Rolling Stones American Tour 1981

infobox concert tour
concert_tour_name = Rolling Stones American Tour 1981


artist = The Rolling Stones
start_date = 25 September 1981
end_date = 19 December 1981
number_of_legs = 1
number_of_shows = 50
last_tour = US Tour 1978
this_tour = American Tour 1981
next_tour = European Tour 1982

The Rolling Stones' American Tour 1981 was a concert tour of stadiums and arenas in the United States to promote the album "Tattoo You". It was the largest grossing tour of 1981 with $50 million in ticket sales. Roughly three million concert goers attended the concerts, setting various ticket sales records.

History

Initially, lead singer Mick Jagger was not interested in another tour, but guitarists Keith Richards and Ron Wood were, as were elements of the press and public, and Jagger eventually relented.cite book | last=Sandford | first=Christopher | title=Mick Jagger: Rebel Knight | publisher=Omnibus Press | year=2003 | isbn=0711998337 p. 276.] As with previous tours, the American Tour 1981 was promoted by Bill Graham.

In mid-1981, the band began rehearsals for its the tour at Studio Instrument Rentals (SIR) at West 52nd Street and 8th Avenue in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen, the site of the former Cheetah Club. The Stones pre-opened the tour with a warm-up show at the Sir Morgan's Cove club in Worcester, Massachusetts on September 14. Though billed as Little Boy Blue & The Cockroaches, word got out and some 11,000 fans pushed and shoved outside the 300-person venue.Sandford, "Mick Jagger: Rebel Knight", p. 278.] The Mayor of Boston stopped the notion of any further public rehearsals, saying "The appearance here of Mr. Jagger is not necessarily in the public interest."

The tour's elaborate and colorful stage was the work of Japanese designer Kazuhide Yamazari.cite book |last= Loewenstein|first= Dora|authorlink=|coauthors= Philip Dodd|title= According to the Rolling Stones|year= 2003|publisher= Chronicle Books|location= San Francisco|isbn= 0-8118-4060-3 ] According to Mick Jagger, "Most concerts that took place outdoors at the time were played during the day, probably because it was cheaper, I don't know. So we had the bright, bright primary colours... and we had these enormous images of a guitar, a car and a record—an Americana idea—which worked very well for afternoon shows." Indoor arena shows later in the tour featured a cherry picker and the release of hundreds of balloons at the show's end.

The 1981 Tour was the largest grossing tour of not only 1981, but for several years to come. The tour grossed $50 million in ticket sales when the average ticket price was $16. Roughly three million concert goers attended the concerts. The Stones set many ticket sales records that remain to this day unbroken. The ticket sales for Philadelphia's JFK Stadium shows received nearly 4 million request via post cards for tickets (a ticket selling method used at the time to prevent scalping); requests for the five arena shows in the New York metropolitan area were in the millions. "The New York Times" stated that, "The tour is expected to be the most profitable in the history of rock & roll; its sheer size has been staggering...ticket requests for these shows ran into the millions..."cite news | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9902EED71139F937A35752C1A967948260 | title=The Stones Roll On, Refusing to Become Show-Business Slick | author=Robert Palmer | publisher="The New York Times" | date=1981-11-04] The tour indeed did turn out to be profitable: the Stones were estimated to have reaped about $22 million after expenses.

The 1981 Tour also was an early milestone for the rock tour industry by selling advertising rights to Jōvan Musk. [cite news | url=http://www.forbes.com/forbes/1989/1002/154_print.html | title=Satisfaction Guaranteed | author=Peter Newcomb | publisher="Forbes" | date=1989-10-02] Jōvan paid $500,000 to put their name on Rolling Stones tickets. [cite book | first=Reuven | last=Brenner | title=Rivalry: In Business, Science, Among Nations | publisher=Cambridge University Press | year=1987 | isbn=0521385849 p. 84.] This attracted considerable attention in the business media, as Jōvan's image of a pleasant fragrance was at complete odds with the Stones' bad boys image.cite book | first=Michael F. |last=Jacobson | title=Marketing Madness: A Survival Guide for a Consumer Society | publisher=Westview Press | coauthors=Laurie Ann Mazur | year=1995 | isbn=0813319811 p. 107.] But the Stones behaved well on tour, and rock tour corporate sponsorships soon became the norm.

