From an interview with bass tech Kevin "Dugie" Dugan posted at ultimateguitar.com:

Before we go, I gotta hear the story about Mick Jagger… you mentioned it the other day, but I never heard the full story.

Ok, so at the end of 1981, we were done touring – we finished up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. That afternoon, we get a notice that the Rolling Stones were booking a show at the Orange Bowl and I forget who was in the middle of the bill, but Henry Paul from The Outlaws had gone solo and he was opening, then there was someone else on the bill and then the Stones. The first day sold out and the second day, they had sold less than 10,000 tickets. The Stones had been saying all along that they needed to get a band in underneath them to cushion it. I think the other band that was supposed to play pulled out or something. Anyways, they asked Van Halen to play. The second day sold out immediately when they put it on sale. So here we were playing with the Stones.

Backstage, the guys from the Stones used to love to wear capezio shoes, Mick and Keith did anyway. They would be running around stage and the stage had these two huge ramps on it. They had three stages that they would leapfrog around the country. When they would put the stages together, they'd have to touch up the paint on the ramps and they were painted with a special paint that had sand mixed in so it would keep them from sliding and falling on their ass.

So it comes time for Michael to do his solo and once again, the stage is a lot wider than we were used to in the arenas. So Michael had taken his bass off and he would throw it – the solo would change, but we would always do that gag. Remember when David Lee Roth would do that jump off the drum riser and do to toe touch and he'd land on the stage? Well, that a really far drop, like 15 feet. So, under the mylar, we had a big mat underneath it, so that he would land on a mat. So when Michael would do his solo, he'd take the bass off and he'd throw it down on the mat and then he'd pretend to jump on it as I made the noises like we talked about earlier. Well, at the last second, he goes to throw it and he realizes that it's a little further away than he's used to so he threw it a little harder than usual. So the bass hits the mat, bounces off the drum riser and back over his head and lands on the ramp behind him, face down. So the bass is sliding down this ramp with grip sand on it and I could hear the strings popping. Michael looks at me like "what the @#$%&!?!" he was supposed to go jump on the guitar. So I should have a spare set of strings sitting out and I didn't. I admit, that was a mistake. When something like this happens, you learn, and you never do it again.

So I grabbed another bass, went out on stage, threw it down on the mat and flipped him off. So he went and "jumped" on that bass. So went out and gave him his third bass to do the next couple songs and told him I'm going to need a couple songs to change strings and he did the rest of the solo. Like I said, I didn't have a set of strings there, so I ran back to my workbox and I see Bill Graham, the promoter, and he's leaning on my workbox talking to some other guy. So I yell, "Bill! Get out of the way!!!" Bill jumps out of the way and I grab the door of my workbox and throw it open and the other guy he was talking to, the door hits him in the chest, and he flies back on his ass about five feet. I yell, "sorry!" grabbed the strings, ran back out, changed strings and got Michael his number one bass back.

Then I went back and found Bill Graham and apologized to him. I said, "where's your friend? I'd like to apologize to him too." He says, "you didn't see who that was? Don't worry about it. We were in your way." Then I turn around and I see the guy and he's got a big floppy hat on and its Mick Jagger. Michael comes off stage and I'm not sure how he found out so quickly but the first thing he says is, "you knocked Mick Jagger on his ass?!?"

Years later, after I worked with Thin Lizzy, I got to know a tech named Jim Barber, who is a great guitar player and a great tech. He was in The Law with Paul Rodgers and Jimmy Page and he's teched for Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck – he's recorded with them, he's recorded with the Stones, so he was doing one of Mick's solo tours and he was staying with me while they were recording. So I went to LAX to pick him up and there's a limo and a couple vans for all the gear he flew in.

