THE ROLLING STONES CHRONICLE

2016

One more straight from the heart


 
    January 7, 2016: Mick Jagger appears via satellite at the Television Critics Association winter
        press tour in Pasadena, California to promote the upcoming HBO series Vinyl.


    January 10, 2016: Death of rock legend, and Rolling Stones' friend, David Bowie.


The Rolling Stones on Twitter (January 11, 2016): David Bowie 1947-2016

The Rolling Stones are shocked and deeply saddened to hear of the death of our dear friend David Bowie. As well as being a wonderful and kind man, he was an extraordinary artist, and a true original.


Mick Jagger, Keith Richards & Ron Wood (January 11-12, 2016): Godspeed David

Mick: David was always an inspiration to me and a true original. He was wonderfully shameless in his work. We had so many good times together. He was my friend, I will never forget him.

Keith: I’m going to miss him. Another goodbye to another good friend.

Ron: Thinking of you David, God bless.


    January 12, 2016: Ron Wood attends the Dafabet Masters 2016 snooker championship at
        Alexandra Palace in London, England.



    January 13, 2016: Ron Wood attends the War Horse stage production in London.


    January 15, 2016: Mick Jagger is at the premiere of the television series Vinyl in New York City.


    January 16, 2016: Charlie Watts and Ron Wood arrive in Los Angeles, California.


January 18-29, 2016: The Rolling Stones hold tour rehearsals in Los Angeles, California.


    January 20, 2016: Mick Jagger and Ron Wood dine at Fogo de Chao in Beverly Hills.


    January 24, 2016: Ron Wood eats out at Crossroads in Los Angeles.


January 30-31, 2016: The Rolling Stones fly from Los Angeles to Santiago, Chile.


February 1, 2016: The Rolling Stones visit Santiago's National Stadium, meet the press, and hold a
    rehearsal.



February 3, 2016: The Rolling Stones launch their 2016 South America Olé Tour, their most
    ambitious visit to the continent yet, at Santiago's Estadio Nacional. The band performs in Chile
    for the first time in 21 years and brings back She's a Rainbow.



February 4, 2016: The Rolling Stones arrive in Buenos Aires, Argentina.


    February 6, 2016: Mick Jagger and Ron Wood attend a concert by Charly Garcia at the Faena
        Hotel in Buenos Aires.


February 7, 2016: The Rolling Stones perform the first of three scheduled concerts at Estadio Unico
    (Estadio Ciudad de La Plata) in La Plata, Argentina, and resurrect Anybody Seen My Baby?.



    February 9, 2016: Keith Richards and Ron Wood eat out at La Cabrera in Palermo, Buenos Aires.


February 10, 2016: The Rolling Stones perform a second concert at Estadio Unico in La Plata.


    February 12, 2016: Mick Jagger visits La Recoleta Cemetary in Buenos Aires.


February 13, 2016: The Rolling Stones play their third show at Estadio Unico in La Plata.


    February 14, 2016: Start of the HBO TV series Vinyl, co-created and executive produced by
        Mick Jagger.



Mick Jagger (February 2016): Vinyl

I’m in Argentina and I’m driving to the gig and there are big billboards on the freeway, Vinyl! It’s quite funny really. Obviously it’s fictional. It’s a drama series and in a drama series you really want to bring out the characters, the narrative. Having said that, of course you also want to instil in people the sense of the times and you want them to buy in that. You have to make it believable — that’s our overarching goal, whether it’s actually true or not.

I never worked at a recording company like (the one depicted in the show) because in that time I was working at Atlantic Records with Ahmet Ertegun, and there’s some of that in there, but it’s a combination of a lot of things... I thought (my son James) was really good so I didn’t have to worry too much. I mean, if he was really, really not good, maybe I wouldn’t have been the one to tell him. I was really pleased with his performance.




February 15, 2016: The Rolling Stones arrive in Uruguay.


    February 15, 2016: Mick Jagger dines at Pocitos, in Tandory, Montevideo.


February 16, 2016: The Rolling Stones perform their first ever concert in Uruguay, at Centenario
    Stadium in Montevideo.



February 17, 2016: The Rolling Stones arrive in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.


    February 17, 2016: Mick Jagger hangs out with singer-songwriter Caetano Veloso.


February 20, 2016: Ten years almost to the day, the Rolling Stones perform again in Rio de Janeiro,
    at Maracana Stadium, launching the Brazilian leg of the tour.



