Bridges to Babylon Tour

Bridges to Babylon Tour 1997/1998
Tour by The Rolling Stones
Associated album	Bridges to Babylon
Legs	3
Shows	58 in North America 37 in Europe 6 in Japan 7 in South America 108 in total
The 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 worldwide concert tour by The Rolling Stones in support of their then-latest album Bridges to Babylon, followed by 1999's No Security Tour.

History

The tour was announced in a press conference held underneath the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City.

The tour began on 9 September 1997 in Toronto, Canada, and comprised 56 shows in North America, 9 shows in South America, 6 shows in Japan and 37 shows in Europe. It concluded on 19 September 1998 in Istanbul, Turkey. Five shows were cancelled (in Marseilles, Paris, Lyon, Bilbao and Gijón), and five more were postponed (in Italy, Ireland and Great Britain).

The production was designed by Mark Fisher, Charlie Watts, Mick Jagger and Patrick Woodroffe. The show opened with a circular central screen exploding with fireworks, from which guitarist Keith Richards emerged playing the classic riff from "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". The stage design included a 46 m (150 ft)long telescoping cantilever bridge that extended from the main stage to a 'B' stage in the center of the field.

One of the innovations on this tour was the "web vote": Fans who had purchased a ticket could vote for a song which they wanted to hear. If a song was picked by the web vote 4 shows in a row it became a permanent part of the set list ("Gimme Shelter" was added early on in the tour and "Under My Thumb" came one shy of 4 on 6 occasions, but never was requested for 4 consecutive shows). A few shows had no web vote (for example at the Brazil shows where the band performed a duet with Bob Dylan on "Like a Rolling Stone").

This was the first tour where a B-stage was featured at most shows (they had used one on the Voodoo Lounge Tour, but only at one show). The band normally played three numbers on the B-stage, with the exception of the final show where only two songs were played there.

The Bridges to Babylon Tour was the largest Rolling Stones tour at the time, exceeding the 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 and 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' 2005-2007 A Bigger Bang Tour.

The tour is documented by a concert album called No Security and a DVD release of the St. Louis, Missouri show. In 1999 the band commenced another tour called the No Security Tour, which played much smaller venues and fewer destinations.

Tour band

• Mick Jagger: lead vocals, guitar, harmonica
• Keith Richards: guitar, backing vocals
• Ronnie Wood: guitar, backing vocals
• Darryl Jones: bass
• Charlie Watts: drums, percussion

Additional musicians:

• Chuck Leavell: keyboards
• Bobby Keys: saxophone
• Andy Snitzer: saxophone except on 1999 concerts
• Tim Ries: saxophone on 1999 concerts
• Michael Davis: trombone
• Kent Smith: trumpet
• Lisa Fischer: vocals
• Bernard Fowler: vocals
• Blondie Chaplin: vocals

Typical set list

Variations on this typical set list were not uncommon:

1. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"
2. "Let's Spend the Night Together"
3. "Flip the Switch"
4. "Gimme Shelter"
5. "Anybody Seen My Baby?"
6. "Saint of Me"
7. (varied)
8. "Out of Control"
9. the fan's "web vote" (see list below)
10. "Miss You"
11. "All About You" (sung by Keith Richards)
12. "Wanna Hold You" (sung by Keith Richards)
13. three numbers on the B-stage (see list below)
14. "Sympathy for the Devil"
15. "Tumbling Dice"
16. "Honky Tonk Women"
17. "Start Me Up"
18. "Jumpin' Jack Flash"
19. "You Can't Always Get What You Want"
20. "Brown Sugar"

List of "web vote" songs

listed in order of first tour appearance

1. "19th Nervous Breakdown"
2. "Under My Thumb"
3. "Rock and a Hard Place"
4. "The Little Red Rooster"
5. "Let It Bleed"
6. "Ruby Tuesday"
7. "Sister Morphine"
8. "She's a Rainbow"
9. "Gimme Shelter"
10. "Fool to Cry"
11. "Memory Motel"
12. "Factory Girl"
13. "Love In Vain"
14. "Star Star"
15. "Far Away Eyes"
16. "Shine A Light"
17. "Dead Flowers"
18. "Waiting on a Friend"
19. "When The Whip Comes Down"
20. "Like a Rolling Stone"
21. "Respectable"
22. "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)"
23. "No Expectations"
24. "Wild Horses"
25. "All Down the Line"
26. "Angie"
27. "Street Fighting Man"
28. "Time Is on My Side"
29. "Love Is Strong"
30. "Live with Me"
31. "Paint It Black"

