Why the Rolling Stones Aren't Playing the Olympics

Why the Rolling Stones Aren't Playing the OlympicsBand not ready to return to the stage yet, says Mick Jagger $(document).ready(function() { $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .email-content').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').hide(); } ); $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .print-page').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').hide(); } ); }); By

Unlike Paul McCartney, Blur and other U.K. bands, the Rolling Stones won't be playing the London Olympics this year. "I didn't think, to be honest, we were quite stage ready," says Mick Jagger in a new interview with ITN to mark the band's 50th anniversary of their first gig. "We haven't played in a long time and we weren't really stage-ready, and it's a very big gig and it's very risk-taking. I didn't think the band themselves felt they were really ready to do it at this point."

Jagger did note that the Stones aim to return to the stage soon to celebrate their anniversary. "We hope we're going to do some gigs this year," said Jagger. "We haven't actually finalized them, but we hope we're going to do some gigs. We've done rehearsing, hanging out together and all that discussing so you know we've been seeing eachother quite a lot."

Meanwhile, guitarist Keith Richards spoke with the BBC about the milestone, which the Stones will celebrate today with a photo exhibition at Somerset House in London to preview their new book, ROLLING STONES: 50. "Nobody ever expected anything like this," Richards said of the band's remarkable half-century run. "Especially in those days, a band was likely to live two or three years. you hoped for a good time and that was that."

For more Stones anniversary viewing material, here's a Sky News segment featuring conversations with both Mick and Keith, as the two talk separately about their working relationship and early antics.

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Olympics Organizers Ask Keith Moon to Play Closing Ceremony

Keith Moon at the Hollywood Palladium in 1977.Mark Sullivan/Contour by Getty Images

Organizers of the London Olympics approached the Who's manager to inquire about having Keith Moon play at an Olympics event despite the drummer being dead for nearly 34 years, the Sunday Times reports.

"I emailed back saying Keith now resides in Golders Green crematorium, having lived up to the Who's anthemic line 'I hope I die before I get old'," the band's longtime manager, Bill Curbishley, told the Times. "If they have a round table, some glasses and candles, we might contact him."

Moon died in 1978 at the age of 32 from an an accidental overdose of prescription pills. The Olympics organizers wanted the late drummer to take part in the Symphony of Rock, a celebration of British pop culture that will be part of the Games' closing ceremony on August 12th.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Olympics Organizers Ask Keith Moon to Play Closing Ceremony

Keith Moon at the Hollywood Palladium in 1977.Mark Sullivan/Contour by Getty Images

Organizers of the London Olympics approached the Who's manager to inquire about having Keith Moon play at an Olympics event despite the drummer being dead for nearly 34 years, the Sunday Times reports.

"I emailed back saying Keith now resides in Golders Green crematorium, having lived up to the Who's anthemic line 'I hope I die before I get old'," the band's longtime manager, Bill Curbishley, told the Times. "If they have a round table, some glasses and candles, we might contact him."

Moon died in 1978 at the age of 32 from an an accidental overdose of prescription pills. The Olympics organizers wanted the late drummer to take part in the Symphony of Rock, a celebration of British pop culture that will be part of the Games' closing ceremony on August 12th.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Blur to Headline Olympics Closing Show

Damon Albarn of Blur performs at Hyde Park in London.

Britpop icons Blur will headline a show at London's Hyde Park to celebrate the closing ceremony of the 2012 Olympics on August 12th. The bill for the event, which will include giant screens displaying highlights from the official closing ceremony, will also feature performances by New Order and the Specials.

Blur will receive the Outstanding Contribution to Music award at the BRIT awards tonight in London. The band are set to perform a version of their 1999 single "Tender" with a 32-piece gospel choir, at the ceremony, which is the British record industry's rough equivalent to the Grammy Awards.

Photos: Random Notes
Blur reunited in 2009 for a series of concerts in Europe that focused on hits from throughout their catalog, but the group's recent performance at the War Child Benefit in London included a brand new composition titled "Under the Westway." Though the band have been working on new material sporadically over the past few years, it remains to be seen whether or not they will actually put out a new record this year, or if they will introduce more new songs as they tour the United Kingdom this spring.

You can watch a video of Blur performing "Under the Westway" below.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Amazon Music and MP3 Center

Read more »

Blur to Headline Olympics Closing Show

Damon Albarn of Blur performs at Hyde Park in London.

Britpop icons Blur will headline a show at London's Hyde Park to celebrate the closing ceremony of the 2012 Olympics on August 12th. The bill for the event, which will include giant screens displaying highlights from the official closing ceremony, will also feature performances by New Order and the Specials.

Blur will receive the Outstanding Contribution to Music award at the BRIT awards tonight in London. The band are set to perform a version of their 1999 single "Tender" with a 32-piece gospel choir, at the ceremony, which is the British record industry's rough equivalent to the Grammy Awards.

Photos: Random Notes
Blur reunited in 2009 for a series of concerts in Europe that focused on hits from throughout their catalog, but the group's recent performance at the War Child Benefit in London included a brand new composition titled "Under the Westway." Though the band have been working on new material sporadically over the past few years, it remains to be seen whether or not they will actually put out a new record this year, or if they will introduce more new songs as they tour the United Kingdom this spring.

You can watch a video of Blur performing "Under the Westway" below.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Amazon MP3 Download Center

Read more »