    February 23, 2016: In Sao Paulo, Brazil, Ron Wood spray paints the Rolling Stones' tongue logo
        on a mural, while Mick Jagger inaugurates his son Lucas' school music room.



Mick Jagger (February 2016): Stones working after the Olé tour

I don't have a plan to stop. You know, we do this tour, and then we're talking about what we're doing the rest of (the year). We've been in the studio just before Christmas, we're cutting some new tracks. And no doubt when this is all finished, at the end of the spring we'll do some more.



February 24, 2016: The Rolling Stones play Morumbi Stadium in Sao Paulo, Brazil.


    February 26, 2016: Mick Jagger is interviewed for Brazilian TV's Superpop in Sao Paulo, Brazil.


February 27, 2016: The Rolling Stones perform again at Morumbi Stadium in Sao Paulo.


March 1, 2016: The Rolling Stones announce they will perform a free concert in Cuba on March 25,
    their first ever in the country.



March 2, 2016: The Rolling Stones play their first ever concert in Porto Alegre, Brazil, at Beira Rio
    Stadium.


March 3, 2016: The Rolling Stones fly to Lima, Peru.


    March 4, 2016: Mick Jagger and Ron Wood dine at Astrid & Gaston in Lima. In London, England,
        Mick's ex Jerry Hall marries media proprietor Rupert Murdoch.



    March 5, 2016: Mick Jagger eats at Central Restaurante in Lima.


March 6, 2016: The Rolling Stones perform for the first time in Peru, in front of 80 000 fans at
    Estadio Monumental in Lima.



March 7, 2016: The Rolling Stones arrive in Bogota, Colombia.


    March 8, 2016: Mick Jagger and Ron Wood lunch at V.O. Version Original in Bogota, Colombia,
        and take a walk through the La Candelaria neighborhood. In England, it's revealed that ex-
        Rolling Stone Bill Wyman is undergoing treatment for prostate cancer but is expected to
        recover fully.



March 10, 2016: The Rolling Stones perform for the first time in Colombia, at Estadio El Campin
    in Bogota. Colombian singer Juanes guests on Beast of Burden.



March 11, 2016: The Rolling Stones fly in to Mexico City, Mexico.


    March 13, 2016: Mick Jagger visits the National Museum of Anthropology and History in Mexico
        City.



March 14, 2016: The Rolling Stones play at Foro Sol in Mexico City.


    March 16, 2016: Unannounced, Charlie Watts joins Tim Ries and Bernard Fowler onstage at
        Club Piso 51 in Mexico City. Ron Wood visits a sanctuary for rescued animals.


Mick Jagger (March 2016): Wearing L'Wren Scott's clothes onstage

I don’t find it difficult emotionally to wear her clothes. In fact it’s quite nice for me. I’ve got a big selection of her stuff and the wardrobe mistress goes nuts because I always want to bring them all on tour. At the end of the day I just pick them up and go: Ah that’s one of L’Wren's... I like this one.


Mick Jagger (March 2016): Preparing Exhibitionism

It’s all being installed at the moment. I’ve been busy Skyping the team and seeing what it really looks like. It’s one thing a plan, the other is the reality. It’s going to be great when it’s up and running.



March 17, 2016: The Rolling Stones perform again at Foro Sol in Mexico City.


    March 21, 2016: In Miami, Florida, Charlie Watts drops by the Frost School of Music at the
        University of Miami and talks and jams with jazz students.



March 24, 2016: The Rolling Stones arrive in La Havana, Cuba.


March 25, 2016: The Rolling Stones close their Latin American Olé tour by playing a historic free
    concert in front of approximately 450 000 spectators in La Havana,
Cuba, at the Ciudad
    Deportiva de la Habana, the first in the country by a group of their stature.



Keith Richards (March 2016): Playing Cuba

That was unique, man, even in my book. God knows, it was an amazing outpouring of what the Cuban people have stored up inside themselves. There was a great sense of release and freedom and everybody had an incredible time. The band played their asses off. It was fantastic... I was quite proud that we’d been banned in the early 60s  along with Elvis and the Beatles - good company you know?

I’ve got to put it up there with the Hyde Parks. Absolutely. Especially given the unique location. I mean what a way to finish off a great tour.



Keith Richards (March 2016): Exhibitionism... and the guitars

I think people were planning ahead because this thing is going round the world for four years, which pains me a little because there are a couple of jackets I let in there that I ain’t going to see for a long while. The idea came up a few years ago. We were in Belgium and these guys came by and showed us how the exhibition might work. It’s not my area of expertise but it was intriguing and we kind of said, OK, go ahead. Within a few months, they were coming up with some great ideas.

