roll nights ever.

A few nights later, I went into mondo-superfan-mode. The Stones were doing most of their rehearsals late at night. I decided to drive out to the farm, get as close as I could, and see if there was any way the music would travel outside the barn and into my ears. I stood in a cow patch in a neighboring field with a small number of other rock nuts who had the same idea. It was surprisingly cold that night but we felt no pain and for hours ‘til about 2 or 3 in the morning, we heard every note perfectly as the band ran through some of the songs from the new
album and some of their most iconic songs that defined them and defined us too.

I crawled into bed back at my apartment and felt like I’d just visited Camelot. My mind was racing. My heart was exploding. Seconds after I got to sleep the phone rang. Ian Stewart was calling my home phone at about 5 o'clock in the morning with Mick Jagger. They'd just finished rehearsing.

So the gig was set and WAAF execs like Steve Marx, Steve Stockman, David Bernstein, our entire airstaff and every member of this great radio statoin all worked together to help pull off the most magical night in all of our professional lives.



We went out on the streets in "unmarked cars" and I drove around Worcester with Ian Stewart picking up Stones fans whom we'd inspired to go out on the streets and proudly display our WAAF logo in order to be spotted and given free tickets to a secret Rolling Stones gig we said would take place in a few hours "somewhere in New England."




The band billed themselves as The Cockroaches. That photo I posted here is my autographed copy of Mick & Ian onstage that night. The picture was shot by a great rock photographer named Ron Pownall, whom we hired to shoot the show. The band made sure that no audio or filming took place, but I have a ton of the photos and most of the memories.





Our main radio competitor was the great, legendary WBCN in Boston. As soon as they heard about our world's greatest promotion on the afternoon of 9/14/81, one of their jocks who'll go unnamed because he was a DICK - went on the air and gave out the address of our secret location. This shithead could have caused mayhem and worse by breaking this news. This was decades before the internet and we were handing out tickets only hours before the gig to a total of 300 people.

By the time night fell, there were thousands of people and scores of cops standing outside 89 Green Street in Worcester. The Stones brilliantly decided to play with the front doors open so that people outside could hear the music inside and this was a key factor in helping keep the peace.

Bill Graham, the Stones' concert promoter was actually prevented from getting inside by cops who I saw stop him because he was trying to get in without a ticket. Days earlier, a man I believed to be Mr. Graham, called me at WAAF and threatened me for putting this show on.

Inside Sir Morgan's Cove, the Stones opened with "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love." a classic song they first recorded in 1965, written by Bert Berns, Solomon Burke and Jerry Wexler.

30 years later, I can still feel the lump in my throat from every second of every song from that night. I can still feel the intense heat of 300 bodies pressed together so close to that stage that we were all one with the band.

I'd kept in pretty good touch with Ian Stewart after that perfect night. A few years later in 1985, I decided to make a Christimastime pilgrammage to England to visit Stu and to see the town where my Grandmother was born in Liverpool. The day I got to London, I started calling Stu's phone but I couldn't get any answer for days. On the last day of my trip, I was headed to

the airport, and I saw a copy of a local newspaper with a picture of the Stones on the cover. Stu had died of a heart attack the day before. I was shocked and crushed.

The last time I interviewed the Stones was for CBS radio in 2005 during Toronto rehearsals for the Bigger Bang tour. We all remembered the goodness of Sir Morgan's Cove and Stu and although I've done a sloppy little job trying to get some of this all down in black & white for the first time, I want to thank Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Ron Wood, Bill Wyman, Ian

McLagan, Gil Markle, Sir Morgan's Cove, Worcester, Mass...and every fellow family member and fan of WAAF in 1981 for proving that rock magic and crazy dreams can become real.

Rob Barnett
Founder/CEO, My Damn Channel

WORCESTER




The Rolling Stones’ “private” jam session at Sir Morgan’s Cove was supposed to be just that — private — and also secret, with the Stones attempting to pass incognito as the Cockroaches. But as the nature of the business would have it, there was a leak. It occurred early in the day Monday after weeks of rumors. And before the day was over, the local media would claim that “history has been made in Worcester.”

Before the Stones finished their free two-hour concert early yesterday morning for 300 “randomly selected” fans, local police would arrest and charge six people with offenses ranging from drinking in public to illegally “launching missiles” (beer cans, mostly). The Worcester police department’s already depleted overtime budget would be $5,000 more in the red. And the city’s sanitation workers would be faced with a block-long layer of beer cans, bottles and trash.

But for all that, the corporate brass of the local FM radio station that helped organize, promote and execute the event at Sir Morgan’s would be more than pleased. In the intensely competitive hard-rock market surrounding Boston, WAAF-FM had scored a major coup.

Steve Stockman, 23, WAAF’s promotions director, said he kept in constant contact with members of the band, but “it wasn’t until last Friday that everything started to gel. Ian Stewart, the group’s keyboard player, told me the group wanted to make some small, private night-club appearances. They hadn’t appeared before an audience in three years, and they needed to warm up to crowds before Philadelphia.”

Stockman said Stewart had selected Sir Morgan’s on his own. He said Stewart had anonymously visited “every bar in Worcester” in search of a place that seated no more than 400, had a low ceiling and a high stage.




“All he needed was a mechanism to get tickets out to loyal fans in the area without revealing the location of the event,” Stockman said. Together, WAAF and the Stones decided that the station would start announcing on Monday morning that the Stones were giving such a performance, but that no tickets could be purchased.
Instead, the station announced, representatives of WAAF and the group would be driving the streets of Worcester throughout the day looking for people wearing WAAF T-shirts or with WAAF bumper stickers either on themselves or their cars.
They, and they alone, would get the mere 300 nontransferable, laser-etched, computer-coded tickets marked, “Blue Monday” and “The Cockroaches.”


A Boston rock station, an arch-competitor of WAAF, was leaked the information by either Worcester police or a member of the band that played before the Stones were to perform at Sir Morgan’s. And the Boston station immediately began broadcasting not only where the Stones would appear, but also that people should stay away.
“They said there’d be a riot there or something,” Stockman said. “It was awful, and the Stones were almost as furious with that station as we were. But to tell you honestly, we did get lucky. It easily could have turned into mayhem. All I can say is thank God for the rain.”





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-06-10 22:25 by exilestones.

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

20,000 LIGHTYEARS FROM BOSTON

In 1981 the Rolling Stones played a surprise concert at the Lucky Dog Music Hall (at the time Sir Morgan’s Cove) and it was a big deal. Now, more than 25 years later, it’s still a big deal.

The Stones were nearing the end of a six-week stay at Long View Farm, a recording studio in North Brookfield, Massachusetts, where they were rehearsing for their upcoming world tour in support of the just released Tattoo You.

It was their first time playing live in over three years; Start Me Up, Hang Fire, and Waiting On A Friend were all over the radio; and the Stones were at the top of the mountain. Other cities and clubs were talked about and planned, but only the Worcester show happened.

It was pure chaos. A day where WAAF had the tickets, and WBCN, pissed off at not having the tickets, tried to sabotage the show with on-air references to the recent tragedy at a Who concert in Cincinnati where 11 fans were trampled to death; where businesses shut down for the day because employees either just left or didn’t show up to begin with in order to try and get tickets; where 350 lucky people crammed the oven-like club to watch the historic show, while thousands stood outside in the rain listening; where the Rolling Stones – yes, the @#$%& Rolling Stones – the Greatest Band In The World, played their first show in three years, a blistering nearly two-hour set that opened with Under My Thumb and included classics like Satisfaction, Honky Tonk Woman, and Tumblin’ Dice, a few covers, and recent hits off of Some Girls, Emotional Rescue, and Tattoo You.

The Rolling Stones at The Lucky Dog Music Hall (Sir Morgan’s Cove), Worcester MA

It was a very big deal, and in a club that has hosted Aerosmith, Boston, Korn, Godsmack, and Staind, just to mention a few, it is the night that stands above the rest. This was the biggest band in the world, at the height of their career, and they kicked off the tour of the year in Worcester. It was, and is, a night to remember. Jumpin’ Jack Flash came to Green Street and blew the roof off the joint!

STONES BEGIN TOUR BEFORE ITS START

Mark Fineman, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 16 September, 1981


Worcester, Mass. — A lightning bolt split the midnight sky above the Stardust strip-tease lounge, and the sky unleashed a blanket of rain on this seamy block of Green Street as the 30-

foot motor home finally pulled in alongside Sir Morgan's Cove.

Finally, at midnight, Blue Monday had begun. The Cockroaches had finally arrived. But the drenched and drunken throng of more than 4,000 filling the sidewalks and street knew better.

"Stones! Stones! Stones!" they chanted in deafening unison. From the rooftops and car tops and even the tops of the streetlights, they whistled. They whooped. They screamed. They even

launched flares. And, as 75 Worcester policemen held their yard-long riot batons ready and snapped down the shields on their riot helmets, the crowd craned for a glimpse of a legend.

The curtains were drawn on the motor home's windows, but somehow even that didn't matter. Somehow, the crowd that had spent half a night out in the rain was too wet and too loose and

having too much of its own party to care. Somehow it was enough that they were only a few feet from what may be the most famous rock band in the world.

They said the Rolling Stones' first public tour in three years was going to begin Sept. 25 in Philadelphia.

It won't. The concert in JFK Stadium is still on, but the tour started here Monday, shortly before midnight, in a small tavern in the heart of this blue-collar city of 170,000 about an

hour west of Boston.

The Rolling Stones' "private" jam session at Sir Morgan's Cove was supposed to be just that — private — and also secret, with the Stones attempting to pass incognito as the Cockroaches.

But as the nature of the business would have it, there was a leak. It occurred early in the day Monday after weeks of rumors. And before the day was over, the local media would claim that

"history has been made in Worcester."

Before the Stones finished their free two-hour concert early yesterday morning for 300 "randomly selected" fans, local police would arrest and charge six people with offenses ranging

from drinking in public to illegally "launching missiles" (beer cans, mostly). The Worcester police department's already depleted overtime budget would be $5,000 more in the red. And the

city's sanitation workers would be faced with a block-long layer of beer cans, bottles and trash.

But for all that, the corporate brass of the local FM radio station that helped organize, promote and execute the event at Sir Morgan's would be more than pleased. In the intensely

competitive hard-rock market surrounding Boston, WAAF-FM had scored a major coup.

Still, nobody would be more pleased by the end of the night than the owners of the eight liquor licenses on the same block of Green Street as Sir Morgan's.

For Samuel M. Perotto, 22, Monday night was "a dream come true."

"I've sold about 100 cases of beer already," Perotto, owner of Sam's tavern, said as he sweated his way through two more beer orders at his packed bar just after the Rolling Stones had

begun their set a few doors down.

"Usually I have three or four customers on a Monday night, but this — this is how I've always wanted my bar to look. I'm just upset I didn't have more warning. We've already made a few

beer runs ourselves."

Up the street at Jimmy's Pub, a gregarious, round Englishman named Jimmy Conrad said that business at his bar was up 400 percent.

"This street has never looked like this before," he said, "and it'll never look like this again."
Never mind that the owners of Jimmy's and Sam's care little for the Rolling Stones or their music. Not a single Stones' song appears on either of their jukeboxes, and Jimmy Conrad

admitted candidly that the most popular tunes in his bar are two 1950s relics, "Chantilly Lace" and "Blue Moon."

"Me, I don't really follow the Rolling Stones or their music," Conrad said, "and I certainly wouldn't wait hours in the rain to see them."

"Miss Strip USA of 1980" heartily agreed. Better known as Lady Dee to patrons of the Stardust Lounge, the young woman was standing in full costume outside the nude-dancing parlor across

from Sir Morgan's.

"Naw, I don't really like the Stones," said Lady Dee, adding that she had won her "Miss Strip" title against serious competition in Las Vegas with the help of her "famous fire show."

"I know my show is a bit, well, on the sadistic side — I light my arms on fire and swallow fire — but that doesn't mean I like the Stones' music. No, I lean more toward Neil Diamond and

Barbra Streisand."

Lady Dee looked down the block and shook her head as a member of the street crowd began shinnying up a streetlight.

"You know, one of my customers, an old-timer who has lived on this block all his life, said he hasn't seen Green Street like this since the day World War II ended. Man, these people are

just plain crazy."

And all this because of a rumor that Mick Jagger gave a marijuana cigarette to a teenager a month ago 20 miles away in the rural town of North Brookfield.

The Rolling Stones have been staying in North Brookfield for about a month now. Since mid-August, the group has been spending what reliable sources estimated at $2,000 a day to rent a

140-acre farm. There, the group's promotion people said, the Stones have been rehearsing and preparing stage sets for their Philadelphia debut.

The place is called Long View Farm, and it came complete with two ultra-modern recording studios, saunas, whirlpools, a billiard room and even a stage the owner built especially for the

Rolling Stones and to their specifications before their arrival.

Long View's owner is Gilbert Markle, a 40-ish "college professor-turned-entrepreneur" who in the past has played host to such celebrities as Stevie Wonder and the J. Geils Band.

Markle's main job has been security and secrecy. He refuses to even discuss whether the Stones are at Long View on the basis of a "gentlemen's agreement" he said he had made with

Jagger.

And he has done his job well, with only a few exceptions. The most notable exception came a few weeks ago when a local newspaper printed a story implying that Mick Jagger had handed a

lit joint to a teenage boy while Jagger and Stones' lead guitarist Keith Richard [sic!] were playing tennis at North Brookfield High School.

"Mick was just furious about that story — the only truth to it was that he was playing tennis that day," said Rob Barnett, morning disc jockey at WAAF.

"I think it was that more than anything that got him to talk to me," Barnett said.
About a week later, Barnett camped at Worcester Airport for five hours one afternoon waiting for Jagger. It was Aug. 26, the day Jagger flew to Philadelphia for a press conference to

announce the group's tour. When Jagger stepped off his private jet after his return flight to Worcester, Barnett pounced and asked for an interview. Jagger agreed.

Barnett said his five-minute interview was aired as an exclusive on radio stations worldwide, and "we started a relationship that never ended."

Steve Stockman, 23, WAAF's promotions director, said he kept in constant contact with members of the band, but "it wasn't until last Friday that everything started to gel. Ian Stewart,

the group's keyboard player, told me the group wanted to make some small, private night-club appearances. They hadn't appeared before an audience in three years, and they needed to warm up

to crowds before Philadelphia."

Stockman said Stewart had selected Sir Morgan's on his own. He said Stewart had anonymously visited "every bar in Worcester" in search of a place that seated no more than 400, had a low

ceiling and a high stage.

"All he needed was a mechanism to get tickets out to loyal fans in the area without revealing the location of the event," Stockman said. Together, WAAF and the Stones decided that the

station would start announcing on Monday morning that the Stones were giving such a performance, but that no tickets could be purchased.

Instead, the station announced, representatives of WAAF and the group would be driving the streets of Worcester throughout the day looking for people wearing WAAF T-shirts or with WAAF

bumper stickers either on themselves or their cars.

They, and they alone, would get the mere 300 nontransferable, laser-etched, computer-coded tickets marked, "Blue Monday" and "The Cockroaches."

The scene in downtown Worcester on Monday was a zoo. "It was a carnival," said Dave Goldberg, a city resident who works for a small noncommercial radio station in town. "Traffic was at

a standstill. Everyone was running around looking for the WAAF vans. It was like a holiday in the city."

Women plastered the bumper stickers to their chests. One man covered his entire body with them — including one wrapped around his neck brace. Another fan decorated every inch of his

custom van in Early Bumper Sticker.
"What can I say? Ya gotta love a promotion like this," Stockman said yesterday. "It's just a shame something went wrong."

A Boston rock station, an arch-competitor of WAAF, was leaked the information by either Worcester police or a member of the band that played before the Stones were to perform at Sir

Morgan's. And the Boston station immediately began broadcasting not only where the Stones would appear, but also that people should stay away.