In another marketing first, the December 18 performance at Virginia's Hampton Coliseum was broadcast as "The World's Greatest Rock'n'Roll Party," on pay-per-view and in closed circuit cinemas.cite web| last =| first =| title = American Tour 1981| work = Rocks Off Setlists| publisher =| url = http://rocksoff.org/1981c.htm| accessdate = 2006-07-18] It was the first such use of pay-per-view for a music event. Guitarist Keith Richards memorably hit a manic fan with his guitar who ran onstage.

Another notable performance during the tour was the December 14 performance at Kansas City's Kemper Arena. Previous Stones lead guitarist Mick Taylor joined the band for a large part of the performance. Ron Wood was not happy with the Taylor's appearance, however: " [He was] bulldozing through parts of songs that should have been subtle, ignoring breaks and taking uninvited solos."Sandford, "Mick Jagger: Rebel Knight", p. 282.] Other guests during the tour were Tina Turner (who would sing "Honky Tonk Women"), Lee Allen, Chuck Leavell, and Sugar Blue.

In general, there was less backstage madness on the 1981 Tour than on many previous outings. This was largely due to Keith Richards having overcome his well-known drugs and alcohol problems; "The New York Times" wrote of Richards that, "He looks healthy, he is playing brilliantly and his backup vocals are often so lusty that they drown out Mr. Jagger, who is working harder to hold up his end of things as result."This was the last tour to feature Ian Stewart on piano and the last tour that did not feature extensive backup musicians and singers onstage.

Several of the concerts throughout the tour were captured and selected songs were released on the 1982 live album "Still Life (American Concert 1981)". A Hal Ashby-directed concert film was also made from the tour, "Let's Spend the Night Together ", which grossed $50 million.cite web | url=http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/therollingstones/biography | title=The Rolling Stones: Biography | publisher="Rolling Stone" | accessdate=2008-06-21]

Tour band

*Mick Jagger - vocals, guitar
*Keith Richards - guitar, vocals
*Ron Wood - guitar
*Bill Wyman - bass
*Charlie Watts - drumsAdditional musicians:
*Ian Stewart - piano
*Ian McLagan - keyboards
*Ernie Watts - saxophone

Tour set list

The usual set list was:

# "Under My Thumb"
# "When the Whip Comes Down"
# "Neighbours"
# "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)"
# "Shattered"
# "Let's Spend the Night Together"
# "Black Limousine"
# "She's So Cold"
# "Time Is on My Side"
# "Beast of Burden"
# "Waiting on a Friend"
# "Let It Bleed"
# "You Can't Always Get What You Want"
# "Tops"
# "Tumbling Dice"
# "Hang Fire"
# "All Down the Line"
# "Let Me Go"
# "Little T&A"
# "Start Me Up"
# "Miss You"
# "Honky Tonk Women"
# "Brown Sugar"
# "Jumpin' Jack Flash"
# "Street Fighting Man"
# "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"

At some shows "Down the Road Apiece", "Twenty Flight Rock" and "Star Star" was played. A couple of numbers that were not working were dropped early on, while further into the tour "Going to a Go-Go" was also added.cite news | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E03E1DD1F39F937A25752C1A967948260 | title=Rock: Rolling Stones | author=Robert Palmer | publisher="The New York Times" | date=1981-11-14]

