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Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour

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The Rolling Stones' Steel Wheels Tour was a concert tour which was launched in North America in August 1989 to promote the band's album Steel Wheels; it continued to Japan in February 1990, with ten shows at the Tokyo Dome.[2] The European leg of the tour, which featured a different stage and logo, was called the Urban Jungle Tour; it ran from May to August 1990. These would be the last live concerts for the band with original member Bill Wyman on bass guitar. This tour would also be the longest the band had ever done up to that point, playing over twice as many shows as their standard tour length from the 1960s and 1970s.[2]

Steel Wheels Tour/Urban Jungle Tour
Tour by The Rolling Stones
Associated albumSteel Wheels
Start date31 August 1989
End date25 August 1990
Legs3
No. of shows115
Box officeUS$175 million (US$408,125,318 in 2023 dollars[1])
The Rolling Stones concert chronology
  • European Tour 1982
    (1982)
  • Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour
    (1989–90)
  • Voodoo Lounge Tour
    (1994–95)

The tour was a financial success, cementing the Rolling Stones' return to full commercial power after a seven-year hiatus in touring marked by well publicized acrimony among band members.[3]

History

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The Rolling Stones began pre-tour preparations in July 1989 at the Wykeham Rise School, a former boarding school for girls in Litchfield, Connecticut. A 25-member entourage, as well as a security force larger than the surrounding towns, was hired to support the band.[4]

The group performed a pre-tour 'surprise show' that took place on 12 August 1989 at Toad's Place in New Haven, Connecticut, with a local act, Sons of Bob, opening the show for an audience of only 700 people who had purchased tickets for $3.01 apiece.[5] Toad's owner, Mike Spoerndle, had promoted the event as a private birthday party for Jim Koplik, the club's promoter.[6] The official Steel Wheels Tour kicked off later that month at the now-demolished Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. During the opening show in Philadelphia, the power went out during "Shattered (song)", and caused a slight delay in the show. Jagger came out and spoke to the crowd during the delay. The Stones returned to Vancouver, B.C. in Canada and played two sold-out concerts at B.C. Place Stadium. Fan reaction for tickets was unprecedented. One local radio station, 99.3 The Fox, even had a man (Andrew Korn) sit in front of the station in a bath tub filled with brown sugar and water for free tickets to the concert.[citation needed]

The stage was designed by Mark Fisher with the participation of Charlie Watts and Mick Jagger. Lighting design was by Patrick Woodroffe.

Canadian promoter Michael Cohl made his name buying the concert, sponsorship, merchandising, radio, television, and film rights to the Steel Wheels Tour. It became the most financially successful rock tour in history up to that time.[3] Rival promoter Bill Graham, who also bid on the tour, later wrote that "Losing the Stones was like watching my favourite lover become a whore."

Performances from the tour were documented on the album Flashpoint, and the video Live at the Max, both released in 1991.

Opening acts for the tour included Living Colour, Dan Reed Network, Guns N' Roses and Gun.

The original two dates 13 & 14 July 1990 at Wembley Stadium had to be rescheduled for 24 & 25 August 1990 due to Keith Richards cutting a finger the previous week.[7]

In August 1990, an extra concert in Prague, Czechoslovakia, was added. Czechoslovakia had overthrown the Communist regime nine months earlier, and the Rolling Stones' concert was perceived as a symbolic end of the revolution. Czechoslovakia's new president Václav Havel, a lifelong fan of the band, helped to arrange the event, and met the band at the Prague Castle before the show. Performance expenses were partially covered by Havel and by the Czechoslovak Ministry of Industry. The attendance was over 100,000.[8][9] The band chose to donate all revenues from the gig (over 4 million Czechoslovak korunas) to the Committee of Good Will, a charity run by Havel's wife Olga Havlová.[10]

Recordings

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Released in 1991, Flashpoint, is a 17-song live album of material recorded during the Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour.

In July 2020, Eagle Rock Entertainment released a recording and DVD set of the final date of the North American tour titled Steel Wheels Live.[11] The performance, recorded at the Atlantic City Convention Center, features guest appearances by John Lee Hooker, Eric Clapton, Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin.[12]

Personnel

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The Rolling Stones

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Additional musicians

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  • Matt Clifford – keyboards, backing vocals, percussion, French horn
  • Bobby Keys – saxophone
  • Chuck Leavell – keyboards, backing vocals and musical director
  • Bernard Fowler – backing vocals, percussion
  • Lisa Fischer – backing vocals on the North American & Japanese tours only
  • W. "Bindy" Bindeman – backing vocals, keyboards- Japanese tours only
  • Cindy Mizelle – backing vocals on the North American & Japanese tours only
  • Pamela Quinlan – backing vocals on North American & European tour only
  • Lorelei McBroom – backing vocals on the European tour only
  • Sophia Jones – backing vocals on the European tour only
  • The Uptown Horns:
  1. Arno Hecht – saxophone
  2. Bob Funk – trombone
  3. Crispin Cioe – saxophone
  4. Paul Litteral – trumpet

