Brett Ferino
01-18-2003, 08:38 PM
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rock's elder statesmen, The Rolling Stones, will perform live on cable television for the first time on Saturday.
Their sold-out show from New York's Madison Square Garden airs on HBO at 9 p.m. EST.
The group that likes to call itself "the greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world" has taped performances on previous tours that eventually made it to television, and several shows through the years were filmed for theatrical release. But the HBO show is being billed as the Stones' first "live" concert to air on cable or broadcast TV.
HBO is a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc.
"The Rolling Stones are truly the world's greatest rock 'n' roll band, and we're delighted that they've chosen HBO for this live TV concert event, the first for broadcast or cable in their remarkable history," said Nancy Geller, senior vice president, HBO Original Programming.
A network spokeswoman declined to speculate on what kind of ratings the Stones might attract but said approximately one-third of American households subscribe to HBO.
Lead singer Mick Jagger (news), guitarists Keith Richards (news) and Ronnie Wood (news) and drummer Charlie Watts (news) kicked off the group's "Licks World Tour 2002/2003" in September.
Despite denials from the band last May that this would be a "40th Anniversary" tour, the group nonetheless released "Forty Licks," a two-CD collection of four new songs and 36 classic hits like "Brown Sugar," "Jumping Jack Flash," and "Start Me Up," in October.
At last night's Garden show, Jagger said HBO cameramen and technicians were doing a dry run for Saturday and that the equipment was "not for a home video."
"We've played here many, many times, but it always feels fantastic," Jagger told the packed house.
Following Saturday's show, the Stones will play another nine U.S. dates before beginning a two-month swing through Australia and Asia on February 18 in Sydney. A summer tour through Europe is scheduled to start on June 4 in Munich.
According to data collated by concert trade publication Pollstar, the Rolling Stones were the No. 2 earners on the North American concert circuit in 2002, taking in $87.9 million over just 34 shows. The Stones' 1994 Voodoo Lounge tour remains the highest grossing North American tour at $121 million.
Their sold-out show from New York's Madison Square Garden airs on HBO at 9 p.m. EST.
The group that likes to call itself "the greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world" has taped performances on previous tours that eventually made it to television, and several shows through the years were filmed for theatrical release. But the HBO show is being billed as the Stones' first "live" concert to air on cable or broadcast TV.
HBO is a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc.
"The Rolling Stones are truly the world's greatest rock 'n' roll band, and we're delighted that they've chosen HBO for this live TV concert event, the first for broadcast or cable in their remarkable history," said Nancy Geller, senior vice president, HBO Original Programming.
A network spokeswoman declined to speculate on what kind of ratings the Stones might attract but said approximately one-third of American households subscribe to HBO.
Lead singer Mick Jagger (news), guitarists Keith Richards (news) and Ronnie Wood (news) and drummer Charlie Watts (news) kicked off the group's "Licks World Tour 2002/2003" in September.
Despite denials from the band last May that this would be a "40th Anniversary" tour, the group nonetheless released "Forty Licks," a two-CD collection of four new songs and 36 classic hits like "Brown Sugar," "Jumping Jack Flash," and "Start Me Up," in October.
At last night's Garden show, Jagger said HBO cameramen and technicians were doing a dry run for Saturday and that the equipment was "not for a home video."
"We've played here many, many times, but it always feels fantastic," Jagger told the packed house.
Following Saturday's show, the Stones will play another nine U.S. dates before beginning a two-month swing through Australia and Asia on February 18 in Sydney. A summer tour through Europe is scheduled to start on June 4 in Munich.
According to data collated by concert trade publication Pollstar, the Rolling Stones were the No. 2 earners on the North American concert circuit in 2002, taking in $87.9 million over just 34 shows. The Stones' 1994 Voodoo Lounge tour remains the highest grossing North American tour at $121 million.