Rolling Stones to play Hyde Park 44 years after Brian Jones tribute

The Rolling Stones will play a Summer concert in the heart of Mayfair for those who find Glastonbury’s muddy fields too tortuous to negotiate.

The rockers announced that they will play a special July show in Hyde Park, the scene of a famous free concert which the band performed in 1969, following the death of guitarist Brian Jones.

Tickets will be priced at £95 for the Saturday, July 6 concert, part of the Barclaycard presents British Summer Time Hyde Park series at the Royal Park.

The show will follow the band’s much-heralded debut appearance at the Glastonbury festival.

Capacity for the London concert will be restricted to 65,000 fans, following complaints from local residents over the disturbance created by the Hyde Park events.

Sir Mick Jagger said: “We had such a great time playing the five concerts last year, we want to keep it going. Hyde Park holds such great memories for us and we can’t think of anywhere better to perform to our UK fans this summer.”

The concert takes place almost 44 years to the day since the Stones first played Hyde Park on July 5, 1969, two days after Jones drowned in his swimming pool.

Mick Taylor replaced Jones, who’s passing was marked by Jagger with a reading from Shelley’s poem, Adonaïs. Roadies released 2,000 butterflies into the air, although most had died of suffocation.

That concert, attended by an estimated 500,000 fans, was free but the Hyde Park show will offer VIP tickets with dining and special seating for hundreds of pounds.

The Stones, who also announced a North American tour, rejected offers to headline at the Olympic Park where a rival series of Summer concerts are being staged.

Rob Hallett, President of AEG Live, promoters of the Hyde Park concerts, said: “This will be the biggest gig of the summer in London. The Rolling Stones are a true British institution and the true spirit of rock n roll. Their return to Hyde Park is a landmark event.”

The Stones, who won two NME awards following their 50th anniversary comeback shows last year, have chosen a crop of “indie” bands to support them at Hyde Park, with The Vaccines and Palma Violets sharing the bill.

Bon Jovi will headline the first Hyde Park concert of the Summer on July 5. AEG Live has promised that a new stage, pointing away from the surrounding residential streets, will ensure that bands can play at a louder volume.

The Wireless and Hard Rock Calling festivals, which previously were held at the central London venue, have moved east to the Olympic Park.

Rolling Stones tickets go on general sale 9am Friday 5 April from www.bst-hydepark.com

The Stones are set to earn £40 million from their Summer tour but will be paid a “bog standard fee” for headlining Glastonbury, Michael Eavis, the festival organiser, said.