- Title: FRANCE: Rolling Stones perform intimate surprise concert for Parisian fans
- Date: 25th October 2012
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (OCTOBER 25, 2012) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) (*** FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ***) BLACK MERCEDES ARRIVING BASSIST RONNIE WOOD AND DRUMMER CHARLIE WATTS ARRIVING BLACK MERCEDES ARRIVING MICK JAGGER EXITING CAR JOURNALISTS AND FANS JAGGER SIGNING AUTOGRAPHS, LEAVING TO GO INTO VENUE VARIOUS OF FANS QUEUING FOR ENTRANCE TO SMALL GIG VARIOUS OF MAN HOLDING ROLLING STONES TICKET FANS QUEUING VARIOUS OF KEITH RICHARDS LEAVING VARIOUS OF RONNIE WOOD LEAVING WATTS GETTING INTO CAR, THEN GETTING OUT AGAIN TO SIGN AUTOGRAPH, THEN GETTING BACK IN CAR, WEARING DRESSING GOWN, CAR LEAVING VARIOUS OF MICK JAGGER LEAVING MICK JAGGER SIGNING AUTOGRAPHS MICK JAGGER LEAVING JOURNALISTS INTERVIEWING FANS (SOUNDBITE) (English) SUPERMODEL, NATALIA VODIANOVA, SAYING: "It was incredible. Really, really amazing." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE EXITING CONCERT VENUE (SOUNDBITE) (English) CONCERT-GOER, DON DEVICE, SAYING: "The first time I saw them, it was in 1979, it was the worst concert I've ever seen. So I would say much, much better." JOURNALISTS AND CONCERT-GOERS (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH STONES FAN, GIANNI, SAYING: "It was a very very small room. The Olympia, in contrast, is way bigger. It had 500 seats, the room had lots of corners. We were right next to them, we could see them perfectly. It was a very small room and they were running around the stage, they were crossing, and they seemed really happy." JOURNALISTS AND CONCERT-GOERS EXTERIOR OF PARC DE LA VILLETTE IN PARIS
- Embargoed: 9th November 2012 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: France
- Country: France
- Topics: Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVAZEQW38XNTU8BK042QD1YRV8C
- Story Text: The Rolling Stones played an intimate surprise concert in a small Parisian venue on Thursday (October 25), ahead of their embarkment on a 50th anniversary tour that will cross the Atlantic next month.
Arriving in typical style in jet black Mercedes sedans with tinted windows, singer Mick Jagger signed autographs for eager fans before the show, but said very little for the cameras.
The Stones played for 75 minutes or so at Paris' Trabendo, a 700-capacity venue in the north of the city, kicking off with the classic 'Route 66,', and eventually closing with 'Brown Sugar'.
After queuing in front of the Virgin Megastore on the Champs Elysees earlier that day to buy their 15-euro tickets, fans were overwhelmingly happy with the show.
Celebrity concert-goers included supermodel Natalia Vodianova, who left the concert smiling from ear to ear and summed up what many that had managed to get the coveted tickets must have been feeling.
"It was incredible. Really, really amazing," she told Reuters television.
Fan Don Device, originally from Colorado, said the concert was better than the first Stones show he saw in the late-1970s, though it turned out the standards for the concerts were perhaps not as high as one may have thought.
"The first time I saw them, it was in 1979, it was the worst concert I've ever seen. So I would say much, much better," Device said.
French Rolling Stones fan Gianni was impressed with the intimacy of the venue.
"It was a very, very small room. The Olympia, in contrast, is way bigger. It had 500 seats; the room had lots of corners. We were right next to them, we could see them perfectly," he said.
It was a very small room and they were running around the stage, they were crossing, and they seemed really happy," Gianni added.
The Stones had announced on Twitter that they were selling just 350 tickets for 15 euros (12.05 pounds) each at the Virgin Megastore on the Champs Elysees from midday on Thursday, which saw fans camping out at the store from midnight.
Earlier this month, the Stones announced that they would perform four concerts -- two in London and two near New York -- to celebrate their 50th anniversary.
The announcement has been overshadowed by fan complaints about high ticket prices, which ranged from 95 pounds ($150) to as much as 950 pounds for a "VIP hospitality" seat. Places have been offered online for several thousands pounds each, British media have reported.
The Rolling Stones, one of rock and roll's most successful acts, will play the O2 Arena in the British capital on November 25 and 29 before crossing the Atlantic to perform at the Prudential Center, Newark, on December 13 and 15.
Guitarists Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, lead singer Mick Jagger and drummer Charlie Watts will perform on a stage designed around the band's trademark tongue and lips logo, and organisers have promised a high-tech live experience.
Jagger has already hinted that the four concerts would be a prelude for a longer tour.
The band behind a string of hits including "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", "Honky Tonk Women" and "Angie", started out on July 12, 1962 at the Marquee Club in London's Oxford Street. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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