Bridges to Babylon Tour

infobox concert tour
concert_tour_name = Bridges to Babylon Tour 1997/1998


artist = Rolling Stones
dates = September 4 1997 -
September 19 1998
album = "Bridges to Babylon"
number_of_legs = 3
number_of_shows = 56 in North America
37 in Europe
6 in Japan
2 in Brazil
2 in Mexico
5 in Argentina
108 in total
last_tour = Voodoo Lounge Tour
(1994-1995)
this_tour = Bridges to Babylon Tour
(1997-1998)
next_tour = 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".

History

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.

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 to give way to the image of guitarist Keith Richards playing the classic riff from "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", the perennial opener for the tour. It was also the first time the band adopted the B stage, which U2 made famous, years earlier, at the Zoo TV tour.

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.

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 fewer destinations. The Bridges to Babylon Tour show in St. Louis, Missouri was later sold on DVD and became a fast seller.

Tour band

*Mick Jagger
*Keith Richards
*Ronnie Wood.
*Charlie WattsAdditional musicians:
*Blondie Chaplin
*Lisa Fischer
*Bernard Fowler
*Darryl Jones
*Bobby Keys
*Chuck Leavell

Tour set lists

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. 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 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:
* "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"
* "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll"
* "Let's Spend the Night Together"
* "Flip the Switch"
* "Gimme Shelter"
* "Anybody Seen My Baby?"
* "Saint Of Me"
* "Bitch"
* "Out Of Control"
* "Under My Thumb" - Request from Audience
* "Miss You"
* - - Introduction - -
* "All About You" (Keith Richards)
* "I Wanna Hold You" (Keith Richards)
* "Little Queenie"
* "The Last Time"
* "You Got Me Rocking"
* "Sympathy for the Devil"
* "Tumbling Dice"
* "Honky Tonk Woman"
* "Start Me Up"
* "Jumpin' Jack Flash"
* "Brown Sugar"

Tour support acts

Opening acts included: Bob Dylan, Foo Fighters, Sheryl Crow, The Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews, Matchbox 20, Fiona Apple, The Corrs, Third Eye Blind, The Wallflowers, Simple Minds, Dżem, Big Country and Blues Traveler.

At the Brazilian leg of the tour, Bob Dylan was the main opening act and joined the band for the performance of "Like a Rolling Stone" on both concerts.