"They said there'd be a riot there or something," Stockman said. "It was awful, and the Stones were almost as furious with that station as we were. But to tell you honestly, we did get

lucky. It easily could have turned into mayhem. All I can say is thank God for the rain."

Daniel Egan, Worcester's deputy police chief, was thanking God yesterday, too. Egan, who was filling in this week for the city's vacationing police chief, sat back in his leather chair,

rubbed his large red face and sighed.

"No question that Monday night was a disaster waiting to happen." said Egan, making little effort to conceal his anger.

"Of course I'm upset. We didn't find out for sure on this thing until noon Monday. Looking back, I should have smelled something in the wind on Saturday when one of my lieutenants was

told that Sir Morgan's wanted 17 off-duty police officers for inside security on Monday night.

"But it just didn't register. Who would have thought the Rolling Stones would come to Worcester?

"We could have planned for this better if we'd had something more than rumor."
By yesterday, a new crop of rumors had started again.

Both Stockman and the Stones' chief publicist, Paul Wasserman, refused to say whether there would be more "secret night club shows" before the group comes to Philadelphia. But Wasserman

said the group "definitely wanted to play several times" before their concert debut.

The hottest rumor in Worcester yesterday was that the Stones were going to play at a Boston night club one night this week.

The rumor made it all the way to North Brookfield, but it didn't matter too much to the folks in the 169-year-old town, a town of 4,100 where the only industry manufactures rubber

soles.

Between the rock stars and reporters, residents of North Brookfield are accustomed to the excitement by now.

Many of the residents even got the treasured tickets to Blue Monday. Among them was Robert Lemieux, owner of the North Brookfield News Co., known locally as "the news room."

"My daughter has gotten friendly with the Stones' bodyguard, and he gave her a couple of tickets Monday morning out of the blue," Lemieux said yesterday afternoon. "I was going to go

with her, but my other daughter kept after me until 5 p.m. I finally gave in.

"It's just as well. There'll be more up here as time goes on — more celebrities, more attention, more excitement. In the meantime, I guess everyone around here is just kind of sitting

back and wondering. After Monday night, what can the world possibly do for an encore?"

The Stones Were Here
A band, a Massachusetts barn, and a rock stay for the ages.
By Matthew Reed Baker | Boston Magazine | June 2013



Back in August 1981, the Stones had a number-one album in Tattoo You. The tour was going to be massive. To rehearse for it, they descended on the bucolic Worcester County town of North

Brookfield, home to Long View Farm and its big red barn turned recording studio. At that point it was owned by Gil Markle, a former Clark University philosophy professor.


For six weeks, the Stones rehearsed secretly in the barn, living on the property, which Markle had renovated when he bought it in 1973. Markle’s memoir of the time makes clear how each band

member lived up to his public image, whether it was Mick Jagger, direct and businesslike, or Keith Richards, lazing on the couch. What’s more remarkable is how workaday the experience was,

filled with the band’s endless tweaks to songs and Markle’s daily duties, such as making dinner reservations for Jagger and his then-wife, Jerry Hall. “I don’t know why [the fans] make such

a fuss over us,” Charlie Watts told Markle over some 7 a.m. tequila. “Never did understand it. Still don’t.” Of course, the band’s whereabouts didn’t stay secret for long, and soon locals

were taking Route 9 out to North Brookfield for a sneak peek. As a thank-you for their stay in the area, the Stones previewed their tour with a show in Worcester, billing themselves as “The
Cockroaches” and inviting Long View’s staff. Soon after that, the local whirlwind was over, and the group embarked on a three-month tour that would bring in $50 million ($124 million in
today’s dollars). That made it the highest-grossing rock tour of that era.


+++++++++++ + ++++++++++


The Rolling Stones at Sir Morgan's Cove in Worcester on Sept. 14, 1981


Little Boy Blue & The Cockroaches played a single show in their career, but it was memorable. They packed the 300-seat Sir Morgan's Cove in Worcester on Sept. 14, 1981 with 4,000 cheering

fans outside the club.

Never heard of Little Boy Blue & The Cockroaches? Not surprising since it was the nom de guerre used by The Rolling Stones as the prepped for their 1981 U.S. tour.

Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and the boys chose the intimate Green Street club, later known as The Lucky Dog Music Hall and now The Cove Music Hall, to warm up less than two weeks before the

tour's official kickoff at John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia.

The tour had eyed Boston's Orpheum Theater, but Mayor Kevin C. White turned them down citing public safety concerns.

The Rolling Stones had been staying at Long View Farm in North Brookfield in the weeks before the Worcester show. News reports at the time estimated the band paid $2,000 a day to rent the

140-acre farm to rehearse and prepare for their first tour in three years.

WAAF-FM worked with the band to select the proper right club for the warm-up and gave away tickets to the gig. Stones keyboardist Ian Stewart reportedly chose Sir Morgan's Cove after

touring other Worcester nightspots

On the night of Sept. 14, a 30-foot motor coach pulled up to the Worcester club with 75 police officers dispatched to control the crowd, which was understandably excited, but not unruly.

Only four arrests for disorderly conduct were made.

Once inside, the Stones played a mix of old and recent tunes for the lucky audience.

The exact setlist for the show is uncertain with some fans maintaining the band played a dozen or so songs, while others insist the Stones performed as many as 22 songs that night.

Among the classic Stones hits played were "Jumpin' Jack Flash," "Sympathy for the Devil," and "Honky Tonk Women."

