The Licks Tour was a worldwide concert tour undertaken by

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

during 2002 and 2003, in support of their 40th anniversary compilation album '' Forty Licks''. The tour grossed over $300 million, becoming the second highest grossing tour at that time, behind their own Voodoo Lounge Tour of 1994–1995.

Background

The itinerary continued the Rolling Stones' practice of mixing theatre, arena, and stadium venues. With little new music to promote, set lists were dynamic and featured a total of 80 different songs. The production was designed by Mark Fisher, Charlie Watts,

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

, and Patrick Woodroffe. The design included a wide digital print created by Jeff Koons. During the song " Honky Tonk Women", an animated video was shown of a topless woman riding the famous Rolling Stones Tongue logo before being devoured. Planned dates in East Asia and the final date of the tour were cancelled in response to the SARS outbreak of 2002–2003. Additionally, because

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada was also affected, the Rolling Stones headlined the Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto concert on 30 July 2003 to help the city recover from the effects of the epidemic. It was attended by an estimated 490,000 people. Finally, on 7–9 November 2003, the band played its first ever concerts in Hong Kong, as part of the

Harbour Fest The Hong Kong Harbour Fest (), held from 17 October to 11 November 2003, was part of a HK$1 billion program to revive the economy of Hong Kong SAR after the SARS. It was a government underwritten event organised by InvestHK, under the auspices ...

celebration. The tour was sponsored by E-Trade. In

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, U2 frontman

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended ...

joined the Stones for " It's Only Rock'n Roll (But I Like It)". But after the conclusion of the song, Bono left the stage without acknowledging the audience.

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from ...

also guested as well. In January, American cable network HBO broadcast a concert from

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylv ...

in New York. In Sydney,

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

, Hockenheim, Oberhausen and

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Angus and Malcolm Young from

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and heavy metal, but the band calls it ...

played " Rock Me Baby" with the Rolling Stones. The Leipzig performance can be found on disc 2 of AC/DC's '' Plug Me In'', while the Toronto performance was included in the '' Toronto Rocks'' DVD.

Set list

The setlist for each show depended on what type of venue they were played (Stadium, Arena, or Theatre).

Tour dates

Personnel

The Rolling Stones *

– lead vocals, guitars, harmonica, additional keyboards * Keith Richards – rhythm guitar, backing vocals * Ronnie Wood – lead guitar * Charlie Watts – drums Additional musicians * Darryl Jones – bass *

Chuck Leavell Charles Alfred Leavell (born April 28, 1952) is an American musician. A member of the Allman Brothers Band throughout their commercial zenith in the 1970s, he subsequently became a founding member of the band Sea Level. He has served as the pri ...

– keyboards, backing vocals; * Bobby Keys – saxophone *Tim Ries – saxophone *Michael Davis – trombone; *Kent Smith – trumpet *

Lisa Fischer Lisa Fischer (born December 1, 1958) is an American singer and songwriter. She found success with her 1991 debut album ''So Intense'', which produced the Grammy Award–winning hit single "How Can I Ease the Pain". She has been a back-up singer ...

– backing vocals, * Bernard Fowler – backing vocals * Blondie Chaplin – backing vocals, additional guitar

Notes

References