Changing so fast I can hardly keep up

[owenkrout]

OK. This has got to be one of the most dramatic signs of how much Chinese society is changing.

 

Rolling Stones Set to Play 2 China Shows

By ALEXA OLESEN

Associated Press Writer

 

 

BEIJING (AP)--It's official: Beijing and Shanghai will get their own taste of the Rolling Stones' ``Forty Licks'' tour.

 

Two Rolling Stones concert dates have been confirmed for Beijing and Shanghai, an organizer said Sunday. The shows, part of the band's 40th anniversary tour, will be the band's first in the world's most populous country.

 

The British band will perform in Shanghai on April 1 and in Beijing on April 4, said Wang Long, an organizer for the Beijing Time New Century Entertainment Co.

 

Cui Jian, China's most famous rocker, will open for the Stones in Beijing. Cui is hugely popular in China but has rarely been allowed to play big shows in the capital because he performed on Tiananmen Square during the 1989 pro-democracy protests.

 

Cui, 42, said he taught himself to play the guitar in the 1980s by learning Rolling Stones and Beatles songs.

 

``They are my heroes,'' Cui told the Associated Press on Sunday. ``It's a big honor for me.''

 

When the Rolling Stones first rose to fame in the 1960s, China was on the verge of the radical 1966-76 Cultural Revolution, which reviled Western pop culture as spiritual pollution.

 

Their music first became available in China only after the start of economic and social reforms in the late 1970s.

 

In Beijing, the Stones will play the 7,000-seat Workers' Gymnasium.

 

A few hundred front-row seats will be available for $750, Wang said. That's about the same as the average Chinese person's annual income.

[Mick]

Unbelievable!!! And might I add I think it is a great thing. Actually, a number of my students have Stones CDs and have asked me questions about the band. Although this is an example of the changing times in China, from a cultural exchange perspective, I see it in a generally positive light.

 

Besides, Jagger has a great first name. B)

[owenkrout]

The government is apparently having second thoughts about the Rolling Stones tour in Shanghai and Beijing. The Stones won’t be allowed to perform “Brown Sugar,” “Honky Tonk Woman,” “Beast of Burden,” and “Let’s Spend the Night Together.”

 

http://www.msnbc.com/news/881613.asp

[Mick]

The government is apparently having second thoughts about the Rolling Stones tour in Shanghai and Beijing.  The Stones won’t be allowed to perform “Brown Sugar,” “Honky Tonk Woman,” “Beast of Burden,” and “Let’s Spend the Night Together.”

 

http://www.msnbc.com/news/881613.asp

For me, that would sort of take some of the wind out of the sails. Those are all great tunes. Reminds me of when they once performed on the Ed Sullivan Show. Their current hit at the time was "Let's Spend the Night Together". Sullivan put his foot down and said they had to change the words to "let's spend some time together". The band reluctantly agreed. Then you can imagine Sullivan's shock when, on his live show, Jagger reverted immediately to the original lyrics. True story.

[kkimm]

the other, if I may say, would be the popularity of Starbucks in Shanghai and Beijing...

[Robert S.]

Reminds me of when they once performed on the Ed Sullivan Show. Their current hit at the time was "Let's Spend the Night Together". Sullivan put his foot down and said they had to change the words to "let's spend some time together". The band reluctantly agreed. Then you can imagine Sullivan's shock when, on his live show, Jagger reverted immediately to the original lyrics. True story.

Goes to show you can't keep a good man down -- even if he is a cross dresser.

[Mick]

Heard that both shows have been cancelled, as well as the one in Hong Kong due to SARS.

[owenkrout]

that is correct. However people were not told why it was cancelled. Students were asking me why they had refused to come to China.

[Mick]

that is correct.  However people were not told why it was cancelled.  Students were asking me why they had refused to come to China.

Not only is it a shame the show had to be cancelled, but it is even worse that people were not informed as to the true reason. This saddens me greatly.