The band offered more recent material, like "Start Me Up," "She's So Cold" and "When the Whip Comes Down."

After the show, the Stones returned to North Brookfield.

Days later, a private jet took them from Worcester Airport to Philadelphia for the start of the tour.







Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger smiles as he meets with the press, Sept. 25, 1981 in the Worcester, Mass.,
Airport prior to the Stones departure for Philadelphia. The Stones where in the Worcester area for several weeks
tuning up their new show prior to the start of their first American tour in three years. (AP Photo/Paul Benoit)

Wire-copy news


ASSOCIATED PRESS WIRE-COPY NEWS

Week of Monday, 14 September, 1981

9/15

(WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS) — WHEN IT COMES TO THE ROLLING STONES, THE SHOW MUST GO ON. THAT'S THE WORD FROM WORCESTER RADIO STATION WAAF, WHICH HAS OFFERED TO PAY THE NINE THOUSAND

DOLLAR BILL FOR EXTRA SECURITY AT TWO PROPOSED ROLLlNG STONES SHOWS IN BOSTON THIS WEEKEND. THE RADIO STATION SPONSORED A STONES CONCERT IN WORCESTER MONDAY NlGHT THAT TURNED OUT TO BE ONE

OF THE WORST KEPT SECRETS OF THE YEAR. THE CONCERT CLUB ONLY HELD 300 FANS — AND FOUR THOUSAND PEOPLE SHOWED UP OUTSIDE.

BOSTON POLICE CHIEF JOSEPH JORDAN SAID YESTERDAY HE WOULDN'T EVEN CONSIDER THE PROPOSED STONES CONCERTS AT BOSTON'S ORPHEUM THEATER THIS FRIDAY AND SATURDAY WITHOUT AN EXTRA 100 BOSTON

POLICEMEN. WAAF GENERAL MANAGER STEVE MARX QUICKLY OFFERED TO PICK UP THE TAB FOR THE EXTRA SECURITY, MARX SAID WAAF ALSO PAID FIVE-THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR EXTRA POLICE PROTECTION AT THE

MONDAY NIGHT WORCESTER CONCERT.

BOSTON OFFICIALS WERE EXPECTED TO ANNOUNCE THIS MORNING WHETHER THEY WOULD GIVE A LICENSE TO PROMOTER DON LAW FOR THE ORPHEUM SHOWS. THE CITY TURNED DOWN A BID FOR A STONES CONCERT AT

THE ORPHEUM IN 1978, AND THE VETERAN BRITISH ROCK 'N ROLL BAND HASN'T PLAYED THE CITY SINCE THE MID-1970's. ONE REASON MAY BE THEIR REPORTED DISLIKE FOR THE CITY'S MAJOR HALL, THE BOSTON

GARDEN.

A SPOKESMAN FOR THE STONES' RECORD COMPANY SAID TODAY THERE ARE STILL NO CONFIRMED NEW ENGLAND DATES ON THE BAND'S NATIONAL TOUR, WHICH KICKS OFF SEPTEMBER 25TH IN PHILADELPHIA. 9/16

(BOSTON) — BOSTON MAYOR KEVIN WHITE CONFERRED WITH BILL GRAHAM — THE TOUR PROMOTER FOR THE ROLLING STONES — FOR ABOUT A HALF HOUR THIS AFTERNOON. JOANNE PREVOST — WHO HANDLES LICENSING

FOR WHITE — SAYS THE MAYOR TOLD GRAHAM THAT THE ORPHEUM THEATER WOULD NOT BE SUITABLE FOR STONES CONCERTS, AND THAT THE CITY WAS MAKING A SINCERE OFFER FOR USE OF CITY HALL PLAZA FOR A FREE

OUTDOOR SHOW. MS. PREVOST SAYS GRAHAM MADE NO IMMEDIATE COMMENT ON WHETHER HE FELT THE STONES WERE LIKELY TO ACCEPT THE OFFER.

MS. PREVOST SAID THE CONVERSATION WITH GRAHAM — WHO RAN THE FILLMORE EAST AND WEST ROCK HALLS IN THE LATE 1960'S — CAME AFTER WHITE ANNOUNCED HIS OFFER OF CITY HALL PLAZA AT A NEWS

CONFERENCE. THE PLAZA COULD HOLD UP TO 40THOUSAND MUSIC FANS. TWO MASSACHUSETTS RADIO STATIONS HAVE OFFERED TO PICK UP THE SECURITY COSTS FOR THE SHOW.

EARLIER TODAY, THE CITY REFUSED TO ISSUE A PERMIT TO THE BAND TO PLAY CONCERTS AT THE DOWNTOWN ORPHEUM THEATER THIS FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. CITY OFFICIALS SAID THEY WORRIED ABOUT SECURITY

OUTSIDE THE 28-HUNDRED SEAT THEATER DUE TO CROWD PROBLEMS AT THE STONES' CONCERT IN WORCESTER MONDAY.

(BOSTON) — BOSTON OFFICIALS SAY THEY HAVEN'T OFFICIALLY HEARD YET WHETHER THE ROLLING STONES WILL PLAY A FREE CONCERT IN GOVERNMENT CENTER ON SUNDAY. BUT RADIO STATION W-B-C-N SAYS IT

HAS, AND THE WORD ISN'T GOOD. W-B-C-N SAYS IT'S TALKED WITH TWO PEOPLE CLOSELY LINKED TO THE STONES. PUBLICIST PAUL WASSERMAN SAID "THERE WILL BE NO STONES CONCERT IN THE FORESEEABLE

FUTURE." AND BILL GRAHAM, WHO'S RUNNING THE STONES' UPCOMING NATIONAL TOUR, CITED WORRIES OVER THE OUTDOOR LOCATION.

