The Rolling Stones' Steel Wheels Tour was a concert tour which was launched in North America in August 1989 to promote the band's album Steel Wheels; it continued to Japan in February 1990, with ten shows at the Tokyo Dome. The European leg of the tour, which featured a different stage and logo, was called the Urban Jungle Tour; it ran from May to August 1990. These would be the last live concerts for the band with original member Bill Wyman on bass guitar. This tour would also be the longest the band had ever done up to that point, playing over twice as many shows as their standard tour length from the 1960s and 1970s.

The tour was a financial success, cementing the Rolling Stones' return to full commercial power after a seven-year hiatus in touring marked by well publicized acrimony among band members.

History The Rolling Stones began pre-tour preparations in July 1989 at the Wykeham Rise School, a former boarding school for girls in Litchfield, Connecticut. A 25-member entourage was hired to support the band.

The group performed a pre-tour 'surprise show' that took place on 12 August 1989 at Toad's Place in New Haven, Connecticut, with a local act, Sons of Bob, opening the show for an audience of only 700 people who had purchased tickets for $3.01 apiece.Rolling Stones Steel Wheels North American Tour 1989 (Paperback) Toad's owner, Mike Spoerndle, had promoted the event as a private birthday party for Jim Koplik, the club's promoter. The official Steel Wheels Tour kicked off later that month at the now-demolished Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. During the opening show in Philadelphia, the power went out during "Shattered", and caused a slight delay in the show. Jagger came out and spoke to the crowd during the delay. The Stones returned to Vancouver, B.C. in Canada and played two sold-out concerts at B.C. Place Stadium. Fan reaction for tickets was unprecedented. One local radio station, 99.3 The Fox, even had a man (Andrew Korn) sit in front of the station in a bath tub filled with brown sugar and water for free tickets to the concert.

The stage was designed by Mark Fisher with the participation of Charlie Watts and Mick Jagger. Lighting design was by Patrick Woodroffe.

Canadian promoter Michael Cohl made his name buying the concert, sponsorship, merchandising, radio, television, and film rights to the Steel Wheels Tour. It became the most financially successful rock tour in history up to that time. Rival promoter Bill Graham, who also bid on the tour, later wrote that "Losing the Stones was like watching my favourite lover become a whore."

Performances from the tour were documented on the album Flashpoint, and the video Live at the Max, both released in 1991.

Opening acts for the tour included Living Colour, Dan Reed Network, Guns N' Roses and Gun.

The original two dates at Wembley Stadium that originally were set to take place on 13 and 14 July 1990 had to be rescheduled for 24 and 25 August 1990 due to Keith Richards cutting a finger the previous week.

In August 1990, an extra concert in Prague, Czechoslovakia, was added. Czechoslovakia had overthrown the Communist regime nine months earlier, and the Rolling Stones' concert was perceived as a symbolic end of the revolution. Czechoslovakia's new president Václav Havel, a lifelong fan of the band, helped to arrange the event, and met the band at the Prague Castle before the show. Performance expenses were partially covered by Havel and by the Czechoslovak Ministry of Industry. The attendance was over 100,000. The band chose to donate all revenues from the gig (over 4 million Czechoslovak korunas) to the Committee of Good Will, a charity run by Havel's wife Olga Havlová.

Recordings Released in 1991, Flashpoint is a 17-song live album of material recorded during the Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour.

In July 2020, Eagle Rock Entertainment released a recording and DVD set of the final date of the North American tour titled Steel Wheels Live. The performance, recorded at the Atlantic City Convention Center, features guest appearances by John Lee Hooker, Eric Clapton, Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin.

Personnel The Rolling Stones Mick Jagger – lead vocals, guitar, harmonica, percussion Keith Richards – rhythm guitars, lead guitars, vocals Ronnie Wood – lead guitars Bill Wyman – bass guitar Charlie Watts – drums

Additional musicians Matt Clifford – keyboards, backing vocals, percussion, French horn Bobby Keys – saxophone Chuck Leavell – keyboards, backing vocals and musical director Bernard Fowler – backing vocals, percussion Lisa Fischer – backing vocals on the North American & Japanese tours only W. "Bindy" Bindeman – backing vocals, keyboards- Japanese tours only Cindy Mizelle – backing vocals on the North American & Japanese tours only Pamela Quinlan – backing vocals on North American & European tour only Lorelei McBroom – backing vocals on the European tour only Sophia Jones – backing vocals on the European tour only The Uptown Horns:

