Anybody has an explanation to the fact that at this concert the band played 28 songs?
I rememeber thay arrived very late on stage. After the Skynyrd, we waited almost until midnight their arrival. Nevertheless, they played their longest show ever.
At that time there was no Internet and we could only get information from radios or magazines and I guess that nobody of the 350.000 people there could expect a setlist so long and with tracks like Around and around, Little red rooster, Route 66, Dead flowers, Stray cat blues, etc.
After the show, my first thought was that the band was going to split and this was the reason behind a selection of songs like that, even picking up from the first album.

Imagine if this happens nowadays, for example if it happened at the third O2 night 2007. What could have been our conclusions?

After so many years.. 32, I still wonder what is the reason behind and how comes that they offered to their fans a unique show like that.

i was at the stones last concert, and they seemed more emotional than they normally would have been.

i felt they were trying to tell us something subtely.

hope im wrong and they come back and do more.

weebobby, do you mean the last O2? I was there as well and, like many others, I was expecting a "special" program. I remember the pre-show and discussing with fans any sort of possible surprise, expecially when Bill faced up in the O2.
Then, apart for the children chorus, nothing happened and I must admit that I felt more relaxed as we were leaving the theatre feeling that it was not going to be their last show.

One of the EL MOCAMBO shows had a super long set list, the other one was quite short.... maybe they were just fluke things, who knows.... We had a rare encore of HTW in 72 at the Forum but that was because it was a matinee show and they wanted to clear the place out for the next show.... Always a "method to the madness".....

straycat.

yes i mean the last 02 gig.

i was dissapointed with the setlist but not surprised.

what made me feel it would be the last gig was the long version of brown sugar as the encore, keiths speech and even jagger reminiscing about the past when refering to members of the crowd.

To explain better my thinking.

If we review the whole band history, and we focus on the live performances, Knebworth is the most exceptional event.
Maybe Altamont was another one, not for what happened during the show, but for the non-rutinary setlist.

But for Altamont we know that the reason was that the band wanted to offer a free concert because of the high cost of the 69 tour tickets.

But in Knebworth, for which I remember I paid 32£ (but maybe it was including the transport from London), this was a show closing the 76 tour, a tour in my opinion quite lousy if compared with the previous TOTA 75.
Could be this one another interpretation? They wanted to offer to the European fans a show at the level of the TOTA? Which also means they realized the 76 tour was not that much?

Don't know, I'm just throwing some ideas on the table.

With the entire event being filmed by NBC, it probably made sense for the Stones to provide a wider range of material from which a decent film could be made.

Perhaps they weren't too happy either, about the show they'd filmed in Paris a few months before.

Yeah, remember waitin' ages at Knebworth for the Stones to start.. everyone was knackered! Also remember, quite a few interruptions to the flow of the concert with amps making a bang and breakin' down... some great moments but very tiring after a long day and probably not one of the greatest overall concerts I've seen but still, hey, it was the Stones in concert, and never to be missed if you can get there.
ALSO, i WAS AT 02 ON THE 23RD. and it was one of the best shows I've EVER seen.. they can't possibly stop gigging when it is this good. The encore of Brown Sugar blew us all away - Mick was on fire, sizzling... unbelievably brilliant!

"...till the next time..."

Star

Country Honk really rocked....

sometimes my memories fight with my dreams, but correct me if I'm wrong. When the show started, Jagger was not on stage but appeared from behind the amps on the left part of the stage. He joined the others while singing Satisfaction. Unfortunately this part was not filmed.

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straycat58
To explain better my thinking.

If we review the whole band history, and we focus on the live performances, Knebworth is the most exceptional event.
Maybe Altamont was another one, not for what happened during the show, but for the non-rutinary setlist.

But for Altamont we know that the reason was that the band wanted to offer a free concert because of the high cost of the 69 tour tickets.

But in Knebworth, for which I remember I paid 32£ (but maybe it was including the transport from London), this was a show closing the 76 tour, a tour in my opinion quite lousy if compared with the previous TOTA 75.
Could be this one another interpretation? They wanted to offer to the European fans a show at the level of the TOTA? Which also means they realized the 76 tour was not that much?

Don't know, I'm just throwing some ideas on the table.

..but it wasnt a tour show as such..it was a festival, with the Stones headlining. Which would go some way to explaining why it was so different.

It took place a full two months after the tour ended, with a setlist that bore little resemblance in length and structure to what had been the norm during the European tour.

Its the only large scale show theyve done since Hyde Park which didnt take place within the confines of a tour - the only other non-tour shows were the Toronto shows in 1977 and 1979 which had a specific purpose in mind (taping a live album and the CNIB benefit shows as part of Keith's probation terms, respectively)

yes Gary.., Hyde Park had also a specific purpose: to present Taylor.