Tour dates

*14/09/1981 flagicon|United States Sir Morgan's Cove [cite web | url=http://www.wbur.org/photogallery/news%5Frollingstones/ | title=Photo Gallery: The Rolling Stones | publisher=WBUR | accessdate=2008-06-21] - Worcester, MA
*25/09/1981 flagicon|United States John F. Kennedy Stadium - Philadelphia, PA
*26/09/1981 flagicon|United States John F. Kennedy Stadium - Philadelphia, PA
*27/09/1981 flagicon|United States Rich Stadium - Buffalo, NY
*01/10/1981 flagicon|United States Metro Center - Rockford, IL
*03/10/1981 flagicon|United States Folsom Field - Boulder, CO
*04/10/1981 flagicon|United States Folsom Field - Boulder, CO
*07/10/1981 flagicon|United States Jack Murphy Stadium - San Diego, CA
*09/10/1981 flagicon|United States Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum - Los Angeles, CA
*11/10/1981 flagicon|United States Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum - Los Angeles, CA
*14/10/1981 flagicon|United States The Kingdome - Seattle, WA
*15/10/1981 flagicon|United States The Kingdome - Seattle, WA
*17/10/1981 flagicon|United States Candlestick Park - San Francisco, CA
*18/10/1981 flagicon|United States Candlestick Park - San Francisco, CA
*24/10/1981 flagicon|United States Tinker Field & Tangerine Bowl - Orlando, FL
*25/10/1981 flagicon|United States Tinker Field & Tangerine Bowl - Orlando, FL
*26/10/1981 flagicon|United States Fox Theater - Atlanta, GA
*28/10/1981 flagicon|United States Astrodome - Houston, TX
*29/10/1981 flagicon|United States Astrodome - Houston, TX
*31/10/1981 flagicon|United States Cotton Bowl - Dallas, TX
*01/11/1981 flagicon|United States Cotton Bowl - Dallas, TX
*03/11/1981 flagicon|United States Freedom Hall - Louisville, KY
*05/11/1981 flagicon|United States Meadowlands Sports Complex - East Rutherford, NJ
*06/11/1981 flagicon|United States Meadowlands Sports Complex - East Rutherford, NJ
*07/11/1981 flagicon|United States Meadowlands Sports Complex - East Rutherford, NJ
*09/11/1981 flagicon|United States Hartford Civic Center - Hartford, CT
*10/11/1981 flagicon|United States Hartford Civic Center - Hartford, CT
*12/11/1981 flagicon|United States Madison Square Garden - New York, NY
*13/11/1981 flagicon|United States Madison Square Garden - New York, NY
*16/11/1981 flagicon|United States Richfield Coliseum - Cleveland, OH
*17/11/1981 flagicon|United States Richfield Coliseum - Cleveland, OH
*19/11/1981 flagicon|United States Checkerdome - St. Louis, MO
*20/11/1981 flagicon|United States Unidome - Cedar Falls, IA
*21/11/1981 flagicon|United States Civic Center - Saint Paul, MN
*23/11/1981 flagicon|United States Rosemont Horizon - Rosemont, IL
*24/11/1981 flagicon|United States Rosemont Horizon - Rosemont, IL
*25/11/1981 flagicon|United States Rosemont Horizon - Rosemont, IL
*27/11/1981 flagicon|United States Carrier Dome - Syracuse, NY
*28/11/1981 flagicon|United States Carrier Dome - Syracuse, NY
*30/11/1981 flagicon|United States Pontiac Silverdome - Pontiac, MI
*01/12/1981 flagicon|United States Pontiac Silverdome - Pontiac, MI
*05/12/1981 flagicon|United States Louisiana Superdome - New Orleans, LA
*07/12/1981 flagicon|United States Capital Center - Largo, MD
*08/12/1981 flagicon|United States Capital Center - Largo, MD
*09/12/1981 flagicon|United States Capital Center - Largo, MD
*11/12/1981 flagicon|United States Rupp Arena - Lexington, KY
*13/12/1981 flagicon|United States Sun Devil Stadium - Tempe, AZ
*14/12/1981 flagicon|United States Kemper Arena - Kansas City, MO
*15/12/1981 flagicon|United States Kemper Arena - Kansas City, MO
*18/12/1981 flagicon|United States Hampton Coliseum - Hampton, VA
*19/12/1981 flagicon|United States Hampton Coliseum - Hampton, VA

References

Notes

External links