Shepherds Bush 1999

The Rolling Stones have long been famed for their secret shows. One of those took place on June 8th, 1999, when Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, Charlie Watts, and co took the stage at the Shepherd's Bush Empire, a 1903 music hall in the West London suburb. In front of an 1 ,800 capacity crowd, including such luminaries as Anita Pallenberg, Pete Townshend, Jerry Hall, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and Bob Geldof, the band strutted their stuff just days before 2 sold out shows at the 70 000 seat Wembley Stadium. Today, December 6th, 2024, Mercury Studios will release "Welcome To Shepherd's Bush" in a variety of formats: 1 BluRay + 2 CD set, a 2 CD limited edition package of 15 000 worldwide, a 2 LP black vinyl package, and a direct to consumer 2 LP set pressed on 180 gram white vinyl.

The title is derived from Mick Jagger's onstage greeting that night, "Welcome To Shepherd's Bush. I've been waiting to say that for a little bit". The gig kicked off the UK dates on the North America and Europe "No Security" tour, many of the European dates of which replaced cancelled concert dates from the "Bridges To Babylon" tour, which would conclude shortly thereafter with shows in Spain, Holland and Germany. It was viewed by many as a homecoming, channeling the energy of the band's 1960's performances in London clubs, and also was the band's 1st London show since 1995. The core group was joined by stalwarts Bernard Fowler, Lisa Fischer, Blondie Chaplin, Darryl Jones, Chuck Leavell, Bobby Keys, Michael Davis, Kent Smith, and Tim Ries.

The tight, intimate 90 minute set emphasized deep cuts, such as the only known live performance to date of "Moon Is Up" from "Voodoo Lounge" and only the 2nd live version ever of "Melody" from "Black And Blue". The 1st, from the 1977 El Mocambo show in Toronto, was released in 2022. Another "Voodoo Lounge" highlight, "Brand New Car", has only been played live 7 times. Sheryl Crow, who opened for all of the UK shows, joined the band for "Honky Tonk Women". Keith Richards stepped out for the solo spotlight numbers "You Got The Silver" and "Before They Make Me Run", while familiar Stones staples such as the concert opener "Shattered", the song's 1st time in the opening slot, "It's Only Rock'N'Roll", "Tumbling Dice", "Brown Sugar", and "Jumping Jack Flash", also made the cut. Bobby Troup's "Route 66" was the lone cover performed at the Empire.