Rolling Stones in Edinburgh: Everything you need to know

Start me up! The Rolling Stones are set to rock the capital this weekend after almost 20 years away and here's everything you need to know.
Rolling Stones official Edinburgh posterRolling Stones official Edinburgh poster
Rolling Stones official Edinburgh poster

The band, which formed in London in 1962, has played Edinburgh six times before with the first coming to the Capital in 1964 at the ABC Regal Cinema were they played 2 shows in one day!

The wrinkly rockers last played Murrayfield in 1999, with a set list crammed full of hits, including Jumping Jack Flash, Angie, Paint It Black, Sympathy For the Devil, Brown Sugar and Satisfaction.

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At the time The Independent wrote: “The older Keith (Richards) gets, the more rock n roll he gets. (Mick) Jagger, on the other hand, never gets any older. He is the most shameless, tireless performer alive. The music is just as young and vigorous. It’s as gnarled, leathery and cool as Richards; as lean, energetic and professional as Jagger.”

35 years earlier fan fervour was at its height by the time the Stones made their Edinburgh debut. Police dogs were on hand to protect the band when they played in Carlisle two nights earlier, and the levels of hysteria north of the border meant the band were escorted from the venue in an armoured security van.

In 2013, The Sun included the Stones’ Usher Hall debut in a list of ‘The 10 most memorable gigs ever staged in Scotland ‘, although it’s questionable just how much of the music registered with fans that had paid 15 shillings (75p) for either the matinee or evening performance.

“For a bit of fun we used to play Popeye The Sailor some nights and the audience didn’t know any different because they couldn’t hear us for the screaming,” Keith said of the group’s 1964 schedule in his autobiography, Life.

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“They weren’t reacting to the music. The beat, maybe, because you’d always hear the drums, just the rhythm, but the rest of it, no, you couldn’t hear the voices, you couldn’t hear the guitars, totally out of the question. What they were reacting to was being in this enclosed space with us.”

The Stones returned to play another two shows at the Usher Hall in 1965.

More than 50 years on fans can still expect another memorable show, if recent performances are any indication.

Since the UK and Ireland #NoFilter tour started, the band have won rave reviews.

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Last week, in a five star review, the MEN called the gig in Manchester an ‘unforgettable night.’

The band has changed up the setlist on each night of the tour so far - but with hits aplenty you can expect some stonkers in Edinburgh.

The setlist in London in May included Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Let’s Spend the Night Together, It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll But I Like It, Wild Horses and You Can’t Always Get What You Want.

Gates are due to open at 4.30pm for the show and support act Richard Ashcroft, of The Verve fame, is due to perform at 7pm.

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The Rolling Stones are due on stage at 8.20pm and the curfew is 10.30pm.

But be warned timings are always subject to change.

Ticketholders have been asked to try not to bring bags to the concert.

There will be strict security rules on entry - bringing anything bigger than a clutch size bag (A5) will involve having to check them in causing possible delay.

*The post has been edited to change the first concert played in the Capital following a reader alerting us to an earlier gig in 1964*