I’m dying to see the reproduction of our first flat together in Edith Grove because the only thing that gave real character to it was the pong.


The really special, particular (guitars) are the ones I use when I work. These guys (guitars) in the exhibition have been important on certain records but I usually draw a line between the stage guitars and the recording guitars. Recording guitars you can pick and choose for a particular song, you know, I think we should go for a Gibson here. Onstage, you have to have reliability and those are obviously not in the exhibition... because I need them!

You know I’ve been through several different phases with guitars. But I’ve got it nailed down to 15 at the moment.




    April 2, 2016: Ron Wood visits the Saatchi Gallery in West London, England, for a preview of the
        Rolling Stones' exhibition.



Keith Richards (March 2016): The Stones album in the works

(T)hat’s in the can, although it might be a surprise to people and I can’t say any more than that right now. We did sessions in London in December which suddenly gave us a whole load of stuff. In fact, the Stones have never cut so many tracks in such a short time. Now that’s not necessarily a guarantee of a good record but there is something in the works and I’d just like to leave it up there in mystery land.


Keith Richards (March 2016): More Stones shows on the horizon

We’re planning some gigs later on this year. I take each tour as it comes and at the moment I’m still shaking Cuba off me.


Keith Richards (March 2016): Looking forward

I must say the resilience of this band, all the crap that’s happened to us so many times, doesn’t stop the fact that we will keep going. Just as long as we’re here. It’s not even a point of honour. It’s just a case of what else are you going to do? We’re probably more solid than ever. I’m looking forward.



April 4, 2016: The Rolling Stones attend the launch of Exhibitionism, an exhibition of memorabilia
    spanning their career, at the Saatchi Gallery in London, England. The retrospective is due to run
    four years at different galleries around the world.


Mick Jagger (April 2016): Just the next thing

It’s fair to say I’m not very nostalgic. Obviously, to be able to help this along, I have had to invest in delving back. But the thing about nostalgia is that it is trying to hark back to something that no longer exists, and I don’t really feel like that about this exhibition. I look at it as part of an ongoing story. We’re still out there, still on the road, still going. This is just the next thing.


Mick Jagger (April 2016): Camaraderie in the band

There’s been a lot of water under the bridge, but I think we still feel that camaraderie. I have a really good feeling when we get together and play, when we’re rehearsing and doing show days and so on. Before we go onstage, when you’re chatting, we still make jokes, it’s very light-hearted. We don’t do prayers, but we do jokes. So the bond is still there and it’s good that it is. It would be really rough if we didn’t have that. I think it would be impossible to be honest.


Mick Jagger (April 2016): The new album

The next album? Well we just started before Christmas so I mean I don't really - I'm not saying anything about it. And don't ask Ronnie because he'll probably tell you too much! (laughs)

I can't say much but there are a lot of different things on this album.


Ron Wood (April 2016): Blues covers recorded

We went in to cut some new songs, which we did. But we got on a blues streak. We cut 11 blues in two days. They are extremely great cover versions of Howlin' Wolf and Little Walter, among other blues people... When we heard them back after not hearing them for a couple of months, we were, Who's that? It's you. It sounded so authentic.



    April 6, 2016: Death of legendary country artist, and Rolling Stones inspiration, Merle Haggard.


Keith Richards (April 8, 2016): Sing Me Back Home

Can I just say to Merle, The Hag - yeah, one of the great country singers of all time. And a hell of a guitar player. Gonna miss you, pal.


April 7-mid-April 2016: The Rolling Stones record overdubs and start mixing their blues recordings
    (from the previous December) at British Grove Studios in London, England, for the eventual
Blue &
    Lonesome
album.

  
    April 11, 2016: Ron Wood attends comedians Eddie Izzard and Gad Elmaleh’s Frenglish Night
       
show at Abbey Road Studios in London, England.



    April 13, 2016: Mick Jagger has dinner with TV journalist Mariella Frostrup at Chuc's in Mayfair,
        London.



    April 16, 2016: Mick Jagger sees Swedish singer Elliphant perform at Oslo in Hackney, London,
        England.


    April 19, 2016: Mick Jagger attends a concert at Cadogan Hall in London, England, by Portuguese
        fado singer Ana Moura.


    April 21, 2016: Unexpected, sudden death of legendary musical artist, and Rolling Stones' friend
         and favourite, Prince.



