"We feel like Marco Polo!" proclaimed Keith Richards, successfully upstaging Mick Jagger's attempt to conduct an orderly Rolling Stones press conference in Shanghai on Friday afternoon.

All four of the legendary rock'n'rollers put in an appearance during the 20-minute promo-interview at the city's Four Seasons Hotel ahead of their show on Saturday, but it was left to one man to do 98 percent of the talking.

Holding court in a room crammed with a couple of hundred Western and Chinese journalists, photographers and cameramen, with his suit and no tie, Jagger had the air of a slightly posh, slightly hip CEO in the Richard Branson mould, brusquely getting down to business.

Next to him, Richards, waving his arms like a naughty schoolboy, did his best to ensure there was still a bit of rock'n'roll unpredictability to the occasion.

If he didn't already have a reputation for being addled whether drunk, stoned or sober, you would have wondered who'd been spiking his mineral water.

Guitarist Ron Wood and drummer Charlie Watts sat on either side of rock's royal couple, Wood muttering a few words and fiddling with his cuffs and Watts stonily silent, carrying the expression of a man who has just woken up to discover he is the drummer in the biggest band in the world, but isn't sure if he can remember how to drum.

"It's very exciting for us to be here in Shanghai on our first trip to China. It's always a great challenge coming to a new place and we're very excited to be here," opened Jagger, confirming that the band are to be joined on stage for a duet with China's own rock legend, Cui Jian, before expressing once again the band's excitement.

Over the next 15 minutes the singer fielded questions about playing in China to a crowd thick with foreigners: "We're pleased to play to any audience that turns up, you don't go round choosing your audience individually. We'll do the show for anyone that turns up, whatever they look like."

And why the band is still touring: "It's great to get lots of money but actually we really enjoy what we do."

And the price of tickets: "If the tickets are too expensive you can watch it on TV for nothing."

And about being asked to drop four songs from their Shanghai set: "Fortunately we had 400 more songs that we can play, so it's not really an issue."

(China Daily April 8, 2006)