Re: Why No Ireland on most recent tours?
Date: June 5, 2006 03:38
nikkibong Wrote:
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> higher per capita income than the UK - you bet
> there's a market!
yeah but its also an island of less than 6 million people, north and south - which doesnt help. Hard to fill a stadium at the prices the Stones charge to be honest in a place that small.
Since playing to over 70,000 at Slane Castle in 1982 (their first Irish date since 1965), the Stones have announced Dublin shows in 1990, 2003 and 2006. The only ones that took place were the two small arena shows in 2003. In 1990, poor ticket sales (World Cup summer!) affected everyone's Irish shows that year and the Stones cancelled their Lansdowne Road show scheduled for 16th July (theyd actually tentatively booked the stadium for the following day too!). officially, they cited difficulties in transporting their equipment across from England, but this was nonsense.
the 16,000 tickets for the two shows in 2003 sold out in about four minutes, although that was helped by the promoter's absurd decision to let people buy 8 tickets per person (when it was normally four for arena shows in larger venues) resulting in an early Christmas for ticket touts
The 2006 show scheduled for Phoenix Park never went on sale as the two promoters - Wonderland and MCD - made a balls of the whole thing and while it went to court and dragged out into March, the band's management understandably decided to look elsewhere.
Keith told me in an AOL online interview in 1998 the band would love to go back to Belfast again. Was hoping for it in the promised 1999 'theatre' tour which never happened, and cant see it happening now. Think we're long overdue a visit (if they played an indoor show, Belfast's Odyssey arena holds more than either of the main indoor arenas in Dublin), although if they come back in 2007, no doubt it'll be Dublin again. yawn.