Mick Jagger, Keith Richards & Ron Wood (April 21-22, 2016): Prince: you will be missed

Mick: I am so saddened. Prince was a revolutionary artist, a wonderful musician and composer. He was an original lyricist and a startling guitar player. His talent was limitless. He was one of the most unique and exciting artists of the last 30 years.

Keith: A unique talent. A true original. So sad, so sudden and, I will add, a great guitar player. We are all going to miss him.

Ron: I will miss a good friend who was so talented. He was such a great performer/guitar player. Sleep well Prince.



    April 27, 2016: Keith Richards is filmed in New York City for an upcoming documentary.


    April 28, 2016: Ron Wood takes part in a discussion event for the African wildlife conversation
        charity Tusk Trust at Ham Yard Hotel in London, England.



    April 29, 2016: Ron Wood appears on UK TV on a snooker sports show.


May 3, 2016: Via their website, the Rolling Stones announce they will perform on October 7 in Indio,
    California, in the Coachella Valley Colorado Desert region, as part of a unique three-day series of
    concerts, called Desert Trip, featuring iconic rock legends Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, The Who,
    Neil Young and Roger Waters.



Mick Jagger (May 2016): Coachella for Old People

We first heard about Desert Trip about a month ago and that sounded like a really fascinating idea. At that point they hadn't got everyone on board and I said, Well, come back if it all comes together. And it did come together so we're very pleased to be doing it.

(deadpan) I feel it's Coachella for Old People... Who knows, maybe I'll get my RV and stay (for the whole weekend).

I see it a bit like the U.S. Glastonbury. It's relatively remote, it's a big long weekend, and you have to camp, you know what I mean?




May 4, 2016: The Rolling Stones issue a statement asking presumptive Republican nominee Donald
    Trump to stop using their music in his campaign.


    May 13, 2016: Mick Jagger attends the 8th Annual Filmmakers Dinner at Hotel du Cap-Eden in
        Cannes, France.



Don Was (May 2016): The Stones' recording sessions: new songs and blues cuts

I'm not allowed to spill the beans but since Ronnie Wood has already spilled the beans - we did some recording in December, we'd convened to do some new songs, and just to blow off some steam Keith said Let's play "Blue and Lonesome", Little Walter, right? So it was just magnificent, man... And it was go good, everyone was, like, pretty Wow. Well let's do another, let's do another one. And over two days we cut a whole album of blues. And it's really good. (laughs). But we're also doing new songs too. So they want to finish - they're not sure how they're going to put it out yet. But the blues album is done. It was done after two days. But I think we're giong to hang on and finish the new songs too and see what we've got there.

 


    May 14, 2016: Mick Jagger is a guest at the Vanity Fair party in Cannes.


    May 16, 2016: Mick Jagger shows up for Microsoft founder Paul Allen's yacht party in Cannes.


    May 17, 2016: Ron Wood is a guest at Prince Charles' Buckingham Palace garden party to
        celebrate the Prince's Trust.



    May 21, 2016: Ron and Sally Wood are out and about in London.


Ron Wood (November 2016): Stopping smoking

I gave up smoking 6 months ago - very proud! After 54 years of smoking heavily, I gave up... (And) sober in my 7th year now.

 


    Late May: Mick Jagger is spotted at Brooklyn Safehouse bar in New York City.


    May 30, 2016: Two days before Ron Wood's birthday, Sally Wood gives birth to twin girls, Gracie
        Jane and Alice Rose.



    June 2, 2016: Charlie Watts celebrates his 75th birthday. Mick Jagger visits Ron and Sally Wood
        and their newborns in London.

 
June 3, 2016: The Rolling Stones' Totally Stripped is released on DVD/Blu-ray and CD, a
reworked version of the 1995 documentary/concert film, and films of three full intimate
theater concerts from the 1995 European Tour.
 
 
 
 

    June 4-5, 2016: Keith Richards' Twitter account is hacked.


    June 8-10, 2016: Keith Richards is recording with Steve Jordan and Sheryl Crow at Germano
        Studios in New York City.



    June 11, 2016: Mick Jagger and son Lucas catch the England vs. Russia football game in
       Marseilles, France. Ron Wood is in London, accompanying his wife Sally leaving St Thomas'
       Hospital.


c. June 13-26, 2016: The Rolling Stones resume recording sessions in London, England.


Charlie Watts (November 2016): Recording a new album

We started (making a new album when we recorded the blues covers) and then we went back in recently, doing some new stuff. I don't know how long that's going to take.



