"note on my ticket while @officialKeef played riff from ‘Paint It Black’: F**kin’ Great!" The @RollingStones - Branson review

wishing I was there!!!

Richard Branson reviews The Rolling Stones - Red Room - Virgin.com

 "note on my ticket while @officialKeef played riff from ‘Paint It Black’: F**kin’ Great!"

Eric Clapton, playing a blinder on ‘Champagne & Reefer’

“This could be the last time,” sang Mick Jagger as the Rolling Stones played yet another rock ‘n’ roll classic. Let’s hope this isn’t the last time the world’s greatest band get together onstage.
From start to finish the Rolling Stones gig at the o2 Arena was sheer magic. It was strange being there to see them live so many years after I had first seen the band play together. The best concert I ever saw was the Stones in Hyde Park, but this ran it pretty close! From the thrilling production to the high-octane set, it was a five-star performance.

With demand for tickets so high, we were very privileged to be present as Mick, Keef, Charlie, Ronnie and the gang put on their masterclass. Everyone present knew it and the atmosphere was electric. Though it was all-seated, nobody sat down during the entire set. In fact, when I went so take a seat for a moment I promptly fell flat on my arse – only reinforcing the fact that we should carry on standing up dancing!
Many dismiss older people as being past it and not having as much to offer as youngsters. However, the Rolling Stones are just as talented and exciting as they were when they were 20. If anything their musicianship has improved over the years and there is a special chemistry between the band that is irreplaceable. Despite all of their disagreements over the years, they rise above their differences to make something great.

Keith Richards is such a character, the real rogue of rock ‘n’ roll, but his guitar playing is still out of this world. He’s in great shape considering what he has put his body through. Somebody should dissect him (not yet of course!) It was great to see the former Stones members Bill Wyman and Mick Taylor join them onstage too. I remember seeing Mick as a beautiful young man performing with Mike Oldfield on his Tubular Bells show at Queen Elizabeth Hall. What a talent.

There were also special guests from the old and new schools of music, with Slowhand himself, Eric Clapton, playing a blinder on ‘Champagne & Reefer’ and Florence Welch showing off her lung-busting vocals on an incendiary ‘Gimme Shelter’.
As for the song of the night? There’s so many to choose from, all the way from ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ to ‘Start Me Up’, ‘Satisfaction’ to ‘Sympathy For The Devil’. Perhaps my scribbled note on my ticket while Keef played riff from ‘Paint It Black’ sums the gig up best: F**kin’ Great!

By Richard Branson. Founder of Virgin Group

Richard Branson reviews The Rolling Stones - Red Room - Virgin.com