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Bridges to Babylon Tour

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The Bridges to Babylon Tour was a tour which began on September 9 1997 by the Rolling Stones in support of their album Bridges to Babylon.

Bridges to Babylon Tour 1997/1999
Tour by Rolling Stones
File:9798btb-1-.jpg
Legs3
No. of shows56 in North America
37 in Europe
6 in Japan
2 in Brazil
2 in Mexico
5 in Argentina
108 in total

History

The tour began on September 9 1997 in Toronto Canada and played across 56 shows in North America, 9 shows in South America, 6 shows in Japan and 37 shows in Europe. It concluded on September 19 1998 in Istanbul Turkey. The tour was in support of their album Bridges to Babylon which was released in early 1997. The concerts featured older hits such as "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll", "Mixed Emotions" and "Brown Sugar" as well as new tracks including "Anybody Seen My Baby", "Saint Of Me", and "Out Of Control".

The stage was a new age development with impressive special effects and lights. The signature opening was when the circular screen in the centre exploded with fireworks before the band played "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction".

It was believed 4,577,000 people attended the Bridges to Babylon Tour over the 108 shows - 2,020,000 in Europe, 2,009,000 in North America, 348,000 in Argentina/Brazil and 200,000 in Japan. The tour reached 25 countries and is the second largest North American tour of all time - second to the Rolling Stones' subsequent A Bigger Bang World Tour.

After reahearsing 19 shows in Toronto, there were 34 Autumn shows, 21 winter ones, 15 during spring and 37 during summer. Five in total were cancelled in Marseilles, Paris, Lyon, Bilbao and Gijon and five more were postponed in Italy, Ireland and Great Britain x3.

The track list played at the concerts changed at every destination and included new and old songs. However, at almost every destination the opening song was "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" and the closing "Brown Sugar". A selection of new material seemed to be frequent as well as a song sung by guitarist Keith Richards.

The best moments of the tour were sold a year later on a DVD called No Security. After this No Security DVD was released, another leg of the tour commenced in 1999 under the name The No Security Tour.

Personnel

Confirmed:

  • Band Members: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ron Wood.
  • Tour director: Michael Cohl
  • Musical director: -
  • Costume design: -
  • Worldwide promoter: Concert Productions International
  • Worldwide presentation: WPC Piecemeal Inc.

Tour dates

The following are the dates where the Rolling Stones played on the Bridges to Babylon Tour. Dates and destinations are included and event centre in a select few.

North America

File:Airartists3-1-.jpg
The Bridges to Babylon Tour stage

Europe

Rest Of World

Track List

The track list of songs was adjusted for every destination although "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" opened almost every concert and they closed with "Brown Sugar". The list of songs played was quite long for a concert with 23 tracks - 5 more than being played on the later A Bigger Bang World Tour. All songs were sung by Mick Jagger except for Keith Richards doing vocals on a few songs at random performances. These songs included "All About You" and "You Don't Have To Mean It". The most used songs from Bridges to Babylon were "Anybody Seen My Baby?", "Saint Of Me" and "Out Of Control". The following is the set list played at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on November 9 1997.

Other information

  • Most shows ran from 9:00pm to 11:00pm.
  • Warm up acts included: Foo Fighters, Sheryl Crow, The Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews, Fiona Apple, The Corrs and Wallflower.
  • Live recordings of several of the concerts are available on CD. Some of these titles include Behind the Double Doors, First Night in Babylon, Rock 'n' Roll Babylon, Factory Guys and Bridges Over Amsterdam.
  • The tour was announced in a press conference held underneath the Brooklyn Bridge in New York.
  • The Bridges to Babylon Tour was the largest Rolling Stones tour at the time. It exceeded sales of their record breaking 1994/1995 tour - The Voodoo Lounge Tour for their album Voodoo Lounge.
  • The motto used was "Proves the World's Best Band is just that".
  • Many critics considered Brigdes to Babylon one of the band's weaker albums in recent times. It is remarkable that the supporting tour was one of the largest in history.
  • Along the way, the concert stopped at three rock fesitvals - two in Belgium and one in Estonia.

See also

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