THE ROLLING STONES yesterday confirmed their first live shows for five years – but fans face shelling out hundreds of pounds to see the rock veterans at some of the most expensive gigs of all time.
The band will play two nights at London’s O2 arena with standard tickets costing up to £375 (€465), although some will be priced at £90 (€112). The top price figure dwarfs the cost of the five-day ticket for Glastonbury Festival next year which costs £205 (€255). And some “VIP hospitality” tickets are to cost £950 (€1,180) for shows marking the group’s 50th anniversary.
There had been speculation for weeks that the group would announce shows before the year was out and they finally revealed they will play four – two in London and two at the Prudential Centre in New Jersey. Frontman Mick Jagger hinted that more dates would be lined up next year.
The prices for the O2 shows will probably leave many fans spluttering, as they dwarf the £125 a head charge for the much-anticipated one-off reunion by Led Zeppelin at the same 20,000-seat venue in 2007.
The group’s four core members – Mick Jagger, guitarists Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood and drummer Charlie Watts – now have a combined age of 273 years and many will see these shows as possibly their last chance to see the band live.
A “VIP hospitality” package at the O2 will see gig-goers paying £950 a head, for which they will get “premium tickets”, a champagne reception and a three-course dinner.
In August it was reported that promoters were to pay the Stones about £16 million for the four forthcoming concerts. If the figure was correct that would mean even if the two venues were filled to capacity, the promoter would need to make an average of £207 (€257) per head simply to cover the cost of the band’s fee.
The London shows take place on November 25th and 29th, while the New Jersey shows are lined up for December 13th and 15th.