So I started helping go back and forth and grab gear and put it in the van, and everytime I'm walking past this limo. At one point the brought Mick out and put him in the limo. I didn't know this at the time, but Jim Barber had set all this up. But he's standing there with the road manager and they open the door to the limo, blocking my path and they push me into the limo and slam the door shut and Mick Jagger is sitting there by himself and he looks at me and he goes, "I understand we've met before. I really want to thank you for letting Jim stay at your house…" I'm sitting there thinking "what the @#$%&!?!" he goes, "you know, we've reached out to Eddie and Michael and please try to convince Michael to play on my record for one or two songs, that would be wonderful" I said, "Sure, absolutely." He says with a smile, "thank you so much and again, I really appreciate it." And he proceeds to invite me to dinner with him and Dave Stewart, who was producing the record.

Then he says, "well thank you again for letting Jim stay at your house and please remember to talk to Michael about the record…oh, and one more thing I've got to mention…" all of the sudden, his facial expression changed and he lunged at me, grabbed me by my shirt and pulls me towards him and says, "if you ever knock me on my ass again, I'll have you killed!" I was horrified! Then he starts laughing and says, "I can't keep a straight face…" and he rolls the window down and there were 10 people outside laughing and saying, "we got you!!" that was pretty funny. The fact that Jim got Mick to do that is something else.

You know the hat that he wears in the video for "Undercover For The Night"? That white fedora? That's what he was wearing and he took the hat off in his room and went to the bar as we were bringing luggage and gear into his room – we were setting up a recording station where he could do demos if he wanted to. Anyways, I kept putting the fedora on and Jim would freak out. Jim is a British guy – he's got a band called The Barbarians and they're amazing. He sounds a lot like Beck because he used to play with him. By the way, Jeff Beck is my favorite guitar player - him and Hendrix and Edward.

Pete Townshend is another one of my favorites and he's not a shredder or anything, but he plays such efficient rhythm and leads. It's just the way he writes. I'm a big Who fan, they're my favorite all time live band – I've seen them like 28 times.

[www.ultimate-guitar.com]

good story

except:

> The first day sold out and the second day, they had sold less than 10,000
>tickets...they asked Van Halen to play. The second day sold out immediately when
>they put it on sale.

if tickets for the second day were not yet on sale, how did he know they sold "less than" 10,000 before adding them to the bill?

In other words: BS. Next.

jb



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021-04-07 02:20 by jbwelda.

The shows were actually at The Tangerine Bowl in Orlando. I was there the 2nd day. Place looked packed to me. My first Stones show. Cool story though. I just remember Dave's seatless pants and wishing Van Halen would finish so The Stones could come on.

It was worth the wait when "Under My Thumb" started........

The tickets were all sold by snail mail. We were so excited to get them.

I read the interview a couple days ago, great stories. Another little mistake was calling the Rodgers/Page band The Law, when it's The Firm!
Of course, most know that the back cover of VH Diver Down is from the Tangerine Bowl show. I've mentioned before you don't see many opening bands take a final bow and the crowd all cheering with their fists in the air!

Hey Elmo, that was my first Stones gig too. We drove up from Hollywood Fla. Cheers!

That was difficult to understand, but I suppose there was a story there somewhere.

Mick played a practical joke ....



ROCKMAN

I am not an english speaker but I usually do not have many problems reading this forum. But in this case I barely understood what this man said in the interview.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021-04-07 13:42 by emotionalbarbecue.

Now that is a story ! Thanks for posting !

I am a native speaker (and an English teacher) and had trouble following this story.

I think the guy speaks in "roadie patois". Google Translation might help us with it...

I too hard difficulty reading this. Kept backtracking thinking I missed some sentences

The bit about the sand paint job on the 1981 stage does make sense but I didn't really understand what they were actually doing throwing the bass around and jumping on a mat. How is a drum riser 15 feet high?

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Nikkei
The bit about the sand paint job on the 1981 stage does make sense but I didn't really understand what they were actually doing throwing the bass around and jumping on a mat. How is a drum riser 15 feet high?

