After more than 40 years together, the Rolling Stones will be making their first appearance on the Chinese mainland at the weekend.

Playing Shanghai's 8,500-seater Grand Stage Theatre, the show will rank among the group's more modest dates in Febuary they played to a crowd of more than a million on a beach in Rio but, as guitarist Keith Richards said in a recent interview, it will be a special night for other reasons.

"China will be a bit of an adventure for us, we've never been there before, it's a first and by now we don't get many firsts any more," the 62-year-old told Shanghai Daily.

The group, who shot to fame in the 1960s with hits such as "Satisfaction" and "Sympathy for the Devil," were scheduled to play in Beijing and Shanghai in 2003 but SARS forced their cancellation and fans were left wondering if Mick, Keith and the boys would ever make it to the Middle Kingdom.

Executive Director of the British Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, Ian Crawford, was one of those left disappointed.

"I had a ticket for the show in 2003, so I'm really glad they're back," he said. "At my time of life, and at the Stones' time of life, this is probably the last chance I'll get to see them play."

The first time the former BP man, now in his 50s, saw the band was as a student.

"They played at the Manchester University May Ball when they were on their way up. The Union worked out they had just enough money to book them, I reckon it was about '67, and after that of course they went on to be huge."

The legendary status the band have acquired among Western audiences, especially with those who grew up in the 1960s, is in stark contrast to their standing with most Chinese.

Now 51, Ying Zhenfei is more than 10 years the junior of Stones' lead singer Mick Jagger, but was a teenager when the band were at the peak around 1970.

"I've heard their name on the TV and seen them in newspapers, but I don't think I've ever heard their music. All I know is what I've been told: They're a famous foreign band."

Ying said that although the band seem popular, she doesn't think many people in China really know who they are or have heard their songs.

"In the 1960s we listened to music for the 'cultural revolution,' there were lots of songs glorifying Chairman Mao and we didn't have the chance to hear foreign music," she explained. "I'd love to go and see them though, to see what it is that makes them so popular."

Young fans

With wider access to international media, and the explosion in music downloads, the Stones are one of hundreds, if not thousands, of Western bands China's younger generation are on familiar terms with.

Zhu Zhenhui, a 26-year-old graduate from Shanghai University first got to know about the Stones after the 1998 Grammy awards when "Bridges to Babylon" was nominated for Best Rock Album.

"I like their music, it's really strong rock 'n' roll. I know the lead singer is Mick Jagger, who is in his 60s, and I also know they became popular around the same time as the Beatles," he said.

"Here the Stones are most popular with people in their 20s. My parents' generation don't really listen to much rock music and if they do it's usually the Beatles, who are a bit softer."

Ironically, at a time when the band's youthful Chinese audience is growing, some Westerners are becoming uncomfortable with the Stones' commercialism and question why they have not yet retired.

"I'm not going to pay to see a bunch of aging pensioners doing it one last time for dollars they don't need," said Dav Mullin of expat band Shanghai Laowai. "They've been resting on laurels they didn't deserve for the last 20 years."

But bandmate Karl Moore is a little more willing to give the Stones their due.

"I'm not a huge fan but they are part of rock music history and if someone gave me a ticket I'd definitely go.

"A lot of great bands have still been able to cut it live, long after they have passed their peak artistically, and I'm sure the Stones will still be able to put on a great show. I just hope they are blazing a trail for more bands to follow."

If, through their visit, the Stones can encourage other foreign musicians to follow and inspire China's young to pick up instruments and write songs, their age and the standard of their performance tomorrow will not matter.

The Stones no longer need dollars, they are looking for a truly global legacy, one which popularity in China could just help secure.

(China Daily April 7, 2006)