at the Who gig at hyde park on sunday. i got talking to a fella that works for the Stones tour promoters. he told me the uk shows aren't selling well at all

could a Keef 'relapse' be on the cards to save face ?

it made me wonder why they haven't added some big name supports to bring in the stragglers

The 'cheap' seats have long sold out for Twickenham - only £150 seats left as far as I know. Trade quite healthy on ebay as usual.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2006-07-04 12:38 by turd.

you say that. but i just pulled these up on ticketmaster with no problems

Rolling Stones
Twickenham Stadium, Twickenham, Middlesex, UK
Sun 20 Aug 2006, 19:00
Your Ticket(s)

Section Row Type Ticket Price Service Charge Description
123 73 FULL PRICE TICKET £60.00 £9.00
PRICE LEVEL 3
NORTH STAND MIDDLE TIER

123 73 FULL PRICE TICKET £60.00 £9.00

Glasgow always sells late for nearly everything.
Have seen them with 1000s of tickets left the morning of the show.
Place is packed when the stones come on.

Partly I think down to the weather more than anything.

Well what did you expect? Their publicity sucks as of late, they don't make ANY use of the media to support their tour and record, they haven't appeared in any interviews, Keith's accident. I'm surprised the shows do sell as they are.

i couldn't care less personally as it wont effect me if its full or half full


what are the chances i can get a good seat from outside for less than £50 ?

Hi All,
I would expect the shows to be slow to sell-demand will pick-up nearer to show-time.
What I do find surprising is Cohl's decision to book Hampden (capacity for Stones c.35000-40000) when last time around they played to 16000 over two nights at the SECC.
I would expect them to struggle to sell anything like 25000+ this time.At least Licks was well promoted and it sold-a great back catalogue tie-in.
Very few of the Scottish audience will be interested in/have bought ABB,they (and I) will want a Licks type night again!
The SECC shows were fabulous too-great crowds,nice and raucous down the front!
Cheers,
Si.

ps this isn't another Stones-bashing post,but you got to say their PR is abysmal!

I agree, Simon

Glasgow last time was great, but even for a pair of small arena shows it wasnt a very hard ticket to get

Its hard to sell a stadium show in a country of that size, plus it wasnt helped by the fact that (for me anyway) there was nothing in Block A in the first few rows on the pre-sales for £60 - and it was only when SECC.com started selling tickets a week later that they came up (waste of a fan club membership).

Bottom line is that outside London, youre not going to get people to pay £150 for what are often quite ordinary tickets for a stadium show. Most tickets are double what they were in 2003 (the price range is similar but there are far more in the higher price categories than last time) and the fact that (unlike everywhere else in Europe) the Stones decided to make the shows all-seated (for no reason other than to justify jacking the prices up) has hardly helped.

Andy - I think youd have no problem getting tickets outside for below face value.

Well, given these facts I wonder if a lot of people, like myself, thought it was all over for the cheaper seats. Given the fact that '40 Licks' seems to have renewed interest in the band currently, maybe some publicity is needed to readvertise the tour in the UK.

Havent you heard? As far as Virgin are concerned, this is still the Licks tour!

They promoted 40 Licks heavily enough on TV in recent weeks to the extent where it got up to #11 in the charts!

Who's going to volunteer to ring them to remind them that they released a Stones studio album three years after that and that supposedly thats the one the current tour is promoting!

It's obvious they've given up on promoting A Bigger Bang, which is a shame. We'll be lucky to get two songs a night from it in Europe.

just wait til the first show takes place, after that the tix will start flyin via the hype, the boys are back stronger than ever , dont miss it

The UK dates are over 6 weeks away yet... and we're still in the middle of the World Cup and Wimbledon. Any pushing of the tickets would be more sensibly done nearer the dates if they thought it necessary or worthwhile.
I'm with some of the the other guys above. I don't see an issue. The stadiums will be pretty full by showtime ;^).

Gazza Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Havent you heard? As far as Virgin are concerned,
> this is still the Licks tour!
>
> They promoted 40 Licks heavily enough on TV in
> recent weeks to the extent where it got up to #11
> in the charts!
>
> Who's going to volunteer to ring them to remind
> them that they released a Stones studio album
> three years after that and that supposedly thats
> the one the current tour is promoting!

Quite obviously Virgin is not the company that it used to be in the 70's and 80's anymore. Their marketing of the Rolling Stones rich catalog is simply unimaginative. When they took over the Stones catalog, all three live albums (Love You Live, Still Life and Flashpoint) stayed in the vaults for many years to come. Recently, they re-released outdated compilations (Jump Back, Made In The Shade) and even Sucking In The Seventies which cried for additional bonus tracks was re-released in their original form. Not to speak of the Rarities debacle. Before we see any valuable "product" in terms of rare and unreleased stuff from them, it is more likely they will opt for even more Greatest Hits compilations instead. 40 Licks is a good compilation, no doubt, and Greatest Hits compilations have their place in a Rolling Stones catalog, but for Virgin, there is little more beyond these cash-cows. Not even a new album like ABB.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2006-07-04 15:59 by retired_dog.

whats the difference, the stones are still laughing to the bank either way

melillo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> whats the difference, the stones are still
> laughing to the bank either way

Well, if "laughing to the bank" is all that matters for them, there's no place for die-hard fans left in this game...

sorry man , but at this point i really think thats what is going on

"Forty Licks" is no virgin anymore, it's universal music / ABKCO now.

melillo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> sorry man , but at this point i really think thats
> what is going on

I did not say you were wrong!

It is a myth that the Stones are not selling. After 43 years they are still playing sold out venues. Almost every show so far have been sold out. May be there are a few hundred seats available because there are always lots of sponsor seats etc but 99% full does not mean the band is not selling. I see industry numbers and many bands play for 4000 people in 9000 venues. That is less than 50% sell-out and that is not selling. But the Stones are sold out most places I have seen it myself. Go to the show and you will see.

Bjornulf

yes indeed that is true, i did not mean they werent selling, all i meant is that they dont mind the money thats all,they get paid very well and the people want to see it, why should they stop, only a fool would get off that train,
calling MR TAYLOR, CALLING MR WYMAN, LOL



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2006-07-04 16:32 by melillo.

support your local Starving Stone! buy a ticket!

In Japan recently, they were giving the tickets away to anyone who bought a CD!!

a venue can ALWAYS be filled have no fear. but giving away lots of comp tickets does not disguise the fact that a tour isn't 'selling'

it just means the promoters/band want bums on empty seats

Well I like free tickets with a CD concept.

Beats paying £150 a ticket any day.