Arno Hecht – saxophone Bob Funk – trombone Crispin Cioe – saxophone Paul Litteral – trumpet

Entourage

Michael Cohl – Tour Director Norman Perry – Assistant Tour Director Alan Dunn – Logistics Arnold Dunn – Band Road Manager Timm Wooley – Financial Controller Bob Hurwitz – Tour Accountant Stan Damas – Police Liaison Jim Callaghan – Security Chief Rowan Brade – Security Bob Bender – Security Joe Seabrook – Security William Horgan – Security Linn Tanzmann – Band Press Representative Neil Friedman – Assistant Tour Publicist Bennett Kleinberg – Advance Tour Publicist Dimo Safari – Tour Photographer Beth Kittrell – Administrative Assistant Caroline Clements – Makeup Robern Pickering – Wardrobe Fiona Williams – Stylist LaVelle Smith – Choreographer Torje Eike – Physiotherapist Joseph Sakowicz – Band/Entourage Luggage Shelley Lazar – Ticket/Credentials Coordinator Miranda Guinness – Asst. to Mick Jagger Tony Russell – Asst. to Keith Richards Jo Howard – Asst. to Ron Wood Tony King – Mick Jagger Press Liaison Patricia Aleck – Travel Advance Cliff Burnstein – Creative Consultant Peter Mensch – Creative Consultant

Production Michael Ahern – Production Manager Chuch Magee – Backline Crew Chief Roy Lamb – Stage Manager Mark Fisher – Set Designer Patrick Woodroffe – Lighting Designer Benji Lefevre – FOH Sound Engineer Chris Wade-Evans – Monitor Sound Engineer Gary Epstein - Universal System Engineer Pierre De Beauport – Guitar Technician Andy Topeka – Keyboard Technician Steve Thomas – Production Advance Steve Howard – Promoter Production Rep Bruce Haynes – Electrician Shane Hendrick – Electrician David Sinclair – Electrician Henry Wetzel – Electrician

Tour dates +List of 1989 concerts Date City Country Venue Tickets sold / available Revenue Opening act(s) 12 August 1989 New Haven United States Toad's Place 700 / 700 $2,107 Sons of Bob 31 August 1989 Philadelphia Veterans Stadium 110,556 / 110,556 $3,181,143 Living Colour 1 September 1989 3 September 1989 Toronto Canada CNE Stadium 121,897 / 121,897 $3,368,752 4 September 1989 6 September 1989 Pittsburgh United States Three Rivers Stadium 62,939 / 62,939 $1,790,526 8 September 1989 East Troy Alpine Valley 105,995 / 105,995 $2,941,882 9 September 1989 11 September 1989 14 September 1989 Cincinnati Riverfront Stadium 53,555 / 53,555 $1,522,536 16 September 1989 Raleigh Carter–Finley Stadium 52,881 / 52,881 $1,506,393 17 September 1989 St. Louis Busch Stadium 53,705 / 53,705 $1,528,397 19 September 1989 Louisville Cardinal Stadium 39,301 / 39,301 $1,120,075 21 September 1989 Syracuse Carrier Dome 73,828 / 73,828 $2,082,325 22 September 1989 24 September 1989 Washington, D.C.Robert F. Kennedy Stadium 105,267 / 105,267 $2,988,142 25 September 1989 27 September 1989 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 61,527 / 61,527 $1,753,520 29 September 1989 Foxborough Sullivan Stadium 163,308 / 163,308 $4,648,338 1 October 1989 3 October 1989 5 October 1989 Birmingham Legion Field 63,523 / 63,523 $1,804,348 7 October 1989 Ames Cyclone Field 55,857 / 55,857 $1,589,273 8 October 1989 Kansas City Arrowhead Stadium 55,306 / 55,306 $1,576,075 10 October 1989 New York CityShea Stadium 124,524 / 124,524 $3,735,610 11 October 1989 18 October 1989 Los AngelesLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum 360,069 / 360,069 $9,166,937 Guns N' RosesLiving Colour 19 October 1989 21 October 1989 22 October 1989 25 October 1989 New York City Shea Stadium 263,213 / 263,213 $7,871,842 Living Colour 26 October 1989 28 October 1989 29 October 1989 1 November 1989 Vancouver Canada BC Place Stadium 110,591 / 110,591 $3,065,058 2 November 1989 4 November 1989 Oakland United States Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 117,603 / 117,603 $3,347,518 5 November 1989 8 November 1989 Houston Astrodome 52,278 / 52,278 $1,486,623 10 November 1989 Dallas Cotton Bowl 119,856 / 119,856 $3,410,856 11 November 1989 13 November 1989 New Orleans Louisiana Superdome 59,339 / 59,339 $1,682,220 15 November 1989 Miami Orange Bowl 107,175 / 110,000 $3,054,488 16 November 1989 18 November 1989 Tampa Tampa Stadium 63,415 / 63,415 $1,802,884 21 November 1989 Atlanta Grant Field 49,311 / 49,311 $1,401,082 25 November 1989 Jacksonville Gator Bowl 62,637 / 62,637 $1,779,205 26 November 1989 Clemson Memorial Stadium 63,784 / 63,784 $1,817,844 29 November 1989 Minneapolis Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 104,780 / 104,780 $2,976,592 30 November 1989 3 December 1989 Toronto Canada SkyDome 117,446 / 117,446 $3,282,757 4 December 1989 6 December 1989 Indianapolis United States Hoosier Dome 89,078 / 89,078 $2,533,955 7 December 1989 9 December 1989 Pontiac Silverdome 100,234 / 100,234 $2,956,834 10 December 1989 13 December 1989 Montreal Canada Olympic Stadium 123,962 / 123,962 $3,490,126 14 December 1989 17 December 1989 Atlantic City United States Convention Center — — — 19 December 1989 20 December 1989

