Music with Eddie Rowley
THE Rolling Stones are ready to treat Irish fans to a longer setlist on Thursday than they’ ll usually play on the No Filter tour.
Stones production director Dale Skjerset tells me the band will be trying out different options during their Croke Park gig as it’s the start of a new leg of the tour.
Mick Jagger says he loves Ireland and he isn’t spoofing as he spent a lot of time here through the early years with various members of the Guinness family, often staying at Leixlip Castle in Co Kildare.
His shows here with The Rolling Stones are legendary. In 1965, the band played Belfast, Dublin and Cork. They famously took the train from Belfast to Dublin’s Connolly Station for their gig in the capital.
They played a total of six shows in Ireland between January 6 and January 8 that year.
Fans still rave about their Stones experience at Slane Castle in 1982. Tickets back then during yet another recession were £12 each! The Chieftains were the warmup act.
They played an intimate gig 21 years later at The Point in Dublin, now the 3Arena, in 2003. My abiding memory of that night is being blown away by the energy of the band. They were like a bunch of teenagers on stage, despite being in their 50s.
In 2007, they returned to Slane Castle and once again delivered a phenomenal show. Jagger even managed to utter a cúpla focal to the delight of the crowd. The Stones have been busy rehearsing for their Croker gig in recent weeks, and Jagger’s stamp is all over the show, including the stage design and other technical aspects.
“I pretty much go through the design and run through different options,” he says.