B-Stage songs

In order of first B-stage appearance:

1. "Little Queenie"
2. "Let It Bleed"
3. "The Last Time"
4. "Crazy Mama"
5. "You Got Me Rocking"
6. "It's Only Rock'n Roll (But I Like It)"
7. "Like a Rolling Stone"
8. "Little Red Rooster"
9. "I Just Want to Make Love to You"
10. "Under My Thumb"
11. "Respectable"
12. "When the Whip Comes Down"

The second Bridges to Babylon Tour

After the No Security Tour, the Rolling Stones embarked on an 11-show European Tour, partly in order to make up for the shows that had been cancelled or postponed in 1998; this brief tour reverted to the title Bridges to Babylon Tour. The sets were similar to those of the No Security Tour, with some changes. One show was played in a theatre – Shepherds Bush Empire in London – in front of fewer than 2,000 people.

Songs played

Among the songs played at the ten standard shows were:

1. "Jumpin' Jack Flash"
2. "You Got Me Rocking"
3. "Bitch"
4. "Gimme Shelter"
5. "Honky Tonk Women"
6. "Angie"
7. "Shattered"
8. "Saint of Me"
9. "Some Girls"
10. "Out of Control"
11. "Paint It Black"
12. "You Got the Silver" (sung by Keith Richards)
13. "Before They Make Me Run" (sung by Keith Richards)
14. "Route 66"
15. "Get off of My Cloud"
16. "Midnight Rambler"
17. "Tumbling Dice"
18. "It's Only Rock'n Roll (But I Like It)"
19. "Start Me Up"
20. "Brown Sugar"
21. "Sympathy for the Devil"
22. "Respectable"
23. "Ruby Tuesday"
24. "All About You" (sung by Keith Richards)
25. "Thief in the Night" (sung by Keith Richards)
26. "Like a Rolling Stone"
27. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"
28. "Live with Me"
29. "You Don't Have to Mean It" (sung by Keith Richards)
30. "Memory Motel"

Set list for the theatre show

1. "Shattered"
2. "It's Only Rock'n Roll (But I Like It)"
3. "Respectable"
4. "All Down the Line"
5. "Some Girls"
6. "I Got the Blues"
7. "Melody"
8. "Brand New Car"
9. "Moon Is Up"
10. "Saint of Me"
11. "Honky Tonk Women" (Duet with Sheryl Crow)
12. "You Got the Silver" (sung by Keith Richards)
13. "Before They Make Me Run" (sung by Keith Richards)
14. "Route 66"
15. "You Got Me Rocking"
16. "Tumblin' Dice"
17. "Brown Sugar"
18. "Jumpin' Jack Flash"

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 and Argentine 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