THE IDEA OF A FREE OUTDOOR CONCERT BEFORE SOME 40THOUSAND PEOPLE WAS PROPOSED TODAY BY BOSTON MAYOR KEVIN WHITE. THAT'S AFTER WHITE REJECTED THE ORIGINAL IDEA OF THE STONES PERFORMING

FRIDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHTS AT THE ORPHEUM THEATER. 9/17

(BOSTON) — YOU CAN FORGET ABOUT A ROLLING STONES CONCERT IN BOSTON IN THE NEAR FUTURE. THAT'S THE FINAL WORD TODAY FROM JOANNE PREVOST — HEAD OF LICENSING FOR THE MAYOR'S OFFICE IN

BOSTON. SHE TOLD A NEWS CONFERENCE THIS AFTERNOON THAT A FINAL ATTEMPT TO HAVE THE BRITISH ROCK AND ROLLERS PLAY A CONCERT MONDAY NIGHT AT THE FOUR THOUSAND SEAT METROPOLITAN CENTER IN

BOSTON'S THEATER DISTRICT HAD BEEN REJECTED BY THE BAND. MS. PREVOST SAID A LATER CONCERT AT THE BOSTON GARDEN WAS STILL A POSSIBILITY DURING THE STONES' NATIONAL TOUR. BUT SHE ADDED "AS

FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE, THIS IS IT."

(BOSTON) — NOW THAT THE ROLLING STONES HAVE TURNED THEIR BACKS ON THE IDEA OF A CONCERT IN BOSTON, THEY'VE AT LEAST BEEN LOOKING ELSEWHERE. LOWELL CITY MANAGER JOSEPH TULLY SAYS A

REPRESENTATIVE OF STONES' PROMOTER BILL GRAHAM TOOK A LOOK AT THE MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM YESTERDAY ABOUT A POSSIBLE CONCERT SUNDAY. BUT LOWELL ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER JAMES CAMPBELL SAYS DON'T

HOLD YOUR BREATH. HE SAYS A CONCERT IS UNLIKELY BECAUSE OF PUBLICITY ABOUT IT TODAY IN THE "LOWELL SUN." CAMPBELL TOLD W-E-E-I RADIO "ONE OF THE AGREEMENTS WAS THAT NOTICE OF THE EVENT WAS

NOT TO BE LET OUT UNTIL ONE OR TWO O'CLOCK THIS AFTERNOON. BOTH PARTIES AGREED TO THIS." BUT HE DIDN'T SAY WHEN A FINAL DECISION WOULD BE MADE. 9/17

(LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS) — AFTER BEING REJECTED BY BOSTON OFFICIALS, THE ROLLING STONES HAVE PROPOSED PLAYING A CONCERT SUNDAY AT THE FOUR-THOUSAND SEAT LOWELL MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM.

LOWELL CITY MANAGER JOSEPH TULLY CONFIRMED THAT A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE OFFICE OF THE STONES NATIONAL PROMOTER BILL GRAHAM TOURED THE AUDITORIUM YESTERDAY, DISCUSSED TICKET DISTRIBUTION

AND POLICE PROTECTION. HOWEVER, ACTING LOWELL POLICE CHIEF JOHN SHEEHAN HAS SENT OUT A LETTER OPPOSING THE CONCERT DUE TO POTENTIAL SECURITY PROBLEMS. LOWELL OFFICIALS SAID A FINAL DECISION

ON THE CONCERT WAS EXPECTED LATER TODAY. 9/18

(LOWELL) — THERE'LL BE NO ROLLING STONES CONCERT IN LOWELL THIS WEEKEND, THAT'S THE WORD FROM JACK REILLY, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LOWELL MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM

COMMISSION. THERE HAD BEEN SOME TALK ABOUT A STONES CONCERT AT THE FOUR-THOUSAND SEAT AUDITORIUM. AND THAT'S THE PROBLEM . . . THEY TALK ABOUT IT. THE CONCERT ORIGINALLY WAS GOING TO BE A

LOW-KEY UNANNOUNCED EVENT. BUT WORD LEAKED OUT TO THE MEDIA YESTERDAY AND THAT IN TURN LED TO QUESTIONS BEING RAISED ABOUT CROWDS AND SAFETY. THE CONCERT HAD BEEN OPPOSED BY LOWELL'S ACTING

POLICE CHIEF, JOHN SHEEHAN, WHO WAS CONCERNED ABOUT POTENTIAL SECURITY PROBLEMS. 9/19

(PROVIDENCE) — A CONCERT BY THE ROLLING STONES PLANNED FOR TONIGHT IN PROVIDENCE REPORTEDLY HAS BEEN CANCELLED BECAUSE OF ADVANCE TELEVISION PUBLICITY. THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL-BULLETIN

QUOTES AN UNIDENTIFIED SOURCE CLOSE TO GEMINI CONCERTS INC. AS SAYING THE SHOW IS "DEFINITELY OFF." GEMINI HEAD FRANK RUSSO SAID, "THERE NEVER WAS AN ANNOUNCEMENT, THEREFORE THERE WAS NO

