There is new book out with the title "Hope I get old before I die: Why rockstars never retire". It's written by former rock journalist David Hepworth. His stance is that this epoch started with Queen's televised Live Aid performance at Wembley stadium. He means that money is the sole reason old acts refuse to retire. Since Live Aid so much money moved into the arenas and stadiums.


[www.aftonbladet.se]

Ps. The article is in Swedish. Ds.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2025-01-06 21:30 by bv.

What a coincidence that a Swedish article is posted here on my second day.

Also, I think the author has a point, but I'd also argue that in many cases these guys are so rich that making money can't be the ONLY motivator. I personally tend to think that with the Stones a lot of it is addiction to the life-style as well as fear of boredom and decay in retirement.

The money's too good. And they were rock stars in the exact right time where they still command an audience. And the ego and desire to perform is just too strong. If these older bands didn't still have an audience, these guys would not just be playing clubs and we're sure of that.

It was much better to get famous pre-2000 and you can make a decent career off it now. The post 2000 "rock stars" really struggle.

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Glimmerest
What a coincidence that a Swedish article is posted here on my second day.

Also, I think the author has a point, but I'd also argue that in many cases these guys are so rich that making money can't be the ONLY motivator. I personally tend to think that with the Stones a lot of it is addiction to the life-style as well as fear of boredom and decay in retirement.

Welcome on board, Glimmerest. True, of course. But I think the author is taking in the big picture here. Painting with broad brushstrokes, so to speak...

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Stoneage

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Glimmerest
What a coincidence that a Swedish article is posted here on my second day.

Also, I think the author has a point, but I'd also argue that in many cases these guys are so rich that making money can't be the ONLY motivator. I personally tend to think that with the Stones a lot of it is addiction to the life-style as well as fear of boredom and decay in retirement.

Welcome on board, Glimmerest. True, of course. But I think the author is taking in the big picture here. Painting with broad brushstrokes, so to speak...

Thanks Stoneage!

There is so much money in this business that even bands who have retired and made farewell tours starts touring again. If only for a couple of concerts. One example, in Sweden, is the band Kent who officially retired in 2016. Now they will do 6 gigs next year, (initially 3 but public demand made it 6). The story is that the musicians in the band needed the money and put the singer under pressure until he gave up...

Another example is of course Oasis...

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Stoneage
There is so much money in this business that even bands who have retired and made farewell tours starts touring again. If only for a couple of concerts. One example, in Sweden, is the band Kent who officially retired in 2016. Now they will do 6 gigs next year, (initially 3 but public demand made it 6). The story is that the musicians in the band needed the money and put the singer under pressure until he gave up...

Another example is of course Oasis...

Yeah Kent getting back together was a big deal to a lot of my big sisters friend group.

I do wonder what made Liam and Noel finally give in and make up. He had another affair kid which caused a divorce, but that was about a decade ago now.

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Glimmerest


I do wonder what made Liam and Noel finally give in and make up. .

Duh! MONEY!!

I think I recall reading that they don't get any payout until the tour is completed, and that they get nothing if they bust up before the tour is over....!

High Stakes indeed.

Captain Corella

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Glimmerest
I do wonder what made Liam and Noel finally give in and make up. He had another affair kid which caused a divorce, but that was about a decade ago now.

Divorce is a huge contributing factor. That's clearly what happened with Oasis (though the payday was always too big that they couldn't ignore one day doing it), that's the same thing that happened with Guns N Roses. Slash got divorced and had to pay his wife 100k or something a month, and all of a sudden there's a GNR reunion. Their Oasis moment felt like it had passed, I truly did give up hope that would ever happened. But once Slash needed the money, he came crawling back. He let Axl keep some of his old band members, he learned Chinese Democracy songs while (eventually) Axl learned ONE Velvet Revolver song. I think he and all of them are happy it happened, and where they are now, but that reunion happened cause of one reason and its money.

Don Henley is out on tour with the supposed "Eagles" miming to a backing track because the money is too good. There were guys (Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, Roy Orbison, etc) who toured till they died cause they couldn't do anything else. There's a lot of others these days that are just out to keep paying for their lifestyle. I don't believe the Stones are any exception.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025-01-06 00:55 by RollingFreak.

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CaptainCorella

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Glimmerest


I do wonder what made Liam and Noel finally give in and make up. .

Duh! MONEY!!

I think I recall reading that they don't get any payout until the tour is completed, and that they get nothing if they bust up before the tour is over....!

High Stakes indeed.

Sure I know it's money, but why NOW? Why do they need money more now than a couple of years ago?

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Glimmerest

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CaptainCorella

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Glimmerest


I do wonder what made Liam and Noel finally give in and make up. .

Duh! MONEY!!

I think I recall reading that they don't get any payout until the tour is completed, and that they get nothing if they bust up before the tour is over....!

High Stakes indeed.

Sure I know it's money, but why NOW? Why do they need money more now than a couple of years ago?

Ok now it dawned on me that Noel did get rather recently divorced. Huh, I always figured it would be on Liam to crawl back, not the other way around.

MOJO 374 --- January 2025



ROCKMAN

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Rockman


MOJO 374 --- January 2025

20m?!?!? God damn why do these guys ever get married? Almost no rock star marriage ends up lasting...

....and and another $8 mill for the shack ....



ROCKMAN

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Rockman
....and and another $8 mill for the shack ....