Tour dates

North America

*04/09/1997 flagicon|Canada Horseshoe Tavern - Toronto, ON
*18/09/1997 flagicon|United States Double Door - Chicago, IL
*23/09/1997 flagicon|United States Soldier Field - Chicago, IL
*25/09/1997 flagicon|United States Soldier Field - Chicago, IL
*27/09/1997 flagicon|United States Ohio Stadium - Columbus, OH
*30/09/1997 flagicon|Canada Winnipeg Stadium - Winnipeg, MB
*02/10/1997 flagicon|Canada Commonwealth Stadium - Edmonton, AB
*06/10/1997 flagicon|United States Camp Randall Stadium - Madison, WI
*08/10/1997 flagicon|United States Rich Stadium - Orchard Park, NY
*10/10/1997 flagicon|United States Ericsson Stadium - Charlotte, North Carolina
*12/10/1997 flagicon|United States Veterans Stadium - Philadelphia, PA
*16/10/1997 flagicon|United States Giants Stadium - East Rutherford, NJ
*17/10/1997 flagicon|United States Giants Stadium - East Rutherford, NJ
*20/10/1997 flagicon|United States Foxboro Stadium - Foxborough, MA
*21/10/1997 flagicon|United States Foxboro Stadium - Foxborough, MA
*23/10/1997 flagicon|United States Jack Kent Cooke Stadium - Landover, MD
*25/10/1997 flagicon|United States Capitol Theater - Port Chester, NY
*26/10/1997 flagicon|United States Vanderbilt Stadium - Nashville, TN
*28/10/1997 flagicon|United States Owen Field - Norman, OK
*30/10/1997 flagicon|United States University Stadium - Albuquerque, NM
*01/11/1997 flagicon|United States Texas Motor Speedway - Fort Worth, TX
*07/11/1997 flagicon|United States Sun Devil Stadium - Tempe, AZ
*09/11/1997 flagicon|United States Dodger Stadium - Los Angeles, CA
*10/11/1997 flagicon|United States Dodger Stadium - Los Angeles, CA
*14/11/1997 flagicon|United States Oakland Alameda County Coliseum - Oakland, CA
*15/11/1997 flagicon|United States Oakland Alameda County Coliseum - Oakland, CA
*18/11/1997 flagicon|United States Oakland Alameda County Coliseum - Oakland, CA
*19/11/1997 flagicon|United States Oakland Alameda County Coliseum - Oakland, CA
*22/11/1997 flagicon|United States MGM Grand Garden Arena - Las Vegas, NV
*25/11/1997 flagicon|United States Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome - Minneapolis, MN
*28/11/1997 flagicon|United States Kingdome - Seattle, WA
*02/12/1997 flagicon|United States Pontiac Silverdome - Pontiac, MI
*05/12/1997 flagicon|United States Orange Bowl - Miami, FL
*07/12/1997 flagicon|United States Citrus Bowl - Orlando, FL
*09/12/1997 flagicon|United States Georgia Dome - Atlanta, GA
*12/12/1997 flagicon|United States TWA Dome - St. Louis, MO (concert was recorded and shown on television as a Pay-per-view special, then later released on DVD)
*05/01/1998 flagicon|Canada Quebec City, Quebec - Colisée de Quebec
*14/01/1998 flagicon|United States Madison Square Garden - New York, NY
*16/01/1998 flagicon|United States Madison Square Garden - New York, NY
*17/01/1998 flagicon|United States Madison Square Garden - New York, NY
*21/01/1998 flagicon|United States The Pepsi Tent - Honolulu, HI
*23/01/1998 flagicon|United States Aloha Stadium - Honolulu, HI
*24/01/1998 flagicon|United States Aloha Stadium - Honolulu, HI
*28/01/1998 flagicon|Canada BC Place Stadium - Vancouver, BC
*30/01/1998 flagicon|United States Rose Garden - Portland, OR
*31/01/1998 flagicon|United States Rose Garden - Portland, OR
*03/02/1998 flagicon|United States Qualcomm Stadium - San Diego, CA
*07/02/1998 flagicon|Mexico Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez - Mexico City, Mexico
*09/02/1998 flagicon|Mexico Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez - Mexico City, Mexico
*12/02/1998 flagicon|United States The Summit - Houston, TX
*13/02/1998 flagicon|United States The Summit - Houston, TX
*15/02/1998 flagicon|United States The Joint - Las Vegas, NV

Japan

*12/03/1998 flagicon|Japan Tokyo Dome - Tokyo, Japan
*14/03/1998 flagicon|Japan Tokyo Dome - Tokyo, Japan
*16/03/1998 flagicon|Japan Tokyo Dome - Tokyo, Japan
*17/03/1998 flagicon|Japan Tokyo Dome - Tokyo, Japan
*20/03/1998 flagicon|Japan Osaka Dome - Osaka, Japan
*21/03/1998 flagicon|Japan Osaka Dome - Osaka, Japan

outh America

*29/03/1998 flagicon|Argentina Estadio Monumental - Buenos Aires, Argentina
*30/03/1998 flagicon|Argentina Estadio Monumental - Buenos Aires, Argentina
*02/04/1998 flagicon|Argentina Estadio Monumental - Buenos Aires, Argentina
*04/04/1998 flagicon|Argentina Estadio Monumental - Buenos Aires, Argentina
*05/04/1998 flagicon|Argentina Estadio Monumental - Buenos Aires, Argentina
*11/04/1998 flagicon|Brazil Praça da Apoteose - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
*13/04/1998 flagicon|Brazil Estádio do Morumbi - São Paulo, Brazil

North America

*17/04/1998 flagicon|United States Carrier Dome - Syracuse, NY
*19/04/1998 flagicon|Canada Molson Centre - Montreal, QB
*20/04/1998 flagicon|Canada Molson Centre - Montreal, QB
*23/04/1998 flagicon|United States United Center - Chicago, IL
*26/04/1998 flagicon|Canada SkyDome - Toronto, ON

