In about 1974 while I was still Production Manager at the Roundhouse Theatre in London, we hosted the first concert in what was billed to be the last Rolling Stones Tour – Hmmm… The last?
Well not quite, but that is how it was set up at the time.
We were well used to staging rock concerts back then, as every Sunday we put on a huge concert, taking all the seats out so that about 2500 people could be packed into the theatre. We had had just about every group that was around at the time, ranging from Dr John, the Doors, and anyone else you could think of who was active on the rock scene at the time. So the idea of the Stones performing there was nothing special to us.
That is what we thought, but we were wrong!
Generally with rock shows we did all the construction work, set the lights and looked after the sound and so on, but this was not how the Stones’ organisation (I use that word advisedly) went about things.
They insisted on bringing their own touring crew of roadies, lighting guys, sound guys and so on, a huge team of American technicians of one sort or another, relegating our highly experienced technicians to the role of bystanders, and gophers for their own guys.
None of my guys minded this too much as we were simply happy to stand back, get paid for doing nothing much and simply observing how this huge American crew went about setting up their concert.
The concert was to take place on Sunday evening, so the Stones’ people turned up shortly after the theatre show that was currently running at the Roundhouse finished and the audience left, and we set about taking down all the scenery and so on from that show, and removing all the seats while the Stones’ people started to bring in their huge amount of equipment, stage decorations and that famous tongue logo.
This was the first time they had used that logo I think, and it was in the form of a huge panel that was to be hung above the stage, just below all the lights.
So, once we had dealt with our side of the work, we settled back to watch and admire the huge crew of American roadies at work. They were amazing to watch, deadly serious, hardly a smile among them as they went about what they clearly saw to be an almost religious duty, speaking in a sort of high powered “astronaut speak”. Saying things such as, “please pass me that implement for driving nails” when they meant, “give me that hammer”. All very strange to us.
Anyhow, in spite of their seriousness, and strange way of talking, they were perfectly capable of doing their work, and no real problems arose in the set up. So by about mid-afternoon on Sunday everything was ready.
All the lights worked, the huge net full of balloons above the auditorium was in place and filled with hundreds of balloons, each printed with that ubiquitous tongue logo, sound checks done and all was ready for the hordes of fans to be let in.
While all the work was going on inside the theatre, all hell was breaking out on the streets outside the theatre, vast crowds of people, ticket touts and loads and loads of police there to control it all. Occasionally I wandered out to watch this circus as well… Fascinating to see.
At some point in the afternoon the Stones themselves arrived for a final sound check and to have a look around to see if all was to their liking, which apparently it all was, so they leapt back into their limos (in the car park at the back of the theatre where the public could not go), and went back to their hotel. Continue reading “The First Last Stones Concert”
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