Entourage

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Source[13]

  • Michael Cohl – Tour Director
  • Norman Perry – Assistant Tour Director[14]
  • Alan Dunn[15] – Logistics
  • Arnold Dunn – Band Road Manager
  • Timm Wooley – Financial Controller
  • Bob Hurwitz – Tour Accountant
  • Stan Damas – Police Liaison
  • Jim Callaghan[15] – Security Chief
  • Rowan Brade – Security
  • Bob Bender – Security
  • Joe Seabrook – Security
  • William Horgan – Security
  • Linn Tanzmann[16] – Band Press Representative[4]
  • Neil Friedman – Assistant Tour Publicist
  • Bennett Kleinberg – Advance Tour Publicist[17]
  • Dimo Safari – Tour Photographer
  • Beth Kittrell – Administrative Assistant
  • Caroline Clements – Makeup
  • Robern Pickering – Wardrobe
  • Fiona Williams – Stylist
  • LaVelle Smith – Choreographer
  • Torje Eike – Physiotherapist[18]
  • Joseph Sakowicz – Band/Entourage Luggage
  • Shelley Lazar – Ticket/Credentials Coordinator[19]
  • Miranda Guinness – Asst. to Mick Jagger
  • Tony Russell – Asst. to Keith Richards
  • Jo Howard – Asst. to Ron Wood
  • Tony King – Mick Jagger Press Liaison[20]
  • Patricia Aleck – Travel Advance
  • Cliff Burnstein – Creative Consultant
  • Peter Mensch – Creative Consultant

Production

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  • Michael Ahern – Production Manager
  • Chuch Magee – Backline Crew Chief
  • Roy Lamb – Stage Manager
  • Mark Fisher – Set Designer
  • Patrick Woodroffe – Lighting Designer
  • Benji Lefevre – FOH Sound Engineer
  • Chris Wade-Evans – Monitor Sound Engineer
  • Pierre De Beauport – Guitar Technician
  • Andy Topeka – Keyboard Technician
  • Steve Thomas – Production Advance
  • Steve Howard – Promoter Production Rep
  • Bruce Haynes – Electrician
  • Shane Hendrick – Electrician
  • David Sinclair – Electrician
  • Henry Wetzel – Electrician

Tour set lists

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For the opening night of the Steel Wheels Tour the setlist was as follows (all songs composed by Jagger/Richards unless otherwise noted):

  1. "Start Me Up"
  2. "Bitch"
  3. "Shattered"
  4. "Sad Sad Sad"
  5. "Undercover of the Night"
  6. "Harlem Shuffle" (Relf/Nelson)
  7. "Tumbling Dice"
  8. "Miss You"
  9. "Ruby Tuesday"
  10. "Play with Fire" (Nanker Phelge)
  11. "Dead Flowers"
  12. "One Hit (To the Body)" (Jagger/Richards/Wood)
  13. "Mixed Emotions"
  14. "Honky Tonk Women"
  15. "Rock and a Hard Place"
  16. "Midnight Rambler"
  17. "You Can't Always Get What You Want"
  18. "Little Red Rooster" (Dixon)
  19. "Before They Make Me Run"
  20. "Happy"
  21. "Paint It Black"
  22. "2000 Light Years from Home"
  23. "Sympathy for the Devil"
  24. "Gimme Shelter"
  25. "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)"
  26. "Brown Sugar"
  27. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"
  28. "Jumpin' Jack Flash" (encore)

For the final night of the Urban Jungle Tour (the last Rolling Stones concert with Bill Wyman) the band played:

  1. "Start Me Up"
  2. "Sad Sad Sad"
  3. "Harlem Shuffle"
  4. "Tumbling Dice"
  5. "Miss You"
  6. "Ruby Tuesday"
  7. "Angie"
  8. "Rock and a Hard Place"
  9. "Mixed Emotions"
  10. "Honky Tonk Women"
  11. "Midnight Rambler"
  12. "You Can't Always Get What You Want"
  13. "Before They Make Me Run"
  14. "Happy"
  15. "Paint It Black"
  16. "2000 Light Years from Home"
  17. "Sympathy for the Devil"
  18. "Street Fighting Man"
  19. "Gimme Shelter"
  20. "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)"
  21. "Brown Sugar"
  22. "Jumpin' Jack Flash"
  23. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (encore)

Other songs played on the tour:

  1. "Almost Hear You Sigh" (Jagger/Richards/Jordan)
  2. "Blinded By Love"
  3. "Boogie Chillen" (Hooker)
  4. "Can't Be Seen"
  5. "Factory Girl"
  6. "I Just Want to Make Love to You" (Dixon)
  7. "Salt of the Earth"
  8. "Terrifying"