Lord. Mick may have a reputation for being stingy but you get why he is... He didn't give Bianca that much in the end and he pulled a fast one on Jerry

Then one day she left me
She took everything that moved
My car, she took my trailer home
She took my Sunday boots
My nose is on her trail
I'm going to catch her by surprise
Then I'm going to have the pleasure
To roast that child alive

......... Melody Jagger & Richards (Inspiration by Billy Preston)



ROCKMAN

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RollingFreak

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Glimmerest
I do wonder what made Liam and Noel finally give in and make up. He had another affair kid which caused a divorce, but that was about a decade ago now.

Divorce is a huge contributing factor. That's clearly what happened with Oasis (though the payday was always too big that they couldn't ignore one day doing it), that's the same thing that happened with Guns N Roses. Slash got divorced and had to pay his wife 100k or something a month, and all of a sudden there's a GNR reunion. Their Oasis moment felt like it had passed, I truly did give up hope that would ever happened. But once Slash needed the money, he came crawling back. He let Axl keep some of his old band members, he learned Chinese Democracy songs while (eventually) Axl learned ONE Velvet Revolver song. I think he and all of them are happy it happened, and where they are now, but that reunion happened cause of one reason and its money.

From what I understand the rapprochement was possible because Axl hated Slash's wife. And it was a lot less of an actual reunion than Slash replacing a guitarist as Duff was already playing with GNR.

Also GNR had mostly become a lower tier theatre act by that point so I am sure his Team Brazil puppetmasters depending on that income likely framed it in a way that was much more palatable to Axl.

Axl getting the right chemical balance probably played a part.

Slash is on salary, not a partner so was likely to go along for the paycheck and save his creative input for his solo albums. Izzy's tweet suggesting an unequal split probably applies to all members but wouldn't be surprised if the contracts with promoters puts more risk on Axl.

For most major acts the tour is a whole separate corporation than the other "band" business. As a matter of fact I think I Keith's description of Licks era Stones as a "virtual corporation" would apply to a lot of legacy acts.

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Don Henley is out on tour with the supposed "Eagles" miming to a backing track because the money is too good. There were guys (Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, Roy Orbison, etc) who toured till they died cause they couldn't do anything else. There's a lot of others these days that are just out to keep paying for their lifestyle. I don't believe the Stones are any exception.

I am sure of lot of these guys are living paycheck to paycheck. Also modern technology has made the rigors of the road a lot more tolerable even at the van and trailer level.

Also I remember hearing an interview on the Lefsetz podcast with the late Kenny Rogers' manager. Lefsetz asked how hard it was to get Kenny out on the road and he replied Kenny loved spending his money and was always ready to go out and make more.

Seems Mick treats touring these days more as a working vacation with 2 shows a week and extended stays at the tour stops checking out the local sites.

OK maybe I will actually run the article thru a translator and read it.

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Rockman


MOJO 374 --- January 2025

Oh it had better not be Zak, he’s a brilliant drummer for The Who but was a terrible fit with Oasis in 2005-6, easily their worst tour. Sharrock will be fine.

Grace Slick retired from her music career in 1990. That was 35 years ago. It can be done.

It might just come down to having something else you’d rather be doing. Grace got into painting.

Frank “Pancho” Sampedro retired from Crazy Horse a few years ago. At the time he reportedly said he wanted to stay at his home in Hawaii and garden.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025-01-06 07:41 by Javadave.

I don't think the money itself is the sole motivation.

I suspect that whilst ever there is an audience and paycheque, and so long as the body remains willing, it's just easier to keep doing it than it is to stop and face the realities of time and mortality.

Ya dig a ditch and nobody even thanks ya...


Ya run out on stage hit a guitar and people pay ta scream for ya .....



ROCKMAN

Yep , the adulation is a drug for lots of them too.

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Spud
I don't think the money itself is the sole motivation.

I suspect that whilst ever there is an audience and paycheque, and so long as the body remains willing, it's just easier to keep doing it than it is to stop and face the realities of time and mortality.

I think this is pretty spot on

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Glimmerest

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Spud
I don't think the money itself is the sole motivation.

I suspect that whilst ever there is an audience and paycheque, and so long as the body remains willing, it's just easier to keep doing it than it is to stop and face the realities of time and mortality.

I think this is pretty spot on

You're right, money is not always the only motivator but I would claim that it's the one that, most often, makes the difference. That is also the theme of Hepworth's book.

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Stoneage

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Glimmerest

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Spud
I don't think the money itself is the sole motivation.

I suspect that whilst ever there is an audience and paycheque, and so long as the body remains willing, it's just easier to keep doing it than it is to stop and face the realities of time and mortality.

I think this is pretty spot on

You're right, money is not always the only motivator but I would claim that it's the one that, most often, makes the difference. That is also the theme of Hepworth's book.

For sure, if there wasn't profit to be made I don't think even artists who'd want to tour would do it. Touring is expensive after all.

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Rockman


MOJO 374 --- January 2025

Yaaaaaawn!

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babyblue

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Rockman


MOJO 374 --- January 2025

Yaaaaaawn!

I like Oasis. I'm really excited that they're touring again.

Why paste a big picture, for the third time, only to add one word or one sentence to it? BV told us not to do so - so why keep on doing it?
What do you think you add to the thread by doing so?

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Glimmerest
What a coincidence that a Swedish article is posted here on my second day.

Also, I think the author has a point, but I'd also argue that in many cases these guys are so rich that making money can't be the ONLY motivator. I personally tend to think that with the Stones a lot of it is addiction to the life-style as well as fear of boredom and decay in retirement.

Welcome onboard from a fellow Swede

I'm sure the adulation, while being on stage, is like a drug to many of them.