Rolling Stones play China
Written by Sparvogamarie on April 10, 2006 to Misc.
BEIJING - “They wanted us to change the lyrics of ’Sleeping In My Car’ and we agreed, but didn’t change them in the end,” said a mischievous Per Gessle about Roxette’s gig in Beijing in 1995.
The Rolling Stones finally got to play China. Roxette was the first band allowed to play China in 10 years. The first band ever to play China was Wham! in 1985. After Roxette’s groundbreaking performance, Mick Jagger contacted Marie Fredriksson and had dinner with her in order to find out how Roxette got permission to play from the strict Chinese government.
It’s been 11 years since Roxette’s concert in China and it is only now that the Stones have been able to finally play there. As with Roxette, they were forced to cut out several songs and tone things down, but the concert seems to have been successful.
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29 comments
Grasi said on April 10, 2006 19:23:
oh I thought they had played China in their last tour...
And yes, I do remeber that time Marie and husband had a dinner with Mick!
ally77 said on April 10, 2006 19:33:
Wow I actually still remember all the news coverage from when Roxette played there...
purplemedusa said on April 10, 2006 20:30:
http://www.suntimes.co.za/zones/sundaytimesNEW/entertainmentst/entertain...
*doink*
zeeshan said on April 10, 2006 23:35:
Why doesn’t Per try to go there again? I mean they have played there once right? Maybe they’ll let them in? :D
AURYTE said on April 11, 2006 04:55:
I’d like to watch/listen to Roxette’s performance in China.
erweetiran said on April 11, 2006 05:59:
What was the lyric change in sleeping in my car?
PolicarpoAroca said on April 11, 2006 07:22:
Here in Spain, TV News has reported the item, but they erroneously said that this Rolling Stone´s concert in China was the first concert allowed by the chinese authorities. Why is Roxette always forgotten? ::((((
By the way, I had no idea that, after Roxette, none band in the world has been allowed to play live in China...I thought that CBB show set a precedent...
tevensso (moderator) said on April 11, 2006 08:30:
Elton John played there recently as well.
eBay said on April 11, 2006 09:09:
Grrrr.. this annoys me so much that they mention other bands, solo performers that have performed there but Roxette is not mentioned in such articles, even though what Roxette achieved was much greater! They were the first in a decade! It’s always the same, Roxette’s achievements are being ignored.. Sorry, I just had to vent a little here..
Sