Rolling Stones Give Free Concert -- No One Killed

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - With nary a Hells Angels member or flying pool cue in sight, the Rolling Stones played their first free concert in 33 years on Thursday, as a celebrity crowd headed by former U.S. President Bill Clinton looked on.

The event at the Staples Center was a considerably more sedate affair than their last free show, at the Altamont Speedway near San Francisco in 1969. Then, security was handled by the local Hells Angels chapter, who clubbed fans with pool cues while the band looked on helplessly. A teenager was stabbed to death as he appeared to point a gun at the stage.

There was nothing like that at the Staples Center, a sterile indoor arena with plenty of earnest ushers. Most of the 18,000 tickets were given away in a lottery handled by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an environmental lobby group that presented the show to raise awareness of global warming.

All costs were paid by Hollywood producer and Democratic fundraiser Steve Bing, who earned bad press last year after he denied fathering the baby boy of English model Elizabeth Hurley until DNA testing proved otherwise.

Actors Leonardo DiCaprio , Pierce Brosnan , Lisa Kudrow , Larry David , Mira Sorvino and Cameron Diaz , singer Christina Aguilera and director Rob Reiner graced the event with their presence, some turning up in environmentally friendly vehicles. They posed for photographers as they strode up a green carpet to a private VIP reception that preceded the concert.

Clinton kicked off the night by addressing the crowd from the stage for five minutes. Such a coupling would have been unthinkable 30 years ago when the U.S. government sought to keep the bad boys of rock ‘n’ roll out of America because of their drug busts and bad behavior.

Clinton told the crowd, “I am here because the Stones aren’t term-limited and they’re just as old as I am.” He also mentioned the recent space shuttle disaster and warned that a chunk of Manhattan -- “where I work” -- could fall into the ocean if global warming continued.

His speech cast a pall on the crowd, and the band struggled for most of the night to whip up any enthusiasm. Its 20-song, 135-minute set focused on the classic hits, ranging from opening tunes “Start Me Up” and “Street Fighting Man” through to the energizing blues jams “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” and “Midnight Rambler.”

The band kept its comments to a minimum. Lead singer Mick Jagger noted that the Stones had been preceded by some great opening acts over the years, such as Tina Turner and Stevie Wonder, “but we never had the president of the United States open for us.”

He later said, “We’re putting the spotlight on a very good cause, and you can all feel very good about that.”

Guitarist Keith Richards , politically incorrect as usual, muttered that “the Eskimos are feeling the pinch.”

Thursday’s show marked the penultimate stop on the North American leg of the Rolling Stones’ “Licks” tour, which began last September in Boston. After a stop in Las Vegas on Saturday, they will fly to Australia, where the Asian leg will begin in Sydney on Feb. 18.

Ford Motor Company NEWS RELEASE 12/31/2002 09:26:41 AM GMT

STONES CLASSIC “START ME UP” TO HELP GET FORD SALES ROLLING IN 2003

(PRESSI.COM 12/31/2002) DEARBORN, Mich., Dec. 31, 2002 – The first musical notes millions of Americans will hear on Jan. 1, 2003, only seconds after “Auld Lang Syne” fades away, are the opening riffs of the Rolling Stones classic “Start Me Up” – the theme song for Ford Division’s first 2003 car, truck and SUV advertising blitz.

“‘Start Me Up’ really gets your blood pumping,” said Steve Lyons, Ford Division president. “We picked it to send the message that Ford’s back – with a vengeance.”

Ford plans to debut a 30-second commercial featuring “Start Me Up” and the brand’s entire car, pickup truck and SUV line up as close to midnight as possible on NBC’s “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” and other New Year’s Eve programming around the country. The Ford ads mark the first time “Start Me Up” has been licensed to an automotive company, and only the second time the song has been licensed for commercial use.

During the first two weeks of January, the spot also will air on every major college football bowl game, the NFL playoffs and on highly-rated prime-time television shows, including “NYPD Blue,” “The Practice,” “60 Minutes,” and “The Simpsons.”

All of the ads will feature bold visuals of Ford products, colorful graphics, messages about product features and the attractive consumer incentives available.

Six other versions of the ad are planned, and they will air regionally to support the full Ford product line, the company’s SUVs and pickups and individual Ford products, including Focus, Ranger and Taurus. Radio versions of the ads also will be produced.

“Ford Division has been on a roll in 2002 – we’ve steadily increased our retail market share on the strength of great new products like Escape, Explorer and Expedition, and we are going to keep the momentum going into 2003,” Lyons said.

The Rolling Stones – hailed as the “world’s greatest rock and roll band” by Rolling Stone magazine – first released “Start Me Up” as the opening track of their multi-platinum-selling 1981 album “Tattoo You.” The song also is one of the featured tracks on the band’s latest release “Forty Licks,” which is a digitally remastered compilation of music covering more than five decades of Rolling Stones hits.

This material has been produced by Ford Motor Company. It is delivered by Pressi.com in its original form.

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