The Rolling Stones were feted by tens of thousands of fans in Düsseldorf on Monday evening in what was perhaps their last concert in Germany. For two and a half hours, probably the most famous rock band in the world played hits from previous decades, including new blues and cover versions, with singer Mick Jagger in the sold-out Esprit Arena. The concert was the last of three German concerts on the No Filter European tour.
After the first song “Sympathy for the Devil”, the old rockers – besides Jagger (74), guitarist Keith Richards (73), guitarist/bassist Ron Wood (70) and drummer Charlie Watts (76) - thrilled with huge hits including “Satisfaction,” “Gimme Shelter” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” The Stones also played several blues numbers from their latest studio album “Blue and Lonesome.”
“It’s great to be back,” shouted Richards to the mostly word-perfect, singing and dancing fans at this fourth appearance in Düsseldorf since 1965. Throughout the entire concert, the quartet, which has been in business for 55 years, showed a still astonishing level of fitness –above all Mick Jagger, who repeatedly tore up and down the stage leading out into the crowd in his now-legendary style and who was allowed to provoke the audience with: “Hey Düsseldorf, anyone here from Cologne? Kölle Alaaf” only to be feted moments later for complimenting the fans.
After concerts in Hamburg and Munich, the Düsseldorf gig was the last of three evenings in Germany as part of a European tour. The old rockers remain popular despite their age: according to organisers, nearly all tickets for concerts in Germany sold out online in a few hours – sometimes for horrendous prices.