    June 13, 2016: Ron Wood's horse Sandymount Duke wins the Roscommon Racecourse in Ireland.


Ron Wood (June 2016): Somebody up there likes me

I’m the burper, walker, nappy changer and I’m still trying to work out when I can get to sleep in between all that. I have played the guitar to them and when I get round to it I will do some drawings. At the moment I’m just soaking up every moment we have. I have Sally, I have my beautiful family and I have two little gorgeous dolly girls. All I can think is that someone up there really likes me.

Mick popped in on the third day. He couldn’t wait to see them, I put one in each arm and took a photo.


Keith Richards (June 2016): Keep on rolling

(Other bands that didn't last as long are) not really bands. They’re groups. We’re a band. And a real band sticks until it dies! These bands, they become big, but they’re generational. Just for their one decade. They literally go when their testosterone goes... I mean, we work hard, no one takes it for granted. We’re still looking to make our best record and put on our best show. The Stones have managed to be part of life without being passé.

Also, what else are you going to do? I’m here, on the other end, and I’m looking at life from here... This is what happens. It’ll happen to you, it’ll happen to everybody that’s going to read this. Life changes as you go along, and the thing is, it never stops. You never grow up, you just learn a little more. I ain’t getting old, I’m evolving (laughs).

 

    June 22, 2016: HBO cancels the television series Vinyl.


    June 27, 2016: Mick Jagger watches England lose to Iceland at the Euro champsionship at the
        Stade de Nice in Nice, France.


    June 28, 2016: Death of legendary Elvis Presley guitarist, and great influence on Keith Richards,
        Scotty Moore.



Keith Richards (June 29, 2016): Farewell Scotty

It is with great sadness we say goodbye to Scotty Moore, my first inspiration. The work he performed on those incredible early Elvis tracks stays with me forever. Farewell old friend.

 

    June 30, 2016: Ron Wood attends the Wimbledon tennis championship in London, England.


    July 1, 2016: Death of Ted Newman-Jones, guitar-maker for Keith Richards in the 1970s.


    July 3, 2016: Ron and Sally Wood are seen out with their baby girls in London.


    July 10, 2016: Mick Jagger attends the Euro championship finale at the Stade de France in Paris,
        France.



    July 12, 2016: Ron Wood's horse Sandymount Duke wins the Killarney Races in Ireland.


    July 14, 2016: A spokesperson for Mick Jagger confirms girlfriend Melanie Hamrick is pregnant
        with his child.



Keith Richards (July 2016): Progress on a new Stones album

The Stones are working on one, yeah - at the moment, as we speak. We cut a few new things and we're going in (the studio) again later this year.
 

Keith Richards (July 2016): Releasing a Stones blues covers album in the fall

The titles I can't reveal at the moment, for the reason that I can't quite remember them and I haven't got a list with me. (It'll be) coming out in the autumn some time.

 



    July 23, 2016: BBC TV airs a new documentary by Julien Temple, Keith Richards - Origin of the
        Species
.



    August 11, 2016: ABKCO Records announce they will release the Rolling Stones' 1960s albums
        in mono format on September 30.



    August 13, 2016: Ron Wood takes a stroll with his wife and twins in a park in London, England.


    August 18, 2016: Ron Wood is in Kildare, Ireland.


    August 19, 2016: A live album from the New Barbarians in 1979, Wanted Dead or Alive, is
        released.


    August 20, 2016: Ron Wood meets up with Jimmy White at the Eleven 30 snooker championship
        in Goffs, Ireland, and presents the winner Rocket O'Sullivan with the trophy.


 
September 10, 2016: The Rolling Stones' tour documentary, Olé Olé Olé:
A Trip Across Latin America
, is premiered at the Toronto International
Film Festival in Toronto, Canada.

 
 
 




    September 14, 2016: It's announced that Keith Richards has joined the We Are Not Afraid
        campaign to help raise funds for the refugee crisis.


September 16, 2016: Keith Richards and Ron Wood attend the official premiere of Olé Olé Olé at Roy
    Thompson Hall in Toronto, Canada.



Ron Wood & Keith Richards (September 16, 2016): Upcoming Stones work

Ron: I’m really looking forward to people hearing the blues album. It’s coming shortly, yeah, it’ll be in the next couple of months.

We’re going to sort out a lot of things in rehearsals which start in a couple of days in L.A... I don’t think you’ll get a last tour out of us just yet.

Keith: Mick, I think, is on his way to L.A. because we're starting a tour and rehearsing. I'm joining him tomorrow.



