Rock 'n' royalty
The Stones roll into town like a tsunami
By Courtney Powell, The Prague
Post
Shortly after the 1989 revolution -- on Aug. 18, 1990, to be
exact -- then-President Vaclav Havel forged a friendship at Prague Castle with
the poster boys for sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll.
Later that evening the Rolling Stones, the first big rock band ever to visit
post-communist Czechoslovakia, descended on Strahov stadium.
Despite only one of their albums (Black and Blue) ever having been
released here, a crowd of more than 100,000 showed up. Havel was in the crowd,
sporting a Stones T-shirt and jeans. Freedom and democracy had arrived.
At the time, the Stones' frontman and business mastermind Michael Phillip Jagger
was a youthful 47-year-old. The day before his upcoming "Licks" World
Tour concert in Prague, Sir Mick will turn 60.
His London-based publicist says he'll celebrate with a private party here.
Like most rock stars who pass through town, the Stones are staying at the Four
Seasons. Unlike most rock stars, they've been known to book entire five-star
hotels.
On the night of July 26, Jagger's birthday, all of the 141 rooms and 20 suites
at the Prague Four Seasons are reserved.
Jagger has slowed down over the past few decades in some respects; he has seven
children whose ages span three decades, along with a few grandkids for good
measure.
But the bad boy formerly known for maintaining his wiry physique with potent
chemical cocktails has a new regimen these days: workout sessions every other
day with a personal trainer, and little to no alcohol.
Drugs seem to be out of the picture, but Jagger is still going strong on the sex
and rock 'n' roll fronts.
The newest addition to the family is the 3-year-old son of a Brazilian model
with whom he had a three-month fling, and the Stones have recently set off on a
yearlong world tour to promote yet another greatest-hits album.
Wherever they go, the Rolling Stones arrive like a force of nature.
Along with four dressing rooms (for which they supply their own furniture), the
Stones demand a workout room and a lounge complete with games: "one
full-size snooker table (not a pool table) with a full set of cues, bridges,
chalk and racks, five video type games to include: a motor or driving type game,
a pinball machine, a virtual reality game, a combat game and one game suitable
for families and children."
The band's personal entourage of family members, makeup artists, personal
trainers and other staff numbers 55; there are 100 people on the production crew;
and the entire touring party totals 300.
The Licks tour, which includes three different shows, each with a
different set list, stage and lighting design, is rumored to be the most
elaborate production the Stones have ever put on.
Past tours have been criticized for relying too heavily on the band's '80s
output; there's little danger of that this time around.
The Licks world tour is supporting a greatest-hits double CD -- which
means crowds won't leave the stadium wondering why they had to hear "Saint
of Me" instead of "Paint It Black."
Ron & Jo at opening of Ron Wood art show
Jagger celebrates 60th in Prague
PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AP) -- Mick
Jagger, of the Rolling Stones, has kept details about his 60th birthday
celebrations in Prague a tight secret.
Jagger's party on Saturday is going to be a private affair in the Czech
capital, where the Stones will play a concert on Sunday as part of their "Forty
Licks" tour.
The venue is Prague's most closely guarded secret, keeping the paparazzi
guessing. Local media have speculated that Jagger will celebrate at the British
Embassy in Prague's Thun Palace or at the Four Seasons Hotel.
Even former President Vaclav Havel, a friend of Jagger's and an invited
guest, said he doesn't know where the festivities will be held.
"We will be told at the last minute," Havel's aide, Martin Vidlak
said. "This is a private party under full control of Mick Jagger."
Jagger, who has a soft spot for Prague, will be the second in the band to
turn 60. Drummer Charlie Watts has already reached 60, and Keith Richards
celebrates his 60th in December.
The Stones are making their fourth appearance in Prague in the past 13 years.
Sunday's concert is taking place at Letna Park on a hill overlooking central
Prague.
Shortly after Havel completed his anti-communist Velvet Revolution in 1989,
Jagger took his "Steel Wheels" tour to Prague.
"The tanks are rolling out, the Stones are rolling in," the posters
said, hinting at the end of Soviet occupation of what was formerly
Czechoslovakia.
The band, which was arriving Friday from Hamburg, Germany, has donated part
of its lighting system to illuminate the city's landmark Prague Castle.
According to unofficial reports, the Stones were expected to walk across the
famed medieval Charles Bridge on Saturday and view an exhibition of paintings by
Stones guitarist Ron Wood which opened in Prague earlier this week.
A brief meeting with Havel also was scheduled.
Although the party venue remains a virtual state secret, word of Havel's
birthday present to Jagger has been leaked to the press -- a two-foot-high
(61-centimeter) crystal vase by Havel's favorite artist, Borek Sipek.
The Blesk newspaper, which published a photo of the vase, said it was
intended to embody Jagger's "far-flung image -- and perhaps even his soul,
torn to pieces."
Radio Praha:
The legendary British band the Rolling Stones are in Prague after arriving at
the capital's Ruzyne airport on Friday. Friday evening Mick Jagger, the band's
lead singer, attended a small dinner near Prague's Kampa Park, in the city's
Little Quarter. Sources say the singer enquired about the devastating floods
that hit much of Kampa and other parts of Prague just under a year ago. The
Rolling Stones return to the Czech capital for the first time in five years.
They will play to a massive crowd on Prague's Letna Plain on Sunday, the day
after Mr Jagger celebrates his sixtieth birthday. Former president and long-time
Rolling Stones fan Vaclav Havel will be in attendance. A gift Mr Havel has
prepared for Mr Jagger is a glass vase designed by post-modern architect and
designer Boris Sipek.
 
Mick Jagger birthday party at Klub Duplex
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