Spoken like a true Rolling Stones fan
Ever since the Rolling Stones ended an eight-year gap (their longest) between North American concert tours with their triumphant Steel Wheels tour in 1989, critics have been asking when they were going to retire. In the leadup to that behemoth of a rock romp, their was uncertainty about its success - even on the part of the Stones themselves. Well, they came out like dogs on a bone and proved to fans and critics alike that they not only still had what it took to lay claim to the oft-quoted title of “World’s Greatest Rock ‘N Roll Band”, they had actually gotten better.
Four years after that record-breaking take at the concert box office, and now in their fifties - with the exception of Ronnie Wood who was a mere babe of 47 - they went out to conquer the world again, cleary re-ignited and ready to prove that the success of Steel Wheels was no fluke. The Voodoo Lounge tour of ‘94/’95 was even more successful and the Stones, like a fine wine, had clearly gotten better with age. And on it went. The Stones had turned back the clock to their days of youth and had become once again a working band, touring with regularity and releasing records. After Voodoo Lounge, they were hooked - on the road relentlessly from ‘97 to ‘99, followed by the Licks tour in ‘02/’03 and the conclusion of their most recent two-year odyssey on Sunday, August 26, 2007 in London, England - a mere 13 kilometres from the location of the small club where they made their concert debut 45 years previously. /p>
Mark that date down in the annals of Rolling Stones history, for they may have played for the last time. And, might I add, even as a diehard Stones fan, that’s okay with me.
Not because they no longer know how to rock out, but at long last the rigours of a major concert tour will have simply become too much for them to handle (with the exception of Mick of course.) Jagger is 64, Richards will turn 64 in December (if he doesn’t fall out of a coconut tree and kill himself), Ronnie is 60 and drummer Charlie Watts is 67. If they were to hit the road in a few years, or even a couple, most of them would be close to or at 70 years of age.
I believe that if they retire now, they go out on top, having proven to themselves and the world that there were not crazy to keep performing as long as they did. Just as Wayne Gretzky knew it was time to go, I believe the Rolling Stones know in their hearts that they won’t be started up again.