Tour dates

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List of 1989 concerts
Date City Country Venue Tickets sold / available Revenue Opening act(s)
12 August 1989[nb 1] New Haven United States Toad's Place[nb 2] N/A N/A N/A
31 August 1989 Philadelphia Veterans Stadium 110,556 / 110,556 $3,181,143 Living Colour
1 September 1989
3 September 1989 Toronto Canada CNE Stadium 121,897 / 121,897 $3,368,752
4 September 1989
6 September 1989 Pittsburgh United States Three Rivers Stadium 62,939 / 62,939 $1,790,526
8 September 1989 East Troy Alpine Valley 105,995 / 105,995 $2,941,882
9 September 1989
11 September 1989
14 September 1989 Cincinnati Riverfront Stadium 53,555 / 53,555 $1,522,536
16 September 1989 Raleigh Carter–Finley Stadium 52,881 / 52,881 $1,506,393
17 September 1989 St. Louis Busch Stadium 53,705 / 53,705 $1,528,397
19 September 1989 Louisville Cardinal Stadium 39,301 / 39,301 $1,120,075
21 September 1989 Syracuse Carrier Dome 73,828 / 73,828 $2,082,325
22 September 1989
24 September 1989 Washington, D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Stadium 105,267 / 105,267 $2,988,142
25 September 1989
27 September 1989 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 61,527 / 61,527 $1,753,520
29 September 1989 Foxborough Sullivan Stadium 163,308 / 163,308 $4,648,338
1 October 1989
3 October 1989
5 October 1989 Birmingham Legion Field 63,523 / 63,523 $1,804,348
7 October 1989 Ames Cyclone Field 55,857 / 55,857 $1,589,273
8 October 1989 Kansas City Arrowhead Stadium 55,306 / 55,306 $1,576,075
10 October 1989 New York City Shea Stadium 124,524 / 124,524 $3,735,610
11 October 1989
18 October 1989 Los Angeles Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 360,069 / 360,069 $9,166,937 Guns N' Roses
Living Colour
19 October 1989
21 October 1989
22 October 1989
25 October 1989 New York City Shea Stadium 263,213 / 263,213 $7,871,842 Living Colour
26 October 1989
28 October 1989
29 October 1989
1 November 1989 Vancouver Canada BC Place Stadium 110,591 / 110,591 $3,065,058
2 November 1989
4 November 1989 Oakland United States Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 117,603 / 117,603 $3,347,518
5 November 1989
8 November 1989 Houston Astrodome 52,278 / 52,278 $1,486,623
10 November 1989 Dallas Cotton Bowl 119,856 / 119,856 $3,410,856
11 November 1989
13 November 1989 New Orleans Louisiana Superdome 59,339 / 59,339 $1,682,220
15 November 1989 Miami Orange Bowl 107,175 / 110,000 $3,054,488
16 November 1989
18 November 1989 Tampa Tampa Stadium 63,415 / 63,415 $1,802,884
21 November 1989 Atlanta Grant Field 49,311 / 49,311 $1,401,082
25 November 1989 Jacksonville Gator Bowl 62,637 / 62,637 $1,779,205
26 November 1989 Clemson Memorial Stadium 63,784 / 63,784 $1,817,844
29 November 1989 Minneapolis Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 104,780 / 104,780 $2,976,592
30 November 1989
3 December 1989 Toronto Canada SkyDome 117,446 / 117,446 $3,282,757
4 December 1989
6 December 1989 Indianapolis United States Hoosier Dome 89,078 / 89,078 $2,533,955
7 December 1989
9 December 1989 Pontiac Silverdome 100,234 / 100,234 $2,956,834
10 December 1989
13 December 1989 Montreal Canada Olympic Stadium 123,962 / 123,962 $3,490,126
14 December 1989
17 December 1989 Atlantic City United States Convention Center N/A N/A N/A
19 December 1989
20 December 1989
List of 1990 concerts
Date City Country Venue Tickets sold / available Revenue Opening act(s)
14 February 1990 Tokyo Japan Tokyo Dome N/A N/A N/A
16 February 1990
17 February 1990
19 February 1990
20 February 1990
21 February 1990
23 February 1990
24 February 1990
26 February 1990
27 February 1990
18 May 1990 Rotterdam Netherlands De Kuip N/A N/A Gun
19 May 1990
21 May 1990
23 May 1990 Hanover West Germany Niedersachsenstadion
24 May 1990
26 May 1990 Frankfurt Waldstadion
27 May 1990
30 May 1990 Cologne Müngersdorfer Stadion Die Toten Hosen
31 May 1990
2 June 1990 Munich Olympiastadion Gun
3 June 1990
6 June 1990 West Berlin Olympiastadion
10 June 1990 Lisbon Portugal Estádio José Alvalade
13 June 1990 Barcelona Spain Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc
14 June 1990
16 June 1990 Madrid Estadio Vicente Calderón
17 June 1990
20 June 1990 Marseille France Stade Vélodrome
22 June 1990 Paris Parc des Princes
23 June 1990
25 June 1990
27 June 1990 Basel Switzerland St. Jakob Stadium
4 July 1990 London England Wembley Stadium
6 July 1990
7 July 1990
9 July 1990 Glasgow Scotland Hampden Park
16 July 1990 Cardiff Wales Cardiff Arms Park
18 July 1990 Newcastle England St James' Park
20 July 1990 Manchester Maine Road
21 July 1990
25 July 1990 Rome Italy Stadio Flaminio
26 July 1990
28 July 1990 Turin Stadio delle Alpi
31 July 1990 Vienna Austria Praterstadion
3 August 1990 Gothenburg Sweden Eriksberg
4 August 1990
6 August 1990 Oslo Norway Valle Hovin
7 August 1990
9 August 1990 Copenhagen Denmark Københavns Idrætspark
13 August 1990 East Berlin East Germany Radrennbahn Weissensee Living Colour
14 August 1990
16 August 1990 Gelsenkirchen West Germany Parkstadion
18 August 1990 Prague Czechoslovakia Strahov Stadium Dan Reed Network
Vladimír Mišík & Etc...
24 August 1990 London England Wembley Stadium
25 August 1990

