ABSTRACT
The Rolling Stones played London’s Earls Court for six nights during the long hot summer of 1976, as part of a European tour. Originally planned as a three-night run, three extra shows were quickly added following unprecedented demand for tickets. The choice of venue reflected the fact that London had few large venues which could accommodate the sorts of audiences that the band was attracting. The Rolling Stones may or may not have put on a good show in Earls Court in 1976—the acoustics were such that musically, for many people in the audience, it was hard to judge. But what was apparent was that what a ‘good Stones show’ meant was rather different from what ‘a good Stones show’ had meant in 1963. The appeal of an arena concert was as a spectacle; sound technology and clever stage design were as important than the musical skills deployed.