SHOW." TWO PROVIDENCE TELEVISION STATIONS REPORTED LAST NIGHT THAT THE ROCK BAND WOULD GIVE A CONCERT TONIGHT AT THE 35-HUNDRED SEAT OCEAN STATE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER. A MAN WHO IDENTIFIED

HIMSELF AS A MEMBER OF THE BAND'S ADVANCE CREW TOLD THE JOURNAL-BULLETIN THE GROUP FEARED ADVANCE PUBLICITY WOULD DRAW A LARGE CROWD THAT MIGHT CAUSE SECURITY AND SAFETY PROBLEMS. 9/19

(PROVIDENCE) — THE ROLLING STONES, UNABLE TO ARRANGE CONCERTS IN BOSTON OR LOWELL, APPARENTLY TURNED TO PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND AND APPARENTLY MET A SIMILAR FATE. A STONES CONCERT

PLANNED FOR TONIGHT AT THE 35-HUNDRED SEAT OCEAN STATE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER REPORTEDLY WAS CANCELLED LATE LAST NIGHT BECAUSE OF ADVANCE TELEVISION PUBLICITY. THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL-

BULLETIN QUOTED A SOURCE AS SAYING THE SHOW WAS "DEFINITELY OFF". TWO PROVIDENCE TELEVISION STATIONS REPORTED LAST NIGHT THAT THE BRITISH ROCK BAND WOULD GIVE A CONCERT. A MAN WHO SAID HE

WAS A MEMBER OF THE BAND'S ADVANCE CREW TOLD THE PROVIDENCE PAPER THE GROUP FEARED ADVANCE PUBLICITY WOULD DRAW A LARGE CROWD THAT MIGHT CAUSE SECURITY AND SAFETY PROBLEMS. THE STONES AND

BOSTON COULD NOT AGREE ON A SITE FOR A CONCERT. AND PREMATURE PUBLICITY APPARENTLY KILLED PLANS FOR A CONCERT IN LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS. 9/21

(BOSTON) — THE ROLLING STONES MADE IT OFFICIAL TODAY. NATIONAL TOUR DIRECTOR BILL GRAHAM SAID THERE ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT BE ANY STONES CONCERT BEFORE THIS FRIDAY WHEN THE STONES KICK OFF

THEIR NATIONAL TOUR IN PHILADELPHIA.

GRAHAM SAID NEGOTIATIONS WITH BOSTON OFFICIALS CONTINUED UNTIL LAST NIGHT, WHEN BOTH SIDES AGREED NO SUITABLE LOCATION COULD BE FOUND FOR THE BAND TO PLAY A SNEAK CONCERT BEFORE THE

START OF THE TOUR.

THE PROMOTER ALSO SAID ONE MEMBER OF THE BAND — WHOM HE REFUSED TO IDENTIFY — IS BEING TREATED BY A DOCTOR FOR A BAD BACK. AND THIS ALSO COMPLICATED ANY SUDDEN CONCERTS. GRAHAM SAID THE

BAND HOPED TO PLAY THE BOSTON GARDEN AT THE END OF OCTOBER.

(BOSTON) — THEY WON'T PLAY NOW, BUT THEY MIGHT PLAY LATER. THAT'S THE FINAL OUTCOME OF THE MYSTERY SURROUNDING A POSSIBLE ROLLING STONES CONCERT IN BOSTON BEFORE THE GROUP LAUNCHES A

NATIONWIDE TOUR THIS FRIDAY IN PHILADELPHIA. TOUR MANAGER BILL GRAHAM CAME TO BOSTON TODAY TO SAY THERE WON'T BE A GIG THIS WEEK. BUT HE ADDED THAT BOSTON HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE TOUR

SCHEDULE. AND IF DETAILS CAN BE WORKED OUT, THERE WILL PROBABLY BE A CONCERT GIVEN AT BOSTON GARDEN. AT VARIOUS TIMES, THE STONES ATTEMPTED TO HOLD CONCERTS AT THE ORPHEUM THEATER IN BOSTON

AND THE MUNICIPAL AUDITORIUM IN LOWELL. EACH PLAN WAS SNUBBED. AND GRAHAM SAID THE GROUP FINALLY GAVE UP BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF A SUITABLE SITE, ALONG WITH A BACK INJURY SUFFERED BY LEAD

GUITAR PLAYER KEITH RICHARDS.

(NEW BEDFORD) — THE ROLLING STONES MYSTERIOUSLY CANCELLED WHAT IS PROBABLY THE LAST EFFORT FOR AN UNPUBLICIZED CONCERT IN MASSACHUSETTS BEFORE STARTING THEIR NATIONAL TOUR. THAT WORD

FROM TOM SHIRE, WHO OPERATES THE STATE THEATER IN NEW BEDFORD. SHIRE SAYS THE CONCERT HAD BEEN IN THE PLANNING FOR THREE DAYS. SHIRE SAYS THE CONCERT WAS TO HAVE COME OFF TONIGHT AT HIS

800-SEAT FACILITY. BUT HE SAYS A GROUP REPRESENTATIVE CALLED HIM ABOUT EIGHT HOURS BEFORE SHOW TIME TO CANCEL OUT. NO REASON HAD BEEN GIVEN. THE STONES ARE TO BEGIN A NATIONAL TOUR IN

PHILADELPHIA THIS FRIDAY.