September 17, 2016: Keith Richards flies to Los Angeles, California for upcoming tour rehearsals.


    September 19, 2016: Ron Wood is out for a stroll back in London, England.


September 20-30, 2016: The Rolling Stones hold tour rehearsals in the Los Angeles area.


September 23, 2016: World premiere of the Rolling Stones' concert film,
Havana Moon
, from the March 25 Cuban concert.

 
 
 






Mick Jagger (September 2016): Havana Moon

I thought (Havana Moon) was a kind of fun little reference. When we were looking for a title, that just popped into my head, although it’s a long time since I’ve heard that song. It’s really moody, and I thought it would work really well for a title. Everyone seemed to like it.

I don’t think we ever thought of playing (in Cuba), not until a couple of years ago, when it started to be mentioned by people, because the American restrictions were easing, bit by bit, you know? We probably could have played there ages ago, but it would have been quite difficult.

(It's n)ot really (the last frontier for the Stones). We’ve played one gig in Africa. That’s a big place. Like to go back. And maybe India as well.



    September 23-25, 2016: Keith Richards "takes over" UK TV's BBC Four programming, called the
        Lost Weekend, using pre-taped segments.



    September 24, 2016: Mick Jagger attends Liberty Ross' birthday party in Malibu, California,
        along with Taylor Swift, Haim and Mary J. Blige among others.



    October 1, 2016: Ron Wood sees Dolly Parton perform at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.


October 3, 2016: The Rolling Stones kick off a Southwest U.S. mini-tour with a secret, private
    concert for Freightliner truckers at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. They bring back
    Mixed Emotions.



October 6, 2016: Through their website, the Rolling Stones officially announce the release of their
    blues covers album, Blue & Lonesome, on December 3.


 
October 6, 2016: A first track, Just Your Fool, from the Rolling Stones' upcoming Blue &
Lonesome
album, is made available via download.

 
  
October 7, 2016: The Rolling Stones open a historic Desert Trip festival at the Empire Polo Club in
    Indio, California, with Bob Dylan as opening act, to be followed on successive nights by
Paul
    McCartney, Neil Young, The Who and Roger Waters. The band premieres Ride 'Em on Down from
    the upcoming album and covers the Beatles' Come Together.



October 12, 2016: From Los Angeles, the Rolling Stones answer questions from fans on their Twitter
    account.



Mick Jagger (October 2016): "Little Red Corvette" and "Come Together"

Actually I wanted to play Little Red Corvette at the Desert Trip but I never got around to rehearsing it properly and we did Come Together instead... It was funny because I DID learn Little Corvette on the guitar and singing to play for Desert Trip. Maybe for another time! (laughs)


Mick Jagger (October 2016): Donald Trump using the Stones' music

So Patty asked me about Donald Trump using Stones music, and we (had) said, like, Don't use our music. So, the thing is, when you appear in America, if you're in a public place like Madison Square Garden or a theater, you can play any music you want, and you can't be stopped. So if you write a song and someone plays it in a restaurant that you go to, you can't stop them. They can play what they want.



October 14, 2016: The Rolling Stones perform their second Desert Trip concert in Indio, California.
    The group performs Just Your Fool for the first time.
 


Mick Jagger (October 2016): Thirty meters wider

(The Desert Trip stage) was 30 meters wider than our normal stage, which is quite wide, by the way, which I usually run. And I heard that nobody else went out there, apart from me. So what the fuck did they build the stage for?

Was that just for me? And I was just thinking, How long can I fucking do this? How long can I run the hundred-meter stage? I don't know the answer to that. I mean, as long as I can. And then should I stop performing when I can't run the hundred-meter stage, is that it? Does that mean I have to stop? No one else is using the hundred-meter stage!


Mick Jagger (October 2016): Keith long ago suggesting he just stand in front of the microphone

(Sarcastically) That's good advice, Keith. Thanks so much. It's very useful. He should stop playing the guitar. I mean, come on! There is some other option besides Are you gonna run the hundred meters or are you gonna sit? You can still move a bit in the middle!


Charlie Watts (October 2016): Playing festivals

Glastonbury was the first one that I said, We don’t want to do that, it’s a load of crap, and actually it was very nice. I’d never go to see a band in a bloody field playing – I wouldn’t go to a stadium to see a band either – but Glastonbury and the desert thing were fun.

 

October 19, 2016: The Rolling Stones cancel the first of two scheduled concerts this night at the
    T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, because of Mick Jagger contracting laryngitis.