Part of Mike Anthony's bass solo is throwing the bass on the ground. The pic on the back of Diver Down shows this. As far as the drum riser, it's not that high, but I'm sure he means when DLR jumps off the riser, he's leaping a few more feet in the air so perhaps his head is 15 feet from the ground. At the beginning of the Unchained video from 81, you can see him doing the leap from the drumkit.

>Part of Mike Anthony's bass solo is throwing the bass on the ground.


What musicianship! I guess if you cannot play it, might as well throw it.

Exactly why I stopped caring about most of this "music" so many revere.


jb

I actually think he's a good bass player and a fantastic singer - just check out those background vocals.

The Rolling Stones with Van Halen opening... could it have gotten any better?

If you were rockin'in America in the early '80s, this was the Holy Grail.

Thank Bill Graham for the three gigs they played together...

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jbwelda
>Part of Mike Anthony's bass solo is throwing the bass on the ground.


What musicianship! I guess if you cannot play it, might as well throw it.

Exactly why I stopped caring about most of this "music" so many revere.


jb

Guess you must hate The Who since Moon used to trash his drums and Townshend would smash his guitar! Same as Ritchie Blackmore smashing his guitars!

Can we do away with "Click Bait' Titles on here, perhaps a suspension of new topic rights for a bit. This is a total crap headline, praying on VH Devotees who are still understandibly very upset over losing Eddie

I'd have more kicks on a tuesday
morning than this whole story combined ....



ROCKMAN

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Rockman
I'd have more kicks on a tuesday
morning than this whole story combined ....

Can I hang out with you ?

....Friday's better and you'll get ta have fish & chips



ROCKMAN

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Rockman
....Friday's better and you'll get ta have fish & chips

Darn right Friday is better ! I absolutely love Fish & Chips !

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DGA35

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jbwelda
>Part of Mike Anthony's bass solo is throwing the bass on the ground.


What musicianship! I guess if you cannot play it, might as well throw it.

Exactly why I stopped caring about most of this "music" so many revere.


jb

Guess you must hate The Who since Moon used to trash his drums and Townshend would smash his guitar! Same as Ritchie Blackmore smashing his guitars!

yeah I guess I must hate the Who because...well because. At least Petey has or had some talent and had a point to breaking up his equipment, Moonie too. I came to dislike them too, after near revering them for years, mostly because they ran out of ideas after Tommy, if you ask me, not because of what they did on stage to their equipment.

Some bass playing dildo in Van Halen only wishes he had talent to match what Townsend had in his little finger (not to mention the Ox, I don't recall him throwing his instrument around for mere effect). Instead he poses and throws his bass down as part of his "solo". Man, that's talent.

Some people evidently go hook line and sinker for this nonsense. Made me seek out reggae music where real musicians just oozed talent and were totally underappreciated. Could see the best in the world actually trying to impress at a local club, not a cattle call at the stadium to see someone abuse their equipment for no apparent reason other than thats all they got.



jb

I always feel very fortunate when the Van Halen / Rolling Stones stories circulate. I was at both tours the mighty Van Halen opened for our band - 78 in New Orleans and 81 in Orlando - (1st show.)

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Shawn20
I always feel very fortunate when the Van Halen / Rolling Stones stories circulate. I was at both tours the mighty Van Halen opened for our band - 78 in New Orleans and 81 in Orlando - (1st show.)

Make sure you check the Van Halen News Desk, there's some great stuff on there about the Orlando shows...

I'm sure you're well aware!

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TKinOH

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Shawn20
I always feel very fortunate when the Van Halen / Rolling Stones stories circulate. I was at both tours the mighty Van Halen opened for our band - 78 in New Orleans and 81 in Orlando - (1st show.)

Make sure you check the Van Halen News Desk, there's some great stuff on there about the Orlando shows...

I'm sure you're well aware!

Lucky you were at both! VHND and IORR are the only two band sites I frequent, although I don't leave any comments on VHND.