The Stones at 50

It's good to see Mick Jagger and the Stones still strutting their stuff after 50 years. It gives hope to other oldies like me. I wasn't at the O2 concert last night (ticket prices too high) but by all accounts the old boys did well. A shame, though, that they couldn't perform Satisfaction because of a 11pm curfew. That's the second time this year that big name acts have had their time cut short by a curfew - Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen lost their sound when they played in Hyde Park in the summer. It's all rather embarrassing: surely the powers that be can afford some latitude when thousands of people have paid good money to see these acts. Anyone would think we're still living in the fifties.
As for the Stones, I must admit that when they began 50 years ago and started to cover blues and soul numbers that I knew and loved I was not impressed. Give me the originals every time. But in their defence the guys truly loved the music and brought these originals to a wider audience. And they made some pretty decent records during their first 15 years or so. They are still going strong, which is good to see. Long may they last.