The Rolling Stones are set to embark on yet another tour in late September, but are friends of the band worried it’s too much for the 60’s icons? One report this week says those close to the band think this tour could be “pushing themselves too far.” Gossip Cop has the story.
‘It’s All Over Now’
The Stones have been going on tour for almost 60 years now, their latest, a continuation of the “No Filter” tour is scheduled to kick off on September 26th in St. Louis. Most of the dates on this North American leg of the tour were originally scheduled for last summer, but then the pandemic got in the way, forcing the legends to push it back more than a year. The band, of course, isn’t getting any younger, and according to this week’s issue of the Globe, friends think the band is pushing too hard.
An insider tells the paper, “These guys just refuse to quit, and although that’s admirable to a certain degree, many of their loved ones think it’s entering the realm of self-destructive and foolish behavior.” The source goes on to say Mick Jagger is especially keen to play the shows, saying “Mick was devastated when they had to postpone last year’s concerts because of COVID – especially since there was $100 million at stake.” Now, according to this supposed insider, “He’s telling the boys they’ve got this and there’s no reason they can’t keep it going until they’re all in their mid-80s – if not later!”
This push to get the tour underway has their friends worried, with the source claiming, “the physical logistics of charging around the stage, grueling rehearsals and maintain their musical and vocal standards make this an increasing delusional challenge – not to mention dangerous for their collective health.”
Will The Stones Make It?
All of this begs the question, will the band, whose first American hit “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” was released in 1965, make it? The answer is, most likely, yes. What is really going here is something this tabloid specializes in, health fear-mongering. It’s done is a lot in the past and this whole article is really just a chance for the unreliable paper to make baseless claims about one of the most popular bands of all time.
Sure, there is always going to be some concern about guys in their late 70s playing huge concerts all over the world, but the press has been calling the Stones “old” since the late 80s, when their “Steel Wheels Tour” was slammed by skeptics as the “Steel Wheelchairs” tour. And that was 1989! 30 years and 10 tours later, they are still going. It’s something that should be celebrated, not derided.
Charlie Watts Won’t Be There, Though
One important note on this story. Despite being published at the end of last week, the tabloid obviously had the story ready to go and failed to update it with some major news. Charlie Watts, the drummer and one of the original members of the band, announced on August 4th that he would be dropping off the tour over health concerns.
While it appears at first glance that this news (which isn’t even mentioned in the story despite being over a week only), seems to confirm the tabloid’s concerns, in reality, it’s the opposite. Watts’ decision not to play after experiencing an undisclosed health issue, directly contradicts the Globe’s claims that the band isn’t taking its collective health seriously. They aren’t pushing things if health gets in the way, Watts and the band understand that health comes first and if a member isn’t ready, he isn’t going to push it.
Another Dire Claim From A Source Famous For It
The Globe seems to specialize in bogus stories like this. In March 2020, the paper claimed another classic rock legend, Elton John, only had months to live. That story, like this one, also purported to have an insider feeding the tabloid information. Well, either the source was phony, or the source was misinformed, but John is very healthy and is set to resume his farewell tour in Europe about the same time the Rolling Stones kick off their tour. In the end, getting any kind of accurate news from this supermarket rag is a mistake. The show must go on!