Tour by The Rolling Stones | |
Associated album | Forty Licks |
---|---|
Start date | 3 September 2002 |
End date | 9 November 2003 |
Legs | 5 |
No. of shows | 117 |
Box office | US $311 million ($400.73 in 2016 dollars) |
The Rolling Stones concert chronology |
The Licks Tour was a worldwide concert tour undertaken by The Rolling Stones 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.
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.
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, 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 celebration. The tour was sponsored by E-Trade.
In Chicago, U2 frontman Bono 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 also guested as well.
In January, American cable network HBO broadcast a concert from Madison Square Garden in New York.
The Rolling Stones played "drastically different" shows depending upon the size of the venue.
The production was designed by Mark Fisher, Charlie Watts, Mick Jagger, and Patrick Woodroffe. The design included a 60-metre (200 ft) 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.