Date	City	Country	Venue
North America
4 September 1997	Toronto	Canada	Horseshoe Tavern
18 September 1997	Chicago	United States	Double Door
23 September 1997			Soldier Field
25 September 1997
27 September 1997	Columbus		Ohio Stadium
30 September 1997	Winnipeg	Canada	Winnipeg Stadium
2 October 1997	Edmonton		Commonwealth Stadium
6 October 1997	Madison	United States	Camp Randall Stadium
8 October 1997	Orchard Park		Rich Stadium
10 October 1997	Charlotte		Ericsson Stadium
12 October 1997	Philadelphia		Veterans Stadium
16 October 1997	East Rutherford		Giants Stadium
17 October 1997
20 October 1997	Foxborough		Foxboro Stadium
21 October 1997
23 October 1997	Landover		Jack Kent Cooke Stadium
25 October 1997	Port Chester		Capitol Theater
26 October 1997	Nashville		Vanderbilt Stadium
28 October 1997	Norman		Owen Field
30 October 1997	Albuquerque		University Stadium
1 November 1997	Fort Worth		Texas Motor Speedway
7 November 1997	Tempe		Sun Devil Stadium
9 November 1997	Los Angeles		Dodger Stadium
10 November 1997
14 November 1997	Oakland		Oakland Alameda County Coliseum
15 November 1997
18 November 1997
19 November 1997
22 November 1997	Las Vegas		MGM Grand Garden Arena
25 November 1997	Minneapolis		Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
28 November 1997	Seattle		Kingdome
2 December 1997	Pontiac		Pontiac Silverdome
5 December 1997	Miami		Orange Bowl
7 December 1997	Orlando		Citrus Bowl
9 December 1997	Atlanta		Georgia Dome
12 December 1997	St. Louis		TWA Dome Recorded and shown on television as a Pay-per-view special, then later released on DVD
5 January 1998	Quebec City	Canada	Colisée de Quebec
14 January 1998	New York City	United States	Madison Square Garden
16 January 1998
17 January 1998
21 January 1998	Honolulu		The Pepsi Tent Hall
23 January 1998			Aloha Stadium
24 January 1998
28 January 1998	Vancouver	Canada	BC Place Stadium
30 January 1998	Portland	United States	Rose Garden
31 January 1998
3 February 1998	San Diego		Qualcomm Stadium
7 February 1998	Mexico City	Mexico	Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
9 February 1998
12 February 1998	Houston	United States	The Summit
13 February 1998
15 February 1998	Las Vegas		The Joint
Asia
12 March 1998	Tokyo	Japan	Tokyo Dome
14 March 1998
16 March 1998
17 March 1998
20 March 1998	Osaka		Osaka Dome
21 March 1998
South America
29 March 1998	Buenos Aires	Argentina	Estadio Monumental
30 March 1998
2 April 1998
4 April 1998
5 April 1998
11 April 1998	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	Apoteose Square
13 April 1998	São Paulo		Morumbi Stadium
North America
17 April 1998	Syracuse	United States	Carrier Dome
19 April 1998	Montreal	Canada	Molson Centre
20 April 1998
23 April 1998	Chicago	United States	United Center
26 April 1998	Toronto	Canada	SkyDome
Europe
5 June 1998	Lyon	France	(Cancelled) Eurexpo
13 June 1998	Nuremberg	Germany	Zeppelinfeld
20 June 1998	Werchter	Belgium	Festival Site
21 June 1998
24 June 1998	Düsseldorf	Germany	Rheinstadion
26 June 1998	Hannover		Expo Gelaende
29 June 1998	Amsterdam	Netherlands	Amsterdam ArenA
1 July 1998
2 July 1998
5 July 1998
6 July 1998
9 July 1998	Frauenfeld	Switzerland	Pferderennbahn
11 July 1998	Wiener Neustadt	Austria	Flugfeld
13 July 1998	Munich	Germany	Olympiastadion
16 July 1998	Málaga	Spain	Puerto de Málaga
18 July 1998	Vigo		Estadio Balaidos
20 July 1998	Barcelona		Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys
22 July 1998	Marseille	France	(Cancelled) Stade Vélodrome
25 July 1998	Paris		Stade de France
27 July 1998	Gelsenkirchen	Germany	Parkstadion
29 July 1998	Copenhagen	Denmark	Idraetsparken
31 July 1998	Gothenburg	Sweden	Nya Ullevi
2 August 1998	Oslo	Norway	Valle Hovin
5 August 1998	Helsinki	Finland	Olympic Stadium
8 August 1998	Tallinn	Estonia	Song Festival Grounds
11 August 1998	Moscow	Russia	Luzhniki Stadium
14 August 1998	Chorzów	Poland	Stadion Śląski
20 August 1998	Zagreb	Croatia	Zagreb Hippodrome
22 August 1998	Prague	Czech Republic	Prague Sport Hall
26 August 1998	Berlin	Germany	Olympiastadion
28 August 1998	Leipzig		Festwiese
30 August 1998	Hamburg		Trabrennbahn Bahrenfeld
2 September 1998	Bremen		Weserstadion]
5 September 1998	The Hague	Netherlands	Malieveld
8 September 1998	Stockholm	Sweden	Stockholm Globe Arena
10 September 1998	Berlin	Germany	Waldbühne
12 September 1998	Mannheim		Maimarkt
16 September 1998	Athens	Greece	Olympic Stadium
19 September 1998	Istanbul	Turkey	Ali Sami Yen Stadium
29 May 1999	Stuttgart	Germany	Cannstatter Wasen
31 May 1999	Imst	Austria	Festivalgelaende Brennbichl
2 June 1999	Groningen	Netherlands	Drafbaan Stadspark
4 June 1999	Edinburgh	Scotland	Murrayfield Stadium
6 June 1999	Sheffield	England	Don Valley Stadium
8 June 1999	London		Shepherds Bush Empire
11 June 1999			Wembley Stadium
12 June 1999
15 June 1999	Santiago de Compostela	Spain	Auditorio Monte do Gozo
18 June 1999	Landgraaf	Netherlands	Megaland
20 June 1999	Cologne	Germany	Müngersdorfer Stadion

External links

• The Rolling Stones' official website