Rolling Stones Rock Out The Ricoh

The Rolling Stones rolled back the years – and rolled out the hits – to rock the Ricoh Arena in front of a bumper crowd on Saturday evening.

Around 30,000 music fans packed into the Ricoh Arena to watch the four-piece band produce a barn-storming performance led by energetic 74-year-old front man Mick Jagger.

It was the fifth time the band had played Coventry – 47 years after their last visit to the old Coventry Theatre on Hales Street in 1971.

Jagger recalled those early performances, gave a shout out to Wasps, Coventry City and the face Coventry is the Coventry City of Culture 2021.

He also led a 30,000-strong chorus of Happy Birthday to drummer Charlie Watts who was celebrating his 77th birthday.

In a two-hour set that had the Ricoh rocking, the band pumped out hit after hit from the back catalogue including Start Me Up, You Can’t Always Get What You Want, Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Satisfaction and Brown Sugar.

Coventry band The Specials kicked off proceedings and had the crowd on a high with Rat Race, Message To You Rudy, and Too Much Too Young, but it was then the then the turn of the rock legends, who despite their combined years of 294, performed a plethora of rock ‘n’ roll hits, much to the crowd’s satisfaction.

Justine Hewitt, Head of Operations at the Ricoh Arena, said: “Attracting the Rolling Stones was a real coup for Coventry, particularly given we are only Midlands date on their tour, so we had people visiting us from across the country and from further afield.

“Watching the band live is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many, particularly for the younger generations, and they lived up to expectations with their high-energy performance.

“We’ve had some big nights at the Ricoh Arena over the past decade, but this gig will go down as one of the standout nights in our history. They really are an incredible live band and had everyone up on their feet.

 “Our staff behind-the-scenes deserve a lot of credit to making the night a success too. We had around 1,200 staff on-site for the concert to ensure everything ran smoothly.”