THEY'VE BEEN REHEARSING AT LONG VIEW FARM IN NORTH BROOKFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, BUT ATTEMPTS TO CONTACT THE GROUP THIS EVENING WERE UNSUCCESSFUL.

(WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS) — LEAD SINGER MICK JAGGER OF THE ROLLING STONES PREDICTED TODAY THAT THE ROCK-AND -ROLL GROUP'S FIRST U-S TOUR IN THREE YEARS WILL BE PEACEFUL. JAGGER MADE

THE COMMENT AT A BRIEF NEWS CONFERENCE IN WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, BEFORE DEPARTING FOR CONCERTS IN PHILADELPHIA TOMORROW AND SATURDAY. THE ROLLING STONES HAVE BEEN REHEARSING AT LONG VIEW

FARM IN NORTH BROOKFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS. THE GROUP GAVE A WARM-UP CONCERT IN WORCESTER TWO WEEKS AGO, BUT SINCE HAVE BEEN DENIED PERFORMANCE PERMITS IN BOSTON, AND HAVE BACKED AWAY FROM

RUMORED DATES IN OTHER NEW ENGLAND CITIES. 9/23

(NORTH BROOKFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS) — A SPOKESMAN FOR THE ROLLING STONES HAS DENIED A REPORT THE GROUP HAD PLANNED TO STAGE A CONCERT TONIGHT IN NEW BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS. TOM SHIRE, THE

OPERATOR OF THE 800-SEAT STATE THEATER, SAYS THE STONES HAD CONTACTED HIM ABOUT PLAYING, BUT HE SAYS A GROUP REPRESENTATIVE CONTACTED HIM EIGHT HOURS BEFORE THE CURTAIN WAS TO HAVE GONE UP

TO CANCEL THE EVENT. BUT A STONES SPOKESMAN, WISHING NOT TO BE IDENTIFIED, SAID FROM LONG VIEW FARM IN NORTH BROOKFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS THAT NO CONCERT HAD BEEN PLANNED.

Quote
jumpontopofmebaby


[i1306.photobucket.com]
Dallas '81
Incredible. Beautiful!
The thing is - this is the kind of experience where friendship or brotherhood is cemented. You go through a day like that together, and your bound.



I WAS THERE!

October 31st. Halloween!

I have an interview with Bill where he says THIS is the show they should have filmed. He says they were drenched, but you can do that with wireless mics and guitars and then says "But I bet Rod Stewart wouldn't."

WEEK OF 19 NERVOUS BREAKDOWNS

Steve Morse, The Boston Globe, 22 September, 1981


The whole Rolling Stones mess has left psychic scars that will be hard to forget. By the end, it had deteriorated into a nasty, pitched battle between clubowners, fans, politicians, promoters, and the media, each desperately wanting a piece of the action.

It feels like a week-long purgatory has ended. Or maybe a jail sentence. Or maybe just a bad dream.

There were no winners in all of this. The band didn't get to play their sneak concerts. The fans didn't get to see them. The media behaved recklessly. And the toll, financially and psychologically, was overwhelming.

Friendships were severed. Relationships were left reeling. And reporters were left glued to the phone, tracking down non-leads, swirling through off-the-record statements, getting unfathomable I Ching quotes from Stones tour producer Bill Graham and being humbled to the point of complete frustration.

All because the band, as Graham said, wanted to play a few "throwaway gigs." But there are no throwaway gigs with the Rolling Stones. Now that Led Zeppelin is gone, the Who has changed, and John Lennon is dead, only the Stones remain to carry the banner of rock's '60s heyday.

It was no wonder the local demand to see them was so great, because there are thousands of fans here who have never seen them and who won't rest until they do. Those fans have put up with myriad Stones clone groups touring the area, but this was the real thing.

And so the hysteria kept building, causing the band to cancel last night's planned sneak concert at the Opera House. Despite the grandstanding of Mayor Kevin White — who had also offered them a free City Hall Plaza show while naively assuming there'd be only 40,000 people there (try 400,000) — the band chose to put a lid on the madness, rather than fuel it even more.

"The Rolling Stones have changed governments, and they're not going to be that concerned about a mayor," Stones publicist Paul Wasserman had said earlier. Putting the issue into perspective, he added: "With all the attention the Stones received, you'd think there was no other story. Hey, isn't Boston having trouble getting its schools opened?"

The reason, of course, the media went whole hog was that the band so arrogantly left them out of last week's lone sneak concert at Sir Morgan's Cove in Worcester. The battle lines were drawn.

Although that night's mood was quite peaceful — the waiting crowd of 1,500 was demoralized by the rain — irresponsible reporters highlighted a couple of bottle-throwing incidents, thus causing the band to become personae non grata in Boston until Mayor White tried to intervene.

"One minute we were lepers. The next minute we were tulips," as Graham said.

Behind the scenes, promoters also lashed at each other. Boston's Don Law and Providence's Frank Russo were again claw to claw. Russo missed out on the coup of a lifetime when the Stones slipped through his fingers for a Providence show Saturday, chiefly due to illness within the band. "We owe you one" the group's entourage later told him.

The week's events were an intolerable merry-go-round. The band itself behaved badly, having not scheduled Boston in the first place and then announcing last-minute cancellations which left fans stuck out in the rain and cold, waiting for tickets.

Although Graham said the band will return to "the scene of the crime" to later play Boston, thank God that for now the treasure hunt is over.

As one exhausted source said, "My wife's about ready to walk out the door. And so is my dog."