    October 19, 2016: Ron Wood visits the Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas.


October 22, 2016: The Rolling Stones play their second scheduled show at the T-Mobile Arena in Las
    Vegas. Keith Richards performs three songs.


Ron Wood & Charlie Watts (October 2016): The Stones' new touring methods

Ron: We've been non-stop working, really. It's a different emphasis now. The input that we have in live gigs is more of a drive. We want to keep it going all the time. There's hardly any time. We used to have years off between tours, didn't we?... I think some of our promoters in the past were slave drivers. Playing in five foot of snow in Chicago in winter, in the open air. We thought, Hang on a minute, we're not getting any younger. But there is a limit to how much you can do comfortably.

Charlie: That's age. Also it gets boring after a while. When you look at a sheet with 150 dates on it, which is that last long one we did, it's like, Bloody hell! Now I wouldn't get on the train to get to London to start the thing.

 

October 25, 2016: The Rolling Stones close their mini-tour, and conceivably the world tour started in
    2012, with a small, private concert for New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft at a tent in
    Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts.


    October 28, 2016: Ex-Rolling Stone Bill Wyman celebrates his 80th birthday (October 24) with a
        special gala concert at the O2 Arena in London, England.



Keith Richards (October 2016): Bill's bass playing

Bill Wyman is an incredible bass player. I'm so always amazed by Bill’s tastefulness in his bass playing. Which is not something I think that most people, you know, or anyone think. But when I listen back to what he's playing behind - I'll knock out a song right and say, It goes like this, Bill. And then I hear what he's putting behind it and I've got to say this is the most discerning, very sensitive musician. You know, I mean he might be embarrassed by that, but I've got to say he's like the top bass player for me, man.



    November 1, 2016: Mick Jagger is in New York City.


    November 2, 2016: Ron Wood presents the Gibson Les Paul Award to U2's The Edge at the
        2016 Q Awards at the Roundhouse in London, England.



    November 6, 2016: Mick Jagger takes a walk at Runyon Canyon in Los Angleles, California, with
        his daughter Georgia.



Mick Jagger (November 9, 2016): Donald Trump elected U.S. president

Just was watching the news... maybe they'll ask me to sing You Can't Always Get What You Want at the inauguration, ha!


 
November 11, 2016: The Rolling Stones' Havana Moon is released on DVD/Blu-ray and CD.








November 15, 2016: The Rolling Stones attend the launch of Exhibitionism in New York City, at the
    Industria, and hold press interviews.


    November 22, 2016: Mick Jagger visits painter John Currin's exhibition at Sadie Coles in London,
        England.
 

 
November 25, 2016: The Rolling Stones' Ride 'Em on Down, off their next album, is
released as a single in physical format.

 
 
  
 
 

Mick Jagger & Keith Richards (October 2016): Making a blues album

Mick: (It was) an exercise in sprezzatura. You’ve got to concentrate, but it can’t sound like it’s difficult. And it doesn’t... It’s not like rock music or programmed drum music. It pulsates in a very weird way, where each bar is different. And that’s what’s interesting about this kind of music when it’s played properly. It has a swerve, and it has a dynamism about it.

I just looked back at the original records, and we wanted some of these moods. Every track is different. We all thought it was going to be easy but it wasn’t.

Sounds have changed. What makes you excited now is not the same. In music, everything’s different. But the blues still have something about them that’s really good. I love all kinds of music, and I still listen to the blues.

This album is a homage to our favourite musicians, people who kicked us off in playing music. That was the reason we started a band. For my generation it’s the equivalent of suburban white kids doing rap. It’s so culturally far away from your own experience. We were proselytisers of blues music. In the end that’s what we’re still doing.

Keith: What we're playing on this album is actually the same time as we were making our first album. So they're very connected. At least to me and I think to the band. They take us back to our earlierst recordings and even pre-recording actually. So in a way a full circle, I guess, is the way the band feels about it.



    November 30, 2016: Ron Wood attends the Tusk Convention Awards at the Victoria and Albert
        Museum in London, England.



December 2, 2016: The Rolling Stones' first new studio album in 11 years, made up
of blues covers, Blue & Lonesome, is released.

 
 
 


 
Keith Richards (October 2016): Mick's musicianship

On this album, you can hear how much (Mick is) a part of the band and what a musician he is. Because he’s such a showman, a lot of his actual talent gets hidden. But on this record, he can feel very proud of himself. I’ve always loved the man. It’s just that I have to kick his ass now and again!

