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Rolling Stones Steel Wheels tour press conference 1989
Grand Central Station, NYC, July 11 1989 (MTV broadcast)
On August 31 1989, the Rolling Stones embarked on a concert tour in North America to promote their brand new album Steel Wheels, later continuing with ten gigs in the Tokyo Dome in Japan in February 1990, their first time as a band in the country. As for the tour’s European phase, known as the Urban Jungle Tour, it ran from May to August 1990 and had a new stage and logo. These would be the final live performances by the band featuring original band member and bassist Bill Wyman, an original member.
The whole sound system at Veterans Stadium went out during the third song of the evening,Shattered, on August 31, giving the tour quite a rough start. In light of the excitement that had preceded the tour’s official launch, it was a rather unsettling occasion. After the double-barreled rendition of Start Me Up and Bitch that opened the show left the 54,500-strong crowd pleasantly surprised, if a little confused, that they would be abruptly left silent and unentertained in the dark. The Stones and their supporting artists milled around confusedly for a while before leaving the stage, returning after five minutes.
Rolling Stones Bring the Fire on the Steel Wheels Tour
The Steel Wheels Tour wasn’t just big—it was massive, with 80 trucks hauling the whole show around. It was my first time catching a stadium rock concert, and man, it blew me away. The Stones seriously brought their A-game. Sure, they’ve had a rep for being kind of loose on stage, but not this time. For this tour, they were tight, rehearsed, and backed by a killer group of side musicians who made everything sound top-notch. The stage setup? Absolutely enormous. Add in a killer light show and some wild pyrotechnics, and it was an unforgettable night. They didn’t just show up—they dominated. It was proof that even decades in, the Rolling Stones could still crush it live.
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