November 10, 2012 11:38

Mick Jagger speaks out about Rolling Stones ticket prices

'It's an expensive show to put on,' insists frontman

Photo Gallery: The Rolling Stones
Photo: Rankin

Mick Jagger has spoken out about the controversy surrounding the ticket prices for The Rolling Stones' upcoming shows in London and New Jersey.

Tickets for the London shows at the O2 Arena (November 25, 29) range from £90 to a deluxe VIP package priced at £950, which has left many fans frustrated as they cannot afford to fork out to see the legendary group.

Yesterday (November 9), the band's guitarist Ronnie Wood defended the high prices and now, in an interview with Billboard, Jagger has also insisted that they are so costly because the band's gigs are "expensive to put on".

"I don't think there should be a secondary ticket market. I don't think it should be legal," he said. "To my mind, there has to be a better way of doing it, but we're living, really, with the way the system functions. We can't, in four shows, change the whole ticketing system. You might say, 'The tickets are too expensive' - well, it's a very expensive show to put on, just to do four shows, because normally you do a hundred shows and you'd have the same expenses.

"So, yes, it's expensive," he added. "But most of the tickets go for a higher price than we've sold them for, so you can see the market is there. We don't participate in the profit. If a ticket costs 250 quid. let's imagine, and goes for 1,000 quid, I just want to point out that we don't get that difference."

Both Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards also hinted that the band could carry on in 2013, with Richards stating: "This juggernaut, once it gets rolling, is almost unstoppable. 'Oh, an extra gig,' or, 'Let's play somewhere you've never played before.' So things go on. Right now, I'm just happy to have the thing rolling and moving. It'll be great, playing London and New York. The rest of it, it'll happen. Don't worry about it."

Earlier this week, The Rolling Stones unveiled a brand new track titled 'One More Shot' – scroll down to listen to it.
To check the availability of Rolling Stones tickets and get all the latest listings, go to NME.COM/TICKETS now, or call 0871 230 1094.

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The Rolling Stones - One More Shot (Official Lyrics Video) on MUZU.TV.??

Video: Ronnie Wood - 'We're Starting The Big Engine Again'

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