September

Forty Licks Released; Forty Licks Tour

Forty Licks was a 2-CD compilation released to large fanfare, being the Stones’ first entire career-spanning compilation to cover both their Decca and self-owned post-1970 recordings. The Forty Licks tour took off almost instantly in the same month. Trying to reconnect with their audience and just focus on the music, the Stones intended for it to be ‘Rolling Stones On The Road: World Tour 2002/2003 Arena/Stadium/Club’, with no special-effects laden sets, just a load of classic songs. The ‘Arena/Stadium/Club’ concept would see them play different venues of differing sizes in each area they visited (in London they played Twickenham Stadium, Wembley Arena and London’s Astoria), with radically differing setlists each night that drew great excitement from fans eager to catch rare live outings of songs many thought the Stones wouldn’t play again. The tour also resulted in its own live Forty Licks compilation, and the Four Flicks 4-DVD box set.

November

Appearance On The Simpsons

Following in a long line of celebrities – rock stars and otherwise – appearing on The Simpsons, Mick and Keith were star guests of series 14, episode two (‘How I Spent My Strummer Vacation’). Originally aired on 10 November 2002, they played themselves as owners of a rock’n’roll fantasy camp. Caught blaming his family for the way his life has gone, Homer is sent to the camp in order to live his rock’n’roll dreams. Come the end, Homer becomes the Stones’ roadie (though he thinks he’s invited on tour as the star of the show). The episode also featured Lenny Kravitz, Tom Petty and Elvis Costello as teachers at the camp.

Personalities | Introducing The Rolling Stones
Personalities | The Rolling Stones (2003) | Key Events