Rolling Stones Rock A Censored China

Despite the censorship imposed by the government of China, the Rolling Stones rocked their first concert ever in the Communist nation, kicking it off with the most apt of songs, "Start Me Up".

The Rolling Stones played to a sold-out indoor stadium, The Grand Stage in Shanghai, with 8,500 people packing in. The crowd, consisted of mostly foreigners. This came after tickets prices were driven up to 5,000 yuan ($620 US), which more than the average monthly salary in Shanghai. Originally, the cheapest seats at the Grand Stage were sold for $40 US.

The late addition to the A Bigger Band tour came quite recently, due to the negotiations over various aspects of the show, including the smaller venue, and the censorship imposed by the Chinese government. Originally, four songs had been stricken from the band's play list, which were "Brown Sugar", "Honky Tonk Woman", "Beast of Burden" and "Let's Spend the Night Together", because of their controversial subject matter. The same four tracks had been left off the Chinese release of the Rolling Stones Greatest Hits CD, Forty Licks, which meant the Chinese release only contained 36 tracks. Later, a fifth track would be barred from the Stones performance, "Rough Justice", off the CD A Bigger Bang.

The lead singer of the band, Sir Mick Jagger, said he was fully expecting some censorship to come down the pipe. As the BBC quoted Jagger as saying, "Fortunately, we have 400 more songs that we can play so it's not really an issue." Sir Mick Jagger would go on to say, referring to the high ticket prices, "I'm pleased that the Ministry of Culture is protecting the morals of the expat bankers and their girlfriends that are going to be coming," as Forbes reported.

The veteran rock band performed several of their classic songs, such as "Start Me Up", "Oh no, Not You Again" (a new tune), "Midnight Rambler" (an ode for the , "Bitch", "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Wild Horses", which The Rolling Stones performed with the help of Chinese rocker Cui Jian. The Chinese call Jian their version of Bob Dylan, and he sand the duet with Sir Mick Jagger, much to the delight of the Chinese audience. The BBC quoted Jian as saying "It is a big moment, I will never forget this."

The Rolling Stones had attempted to play in China back in 2003, but the SARS epidemic had forced them change their plans after the virus killed hundreds in the country. The Rolling Stones also tried to play a concert in China in 1980, although the idea was dismissed after a meeting between Sir Mick Jagger and Chinese officials went poorly, when the met in Washington, D.C.

The Rolling Stones have been a force to be reckoned with in the music world since 1965 when they put out Out of Our Heads, which included "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction and "Get Off My Cloud", and was their first #1 album in the US (The Rolling Stones was their first #1 in the UK). They followed the success of Out of Our Heads up with #1albums (in the US), including Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main St., Goat Head's Soup, It's Only Rock 'n' Roll, Black and Blue, Some Girls, Emotional Rescue, and Tattoo You. Hit singles of theirs include, but are not limited to, "Paint it, Black", "Angie", "Miss You", "You Can't Always Get What You Want", "Anybody Seen My Baby?" and the classic "Start Me Up".

The Rolling Stones are Sir Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ron Wood. Former members included Brian Jones, Mick Taylor, Bill Wyman, Darryl Jones, Ian Stewart and Dick Taylor. This is a stop on the Bigger Bang tour, which has seen them set a personal record by playing to 1.5 million people at the Copacabana Beach in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

[Additional Sources: BBC, Forbes]