These would be the last live concerts for the band with original member Bill Wyman on bass guitar. This tour would also be the longest the band had ever done up to that point, playing over twice as many shows as their standard tour length from the s and s.
The tour was a financial success, cementing the Rolling Stones' return to full commercial power after a seven-year hiatus in touring marked by well publicized acrimony among band members. A member entourage, as well as a security force larger than the surrounding towns, was hired to support the band.
During the opening show in Philadelphia, the power went out during " Shattered song ", and caused a slight delay in the show. Jagger came out and spoke to the crowd during the delay.
The Stones returned to Vancouver, B. Place Stadium. Fan reaction for tickets was unprecedented. One local radio station, Lighting design was by Patrick Woodroffe.
Canadian promoter Michael Cohl made his name buying the concert, sponsorship, merchandising, radio, television, and film rights to the Steel Wheels Tour. It became the most financially successful rock tour in history up to that time. Performances from the tour were documented on the album Flashpoint , and the video Live at the Max , both released in In August , an extra concert in Prague , Czechoslovakia , was added. Czechoslovakia had overthrown the Communist regime nine months earlier, and the Rolling Stones' concert was perceived as a symbolic end of the revolution.
