Stones gig tickets still up for grabs

Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones, plus all the crew, have been on tour since February but will be home for Christmas. Photo / Getty Images

They may be one of the world's most successful rock bands, but fans of guitar-toting grandfathers the Rolling Stones can still grab tickets for their Saturday night concert.

The British rockers, who will stay at luxury Auckland hotel The Langham, are yet to sell out Mt Smart Stadium, which has a capacity of 47,000.

Maria Robinson, of promoter Frontier Touring, said more than 35,000 tickets had been sold by yesterday, but she would not say how many were still up for grabs.

Tickets are currently on sale through Ticketmaster for between $165.55 and $395.55. A Stones lover who saw the band play live in 1973 at Western Springs - their opening number was Brown Sugar - said he paid just $4.90 for his ticket back then.

It's believed the band - Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood - will arrive in New Zealand tomorrow.

The band played Brisbane last night as part of their 14 On Fire tour, which began in Abu Dhabi in February.

The Auckland concert is the last in the tour which took the band through parts of Europe, Asia and Australasia.

Concertgoers may need to pack raincoats as Auckland's forecast weather is not looking ideal for the outdoor gig.

A MetService forecaster said occasional rain would develop during Saturday with fresh westerlies keeping things crisp as a front made its way up the country.

5 Stones stats

• The band was founded in 1962 by Brian Jones.
• Original members in the current lineup are Keith Richards, Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts. Ronnie Wood joined the band in 1976.
• The band played their first gig on July 12, 1962 at the Marquee Club on London's Oxford St.
• In 1965 the band came to New Zealand for the first time, playing with Ray Columbus and Roy Orbison in Christchurch, Invercargill, Dunedin, Auckland and Wellington. They returned to New Zealand in 1966, 1973, 1995 and 2006.
• Jones died in 1969 aged 27 making him the first of the "27 club" of musicians to die at that age.

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