 
Mick Jagger (October 2016): The wait between studio albums

I know it's a long time. I don't really know why. I guess we're touring a lot and nobody was that keen - I'm  including myself in all this - in going in the studio. We just didn't do it... When I did Doom and Gloom, I did demos for lots of others. I just carried on doing that, but we've never gone in the studio all together.

 
Keith Richards (October 2016): The ace of spades

I'm black as the ace of fucking spades, man. Ask any of the brothers. I didn't know what color these people were, as a kid. I don't think of blues as being of any particular color at all. Obviously, its history. But there were white slaves, as well. There have been plenty of work songs from way back. Try Egypt. Quite Jewish, actually. You know, people have been doing this since history began.


Ron Wood & Keith Richards (October 2016): Touring and promoting the album

Ron: For me, I'm very pleased that we've made this blues album now because I'm really looking forward to seeing what's going to happen next year in the wake of the release of this blues album. Because I'd love to get behind it and I'm sure people would love the band to play the blues songs.

Keith: We'll push it, but I'd rather it seep into the collective consciousness or whatever it's called. Now The Rolling Stones' great blues record! I don't expect that. I expect it to have an insidious effect for several years.

 
Ron Wood, Mick Jagger, Keith Richardsm Charlie Watts & Don Was (October-November 2016): The next Rolling Stones album

Ron: There's about 10 or 12 new songs that Mick actually has been cooking up, and Keith's got the odd one, too... The new material will take a while to sit and reshape... In 2017 we’ll shape up these new songs – we’ve got some in the can and then there’s a lot more on the back burner... (Blue & Lonesome) is another adventure in the journey of the Stones. It happens to be where we come from but it's not to say this is where we're going to end.  No, it's just another great milestone in the continuing adventures of the Rolling Stones.

Mick: (We'll finish the album) but I don't know when, because you want it to be really good and everything... I hope it's gonna be a very eclectic album. I hope some of it's gonna be recognizable Stones and some of it's gonna be some Stones you never heard before, maybe... I was working on it quite recently. We've got a long way to go, but I think it sounds really great and I'm looking forward to carrying on with that. I hope (next year)... I think it would be nice to do new songs and go in a new direction with them. Maybe not quite as much harmonica!

Keith: I've got three songs and they‘re dynamite. I don‘t want to make any decisions about this until this record comes out, because I think it might radically change Mick‘s attitude; it might change mine. I want to see the fallout from this record before I decide wheteher I want to record 40 of Mick‘s songs or whether he wants to sit down with me and record some songs together. That‘s my thing. That‘s my ball there. I‘ve always got a few songs on the back burner and so does Mick - he writes a lot. I don‘t. I tend to concentrate on two or three really interesting riffs or ideas, rather than being prolific... We did (record new songs) but they're still being worked on. (Blue & Lonesome won't be the last album). There will be more.

I don't think we're going to get (in the studio again) before the New Year, January or February.

Charlie: We went back in recently, doing some new stuff... (Blue & Lonesome won't be our last album). It's never going be the last - Keith won't have it. It's never going to be the last show and never going to be the last album. Who knows? And no, we're in the middle of doing another one. But it's really Mick and Keith 'cause they write them... There'll be another studio album, I think. I'm sure Mick and Keith think there will be.


Don Was: Those new songs we worked on? To be honest with you, we don't really have a handle on it yet. The clay is on the table, but it doesn't look like President Lincoln yet! I will say that for this new album, Mick has played me probably 40 songs that he has been working on, and they really run the gamut.

 

    December 7, 2016: Ron Wood attends Stella McCartney's Mayfair store Christmas lights
        switching on ceremony in London, then watches Kylie Minogue perform at The Ivy.



Ron Wood (December 2, 2016): Next Stones activity

We have (finishing the new album) sort of tentatively booked in the near future. But with everybody dealing with Christmas coming up, having a little bit of time to put your feet up because we haven't really stopped - I know Charlie wants the month of March off, which is fine: let's have a holiday, whatever. And I don't blame him! So by the time we've all done a bit of that, we'll get back in the studio and finish up what we've started the new songs-wise.

Keith just tried to get us into the studio in New York last week. He said Can't we go in? Can't we find some time? It was Hang on, do us a favour, we've all got Christmas coming up, we've got to spent time with our families!... It's going to pick up steam again.



    December 8, 2016: Mick Jagger attends the birth of his son and eighth child, Deveraux, with
        girlfriend Melanie Hamrick, in New York City.













 



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