Bridges to Babylon Tour

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Bridges to Babylon Tour 1997/1998
Image:9798btb-1-.jpg
Tour by Rolling Stones
Dates September 4, 1997 -
September 19, 1998
Legs 3
Shows 56 in North America
37 in Europe
6 in Japan
2 in Brazil
2 in Mexico
5 in Argentina
108 in total
Rolling Stones tour chronology
Voodoo Lounge Tour
(1994-1995)		 Bridges to Babylon Tour
(1997-1998)		 No Security Tour
(1999)

The Bridges to Babylon Tour was a 1997-1998 concert tour by The Rolling Stones, in support of their album Bridges to Babylon. After 1999's No Security Tour, they took again the tour. In other terms, Bridges to Babylon Tour reemerged in a unique occurrence among rockdom tours.

Contents

The tour was announced in a press conference held underneath the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City. The motto used was "Proves the World's Best Band is just that."

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. Along the way, the concert stopped at three rock festivals - two in Belgium and one in Estonia. After rehearsing 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 Gijón, and five more were postponed in Italy, Ireland and Great Britain.

The stage was a new age development with impressive special effects and lights. Most shows ran from 9:00pm to 11:00pm. The signature opening was when the circular screen in the centre exploded with fireworks before the band played "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction".

The Bridges to Babylon Tour was the largest Rolling Stones tour at the time, exceeding sales of their record-breaking 1994-1995 Voodoo Lounge Tour. It was believed 4,577,000 people attended the 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 Tour. Many critics considered Bridges to Babylon one of the band's weaker albums in recent times, so perhaps it is remarkable that the supporting tour was one of the largest in history.

The best recordings of the tour were sold a year later on a live album called No Security. As a result, the band commenced another tour in support of this album called the No Security Tour. It played to much smaller venues and less destinations. The Bridges to Babylon Tour show in St. Louis, Missouri was later sold on DVD and became a fast seller.

Opening acts included: Foo Fighters, Sheryl Crow, The Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews, Fiona Apple, The Corrs, Third Eye Blind, and The Wallflowers.

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.

May:

  • 29 Stuttgart, Germany, Cannstatter Wasen
  • 31 Imst, Austria, Festivalgelaende Brennbichl

June:

  • 02 Groningen, Holland, Drafbaan Stadspark
  • 04 Edinburgh, Scotland, Murrayfield Stadium
  • 06 Sheffield, England, Don Valley Stadium
  • 08 London, England, Shepherds Bush Empire
  • 11 London, England, Wembley Stadium
  • 12 London, England, Wembley Stadium
  • 15 Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Monte Do Gozo
  • 18 Landgraaf, Holland, Megaland
  • 20 Cologne, Germany, Müngersdorfer Stadion

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 full 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 called "I Wanna Hold You".

The set list of songs was adjusted for every destination, although "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" opened almost every concert and they always 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 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:

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