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Intimate small club show. This show would spark an ongoing Rolling Stones tradition of playing a small club show before the larger tour venues.[21]
  2. ^ 700 capacity venue.[21]

References

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  1. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  2. ^ a b Jucha, Gary J. (22 November 2019). Rolling Stones FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Bad Boys of Rock. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 322–58. ISBN 978-1-4930-5074-1.
  3. ^ a b Goldberg, Michael (4 May 1989). "Stones Tour: Money Talks". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  4. ^ a b Johnson, Kirk (19 July 1989). "THE TALK OF WASHINGTON, CONN.; Sedately, the Stones Roll Into a Small Town (Published 1989)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  5. ^ Rolling Stones Steel Wheels North American Tour 1989 (Paperback)
  6. ^ Duffy, Thom (9 May 2011). "Mike Spoerndle, Founder of New Haven Nightclub Toad's Place, Dead at 59". Billboard. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  7. ^ "Stones Cancel Two London Concerts Because of Richards Injury". AP News (Press release). 14 July 1990.
  8. ^ Lipčík, Roman (4 October 1990). "The Rolling Stones' Czech Invasion". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  9. ^ Gregor, Marek (19 August 2010). "Jak se kameny valily Prahou" [How the stones rolled through Prague]. Reflex (in Czech). Prague. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  10. ^ Bednářová, Otka (February 1992). "Annual Report of the Olga Havel Foundation 1991" (Press release). Prague: Committee of Good Will – Olga Havel Foundation. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  11. ^ Chiu, David. "No Rolling Stones Tour This Year? No Problem, Thanks To 3 Latest Releases To Give Fans Satisfaction". Forbes. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  12. ^ "Rolling Stones' archival concert film and album, 'Steel Wheels Live -- Atlantic City,' released today - Music News - ABC News Radio". abcnewsradioonline.com. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  13. ^ Sandall, Robert; Fricke, David (1991). The Rolling Stones: Images of The World Tour 1989-1990. New York, NY: Fireside Books/Simon & Schuster, Inc. ISBN 0671742582.
  14. ^ Harrington, Richard (24 September 1989). "THE SELLING OF ROCK ON THE MEGABUCKS MUSIC CIRCUIT". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  15. ^ a b "The Rolling Stones: Our 1989 Cover Story". Spin. 10 November 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  16. ^ "Jagger Shocks Group of Fans". The Item, Sumter SC. Associated Press. 5 October 1989. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  17. ^ "Rock Around The Clock: A Day in the Life of Rock 'n' Roll". Spin. Vol. 6, no. 1. Camouflage Associates. April 1990. p. 70. ISSN 0886-3032.
  18. ^ "How The Stones Keep Rolling". cbsnews.com. 6 February 2006. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  19. ^ Vaziri, Aidin (5 April 2019). "SF resident Shelley Lazar, VIP ticket queen, friend of Beatles and Stones, dies at 69". SFGATE. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  20. ^ Trebay, Guy (24 November 2006). "Mick Jagger's inimitable style, feathers and all - Culture - International Herald Tribune (Published 2006)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  21. ^ a b Facebook > The Rolling Stones unofficially kicked off the Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour on August 12th 1989 at the 700 capacity venue Toad's Place in New Haven, Connecticut
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