As Years Go By
“GOOD evening…” A pause. Mick Jagger, for it is he, disappears from view behind the microphone stand. He consults an autocue screen hidden in speakers on stage. He re-emerges. “…London!”
The Sun (“I CAN’T FORGET NO SATISFACTION”) says that “ageing” Mick is using an autocue to help him through his latest performances.
In itself, there is nothing unusual in this. Many performers get prompts. Indeed, we should applaud Mick for embracing new technologies and being able to read without spectacles.
But surely by now Mick knows the old routine. His is a tried and tested performance, a Pavlovian response to putting on a sparkly jacket over a V-neck T-shirt.
But surely if Mick gets stuck he can always rely on that other aid to memory loss and direct the microphone at the crowd.
Many artists have been saved from embarrassing long pauses by the fans accepting the invitation to hear themselves sing.
Of course, like Mick, his audience is not getting any younger, and after a while one ageing rocker looks just like another. In bending the mic to their mouths, Mick runs the risk that “Jumpin’ jack flash it’s …” will be met by the sound of thousands of OAPs chiming “…a summer Holiday”.
But Mick is a risk taker, as, indeed, are all The Rolling Stones. And we read in the Mirror that Keith Richards has been taking risks in Scotland.
For those of you not in the know, Scotland is now smoke free. The Scots run a clean house and smoking has been banned.
And here’s Keith puffing on cigarettes all through the Stones’ gig in Glasgow. Perhaps he is less able that Mick to take on new ideas and cannot comprehend a ban on smoking?
But rather then being taken to a remote location and forced to listen to the bagpipes and pay a £50 fine, Keith’s smoking is simply ignored. It seems that the Hampden Park venue is not an enclosed space and therefore not covered by the new rules. Keith is not in breach of the law.
Of course, Keith would have known this had he read the signs…
Posted: 29th, August 2006 | In: Tabloids Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
