The Rolling Stones will perform two concerts in London and two near New York as part of their 50th anniversary celebrations, the band announced on Monday, and lead singer Mick Jagger hinted there could be more gigs to come.
The British group, one of rock and roll's most successful acts, will play the O2 Arena in the British capital on Nov. 25 and 29 before crossing the Atlantic to perform at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on Dec. 13 and 15.
"Sorry to keep you all hanging around but the waiting is over," guitarist Keith Richards said in a statement, referring to months of rumours and gossip in the music press about an anniversary tour.
"I've always said the best place for rock and roll is on the stage and the same is true for the Stones," he added.
Richards, fellow guitarist Ronnie Wood, Jagger and drummer Charlie Watts will perform on a stage designed around the band's trademark tongue and lips logo, and organizers have promised a high-tech live experience.
During an interview on BBC's Radio 2 shortly before the gigs were confirmed, Jagger suggested that the four dates could be a prelude to a longer tour.
"It's not going to be a long tour, the first bit," he said, when asked how many concerts the Stones planned to perform.
The band's last world tour was A Bigger Bang, which went on for two years and culminated at the O2 Arena in August 2007. It earned around $558 million, making it the second highest grossing tour in history behind U2's 360 Tour, and demand for tickets to the 2012 concerts is likely to be high.
Tickets to the London shows go on sale on Oct. 19 and can be bought on rollingstones.com and several other websites. Those for the U.S. concerts will be available on Oct. 26.
As part of their 50th anniversary celebrations, the Stones are releasing a new greatest hits album GRRR! on Nov. 12/13 and later this week a new documentary charting the group's rise.
