The Rolling Stones European Tour 1970

The Rolling Stones' 1970 European Tour was a concert tour of Continental Europe that took place during the late summer and early autumn 1970.

History

This was the Stones' first tour in Europe since 1967, and became part of a pattern (not always followed) wherein the group would play North America, continental Europe, and the United Kingdom on a three-year rotating cycle. Shows were similar to that of the 1969 American Tour, but with the material more familiar to audiences as Let It Bleed had now been out for some months. The Stones continued to preview new material, however, as "Brown Sugar", "Dead Flowers", and "You Gotta Move" were set list regulars; they would not appear on record until Sticky Fingers was released a half year later. Unlike many of the group's tours of this era, here the group only played one show a night with only one exception (Milan). The band played "Gimme Shelter" only once, in Malmo, Sweden (the first show of the tour). It can be heard on the bootleg Secrets Travel Fast, and features solos by Keith Richards, Bobby Keys, and Mick Taylor. This was the first time the Rolling Stones toured with Staging including Lighting and Sound Systems. The Staging was composed of aluminium scaffolding sections to erect 2 tower structures and a "bridge" between that would be raised carrying back lights and curtains. It was designed by Martin Frances, Chip Monck and Bruce Byall. The Key Lights were 2 prototypes of the huge GLADIATOR (carbon arc) SpotLight (supplied by Strong Electric). 8 Super Trouper Spotlights were also used for front lighting. Following a tradition set since the band's earliest days, the tour was not without its altercations. The show at Råsunda stadion in Stockholm on 4 September was interrupted by police who feared that fans, provoked by Jagger, would storm the stage. The singer duly responded by pointing the microphone to the police on stage and soon after suggested the audience would sit down for the next song (the slower "Love in Vain"). On 14 September a thousand or so forged tickets were rejected at a show at Ernst-Merck-Halle in Hamburg; two hundred policemen were needed to handle disappointed fans. Two days later at Deutschlandhalle in West Berlin, there were nasty battles between assorted youths and the police before the show, and some 50 arrests were made. Then on 1 October at Milan's Palazzo Dello Sport, two thousand youths tried to crash the gates to get into the show. Police had to use tear gas to quell the riot; there were injuries among both the cops and the crowd, and 63 arrests were made. No live recordings of the tour have been officially released; there is only one known soundboard recording from Paris.

Personnel