Strange for a band who deserted all the most important rock-happenings, Monterey, Wight, Woodstock and the various Glastonbury editions. I hardly figure out the reason of participating to Knebworth, two months after the last date of the tour, and with this amazing setlist, starting at midnight.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-08-29 16:09 by straycat58.

The Stones Vienna show on June 23 was all set to close the European leg of the 75/76 World tour. But during the Wimbledon Men's Singles Final two people dressed as Harlequins ran onto the court with a placard saying Stones At Knebworth. The tour had stopped two months before so this was really a special one off.

I'm not sure when the idea for the concert came but I think it probably was offered the band by promoter Freddie Bannister in the wake of the huge clamour for tickets for their 6 sell out Earl's Court show earlier in May.

Bearing all this in mind the Stones sensed the occasion and delivered a very special set to reward their loyal fans.

In answer to an earlier posting on this subject, the Stones were late because 10cc's synths kept going out of tune - it was a fabulously hot day - and Keith was apparently waiting for Spanish Tony to arrive who was caught up in traffic.

Although the band were fairly sloppy that night they must have had a few rehearsals to play the new sons in the set list such as Routee 66 which they hadn't played since about 63, Let's Spend The Night Together - not played since
67, Dead Flowers - not played since 71, Around And Around - not played since about 64, and Stray Cat Blues - not played ever as far as I know.

These rehearsals probably took place in their Bermondsey studio.

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HelterSkelter
One of the EL MOCAMBO shows had a super long set list, the other one was quite short.... maybe they were just fluke things, who knows.... We had a rare encore of HTW in 72 at the Forum but that was because it was a matinee show and they wanted to clear the place out for the next show.... Always a "method to the madness".....

Tell us about the arvo show, Helter! It's available in good audience quality. But WHAT WAS IT LIKE?

"The wonder of Jimi Hendrix was that he could stand up at all he was so pumped full of drugs." Patsy, Patsy Stone

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Silver Dagger

Although the band were fairly sloppy that night they must have had a few rehearsals to play the new sons in the set list such as Routee 66 which they hadn't played since about 63, Let's Spend The Night Together - not played since
67, Dead Flowers - not played since 71, Around And Around - not played since about 64, and Stray Cat Blues - not played ever as far as I know.

.

What?? "Route 66", "Dead Flowers", and "Stray Cat Blues" were all played at at the January 18th, 1973 Nicaraguan Earthquake Benefit Concert in Los Angelos. And have you forgotten that "Stray Cat Blues" is on Get Yer Ya Ya's Out? It was a regular part of the setlist for the '69, '70, and '71 tours.

Your right Tumblin_Dice_07. Must have been the Tedquila Slammers I had at lunchtime. They sure tasted good. On with the show, good health to you.

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Barn Owl
With the entire event being filmed by NBC, it probably made sense for the Stones to provide a wider range of material from which a decent film could be made.

Perhaps they weren't too happy either, about the show they'd filmed in Paris a few months before.

Having watched Paris 76 recently for the very first time and compared to LA 75
I must say that both shows got their ups and downs which was surprising to me because I expected a good or a bad one.

So I think Barn Owl is on the right tree (or was it the left one )?

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Silver Dagger
Your right Tumblin_Dice_07. Must have been the Tedquila Slammers I had at lunchtime. They sure tasted good. On with the show, good health to you.

haha Tequila Slammers at lunchtime. That sounds nice. On with the show indeed, take care.

There has always been a lot of knocking the Stones at Knebworth, I was there and thought it was BRILLIANT STUFF. I have been following the Stones since 68 and Knebwoth stands out for me because it was different. I have watched clips on you tube and still can't see what everone is complaining about, they all look stoned but I think this adds to it.

I can still remember dancing around a camp fire at about 1.30am to Around and Around.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2008-08-30 01:03 by pgarof.

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straycat58
yes Gary.., Hyde Park had also a specific purpose: to present Taylor.

Strange for a band who deserted all the most important rock-happenings, Monterey, Wight, Woodstock and the various Glastonbury editions. I hardly figure out the reason of participating to Knebworth, two months after the last date of the tour, and with this amazing setlist, starting at midnight.

Hyde Park would have happened regardless of Taylor. The free shows there had started a few weeks earlier and Jagger thought it would have been a good move to do one after seeing a Blind Faith gig in Hyde Park

The other festivals you mentioned were all spread over a few days. Knebworth wasnt quite on the same scale in that it was a one day event. There wasnt an 'annual' festival event in the calendar there at the time...

I think maybe they realised there was such a huge demand for their tickets (there were 1 million applications for the 3 Earls Court shows that were announced, and these were then doubled to six) that it was worth their while in every way to come back and do a massive open air show.

There's an interview with Jagger (with footage of the Schotland show) where he states that due to the "terrible sound at Earls Court" the Stones will return "later this year" to make up for it.

I guess this is the reason why they did Knebworth. They also recorded the gig, most likely for future use on the live album. I guess this is why they did such a long show.

Mathijs

>> Hyde Park would have happened regardless of Taylor. <<

it's of no significance, and quite a digression from the thread topic, but
i'm trying to picture the Hyde Park gig happening "regardless of Taylor".
the Stones parted ways with Brian in late may, right? the Blind Faith gig was on june 7th,
and the press conference announcing Mick T joining the Stones was on june 13th.
it does seem like unveiling Mick T was part of the idea when they agreed to do the july 5th gig.

sorry - i shall put the Department of Historical Accuracy to bed now. it's obviously sleepy

Knebworth is probably the show I've listened the most to, of all the 1976 shows. Even though they're quite stoned....and stuff, it's a thrill to hear them do songs like Satisfaction, Little Red Rooster, Route 66...etc; not to mention the terrific Wild Horses - it brought out a great energy; contrary to the European Tour 1976, which seemed like a drag for the band....with a couple of exceptions of course. Knebworth 1976 is like the link between the dead-end 1976 tour - and the excellent 1978 tour

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with sssoul
>> Hyde Park would have happened regardless of Taylor. <<

it's of no significance, and quite a digression from the thread topic, but
i'm trying to picture the Hyde Park gig happening "regardless of Taylor".
the Stones parted ways with Brian in late may, right? the Blind Faith gig was on june 7th,
and the press conference announcing Mick T joining the Stones was on june 13th.
it does seem like unveiling Mick T was part of the idea when they agreed to do the july 5th gig.

sorry - i shall put the Department of Historical Accuracy to bed now. it's obviously sleepy

yeah,we´re all getting older,maybe can find an answer later,or it will be a
"myth"...

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with sssoul
>> Hyde Park would have happened regardless of Taylor. <<

it's of no significance, and quite a digression from the thread topic, but
i'm trying to picture the Hyde Park gig happening "regardless of Taylor".
the Stones parted ways with Brian in late may, right? the Blind Faith gig was on june 7th,
and the press conference announcing Mick T joining the Stones was on june 13th.
it does seem like unveiling Mick T was part of the idea when they agreed to do the july 5th gig.

sorry - i shall put the Department of Historical Accuracy to bed now. it's obviously sleepy

In my opinion, it does seem like announcing a "Stones without Brian" at Hyde Park was part of the idea. Brian left in June '68, no doubt about it.

Mathijs

I would say that before Hyde Park, the band was supposed to present Mick Taylor at the Rome Colosseum and this event was already advertised on the first page of Melody Maker June 14. The same page reports Blind Faith at Hyde Park.
Gary, I presume Hyde Park was second option but the intention was to introduce the new guitarist.


P.S: Don't understand reason why you can't see the pix (Melody Maker June 14, 196). Anyway, this is the link to download it:

[www.mediafire.com]

Ok, done!



Edited 8 time(s). Last edit at 2008-08-30 11:44 by straycat58.

Well, point being that that by mid 1969 the Stones hadnt performed a 'proper' show in public in over 2 years and felt that it was time to do some live work. They also hadnt played any UK dates for almost three years.

I do think they would have done 'something' in a live context that summer regardless of whether Mick Taylor was still in the band or not. Unveiling him at a high profile event was a good excuse.

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Mathijs
There's an interview with Jagger (with footage of the Schotland show) where he states that due to the "terrible sound at Earls Court" the Stones will return "later this year" to make up for it.

I guess this is the reason why they did Knebworth. They also recorded the gig, most likely for future use on the live album. I guess this is why they did such a long show.

Mathijs

Why is Earls Court supposed to be an acoustical nightmare?
I've heard this many times, not just for the Stones, but for other bands.
Funny, whey Zeppelin played there in 1975, the year before,
it was considered a highpoint for the band on all accounts.
BTW, I've never been inside Earls COurt. Seen it from the outside, though.

Well, it simply wasnt built for music....its an exhibition centre.

Poor sightlines and the stone floor tends to make the sound bounce around a lot.

It was just used by major bands for concerts because it was by far the biggest indoor venue in the UK - held about 18-20,000 at a time when the next biggest would have been Wembley which held barely half that.

Dylan's 1978 Earls Court run was universally praised (and rightly so, they were amongst his greatest ever shows) so I suppose it isnt always horrible.

It was the perfect setting for Pink Floyd's 8 The Wall shows in 80/81. I saw Floyd there in 73 too and it was a real muddy sound. And I remember a big furore after Bowie played there in 73. I think there was outrage on the front cover of Melody Maker from angry fans demanding their money back. Saw Roger Waters there last year and the sound was excellent so maybe they've overhauled the acoustics. Most band playing a big London venue will now opt for the 02. However I saw The Verve there last year and they had an appalling sound.