+List of 1990 concerts Date City Country Venue Tickets sold / available Revenue Opening act(s) 14 February 1990 Tokyo Japan Tokyo Dome — —— 16 February 1990 17 February 1990 19 February 1990 20 February 1990 21 February 1990 23 February 1990 24 February 1990 26 February 1990 27 February 1990 18 May 1990 Rotterdam Netherlands De Kuip Gun 19 May 1990 21 May 1990 23 May 1990 Hanover West Germany Niedersachsenstadion 24 May 1990 26 May 1990 Frankfurt Waldstadion 27 May 1990 30 May 1990 Cologne Müngersdorfer Stadion Die Toten Hosen 31 May 19902 June 1990 MunichOlympiastadion Gun 3 June 1990 6 June 1990 West Berlin Olympiastadion 10 June 1990 Lisbon Portugal Estádio José Alvalade 13 June 1990Barcelona Spain Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc 14 June 1990 16 June 1990 Madrid Estadio Vicente Calderón 17 June 1990 20 June 1990 Marseille France Stade Vélodrome 22 June 1990 Paris Parc des Princes 23 June 1990 25 June 1990 27 June 1990 Basel Switzerland St. Jakob Stadium 4 July 1990 London England Wembley Stadium 6 July 1990 7 July 1990 9 July 1990 Glasgow Scotland Hampden Park 16 July 1990 Cardiff Wales Cardiff Arms Park Dan Reed Network 18 July 1990 Newcastle England St James' Park 20 July 1990 Manchester Maine Road 21 July 1990 25 July 1990 Rome Italy Stadio Flaminio 26 July 1990 28 July 1990 Turin Stadio delle Alpi 31 July 1990 Vienna Austria Praterstadion 3 August 1990 Gothenburg Sweden Eriksberg 4 August 1990 6 August 1990 Oslo Norway Valle Hovin 7 August 1990 9 August 1990 Copenhagen Denmark Københavns Idrætspark 13 August 1990 East Berlin East Germany Radrennbahn WeissenseeLiving Colour 14 August 1990 16 August 1990 Gelsenkirchen West Germany Parkstadion 18 August 1990 Prague Czechoslovakia Strahov Stadium Dan Reed NetworkVladimír MišíkEtc... 24 August 1990London England Wembley Stadium — 25 August 1990

See also List of highest grossing concert tours List of most-attended concert tours List of most-attended ticketed multi-night concerts

Notes

References

External links

Mark Fisher's "Urban Jungle" gallery