Rolling Stones American Tour 1981

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Rolling Stones American Tour 1981
Tour by The Rolling Stones
Start date 25 September 1981
End date 19 December 1981
Legs 1
Shows 50
The Rolling Stones tour chronology
US Tour
1978		 American Tour
1981		 European Tour
1982

The Rolling Stones' American Tour 1981 was a concert tour of stadiums in the United States to promote the album Tattoo You. As with previous tours, the American Tour 1981 was promoted by Bill Graham.

Contents

[edit] History

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 tour's elaborate and colorful stage was the work of Japanese designer Kazuhide Yamazari.[1] All of the outdoor stadium shows during the tour were during the day, with Mick Jagger remembering in 2003, "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."[1]

The 1981 Tour was the largest grossing tour of not only 1981, but for several years to come. The tour grossed 50 million dollars in ticket sales when the average ticket price was 16.00. 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 (at that time many tickets were sold via post card request to prevent scalping).

The New York Times stated in a November 4th column 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..."

The 1981 Tour also was a first for the rock tour industry in by selling advertising rights to Jōvan Musk. Jōvan paid a million dollars to put their name on Rolling Stones tickets. Also, the December 18th show at Hampton, Va was the first time a music event was broadcast for a pay per view event.

[edit] Performances

One 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.[2] Other guests during the tour were Tina Turner (who would sing "Honky Tonk Women"), Lee Allen, Chuck Leavell, and Sugar Blue. [2]

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.[2] Guitarist Keith Richards memorably hit a fan, who invaded the stage, with his guitar.

Several of the concerts throughout the tour were captured and selected songs were released on the 1982 live album "Still Life" (American Concert 1981).

[edit] Tour Band

Additional Musicians

[edit] Tour Set list

The usual setlist was:

  1. "Under My Thumb"
  2. "When the Whip Comes Down"
  3. "Neighbours"
  4. "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)"
  5. "Shattered"
  6. "Let's Spend the Night Together"
  7. "Black Limousine"
  8. "She's So Cold"
  9. "Time Is on My Side"
  10. "Beast of Burden"
  11. "Waiting on a Friend"
  12. "Let It Bleed"
  13. "You Can't Always Get What You Want"
  14. "Tops"
  15. "Tumbling Dice"
  16. "Hang Fire"
  17. "All Down the Line"
  18. "Let Me Go"
  19. "Little T&A"
  20. "Start Me Up"
  21. "Miss You"
  22. "Honky Tonk Women"
  23. "Brown Sugar"
  24. "Jumpin' Jack Flash"
  25. "Street Fighting Man"
  26. "Satisfaction"

At some shows "Down the Road Apiece", "Twenty Flight Rock" and "Star Star" was played. Further into the tour "Going to a Go-Go" was also added.

[edit] Tour Dates

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Loewenstein, Dora; Philip Dodd (2003). According to the Rolling Stones. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. ISBN 0-8118-4060-3. 
  2. ^ a b c American Tour 1981. Rocks Off Setlists. Retrieved on 2006-07-18.
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