Europe

*13/06/1998 flagicon|Germany Zeppelinfeld - Nuremberg, Germany
*20/06/1998 flagicon|Belgium Festival Site - Werchter, Belgium
*21/06/1998 flagicon|Belgium Festival Site - Werchter, Belgium
*24/06/1998 flagicon|Germany Rheinstadion - Dusseldorf, Germany
*26/06/1998 flagicon|Germany Expo Gelaende - Hannover, Germany
*29/06/1998 flagicon|Netherlands Amsterdam ArenA - Amsterdam, Netherlands
*01/07/1998 flagicon|Netherlands Amsterdam ArenA - Amsterdam, Netherlands
*02/07/1998 flagicon|Netherlands Amsterdam ArenA - Amsterdam, Netherlands
*05/07/1998 flagicon|Netherlands Amsterdam ArenA - Amsterdam, Netherlands
*06/07/1998 flagicon|Netherlands Amsterdam ArenA - Amsterdam, Netherlands
*09/07/1998 flagicon|Switzerland Pferderennbahn - Frauenfeld, Switzerland
*11/07/1998 flagicon|Austria Flugfeld - Wiener Neustadt, Austria
*13/07/1998 flagicon|Germany Olympiastadion - Munich, Germany
*16/07/1998 flagicon|Spain Puerto de Málaga - Málaga, Spain
*18/07/1998 flagicon|Spain Estadio Balaidos - Vigo, Spain
*20/07/1998 flagicon|Spain Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys - Barcelona, Spain
*25/07/1998 flagicon|France Stade de France - Paris, France
*27/07/1998 flagicon|Germany Parkstadion - Gelsenkirchen, Germany
*29/07/1998 flagicon|Denmark Idraetsparken - Copenhagen, Denmark
*31/07/1998 flagicon|Sweden Nya Ullevi - Gothenburg, Sweden
*02/08/1998 flagicon|Norway Valle Hovin - Oslo, Norway
*05/08/1998 flagicon|Finland Olympiastadion - Helsinki, Finland
*08/08/1998 flagicon|Estonia Song Festival Grounds - Tallinn, Estonia
*11/08/1998 flagicon|Russia Luzhniki Stadium - Moscow, Russia
*14/08/1998 flagicon|Poland Stadion Śląski - Chorzow, Poland
*20/08/1998 flagicon|Croatia Zagreb Hippodrome - Zagreb, Croatia
*22/08/1998 flagicon|Czech Republic Prague Sport Hal - Prague, Czech Republic
*26/08/1998 flagicon|Germany Olympiastadion - Berlin, Germany
*28/08/1998 flagicon|Germany Festwiese - Leipzig, Germany
*30/08/1998 flagicon|Germany Trabrennbahn Bahrenfeld - Hamburg, Germany
*02/09/1998 flagicon|Germany Weserstadion - Bremen, Germany
*05/09/1998 flagicon|Netherlands Malieveld - The Hague, Netherlands
*08/09/1998 flagicon|Sweden Stockholm Globe Arena - Stockholm, Sweden
*10/09/1998 flagicon|Germany Waldbühne - Berlin, Germany
*12/09/1998 flagicon|Germany Maimarkt - Mannheim, Germany
*16/09/1998 flagicon|Greece Olympic Stadium - Athens, Greece
*19/09/1998 flagicon|Turkey Ali Sami Yen Stadium - Istanbul, Turkey
*29/05/1999 flagicon|Germany Cannstatter Wasen - Stuttgart, Germany
*31/05/1999 flagicon|Austria Festivalgelaende Brennbichl - Imst, Austria
*02/06/1999 flagicon|Netherlands Drafbaan Stadspark - Groningen, Netherlands
*04/06/1999 flagicon|United Kingdom Murrayfield Stadium - Edinburgh, Scotland
*06/06/1999 flagicon|United Kingdom Don Valley Stadium - Sheffield, England
*08/06/1999 flagicon|United Kingdom Shepherds Bush Empire - London, England
*11/06/1999 flagicon|United Kingdom Wembley Stadium - London, England
*12/06/1999 flagicon|United Kingdom Wembley Stadium - London, England
*15/06/1999 flagicon|Spain Monte Do Gozo - Santiago de Compostela, Spain
*18/06/1999 flagicon|Netherlands Megaland - Landgraaf, Netherlands
*20/06/1999 flagicon|Germany Müngersdorfer Stadion - Cologne, Germany

External links

* [http://www.rollingstones.com Official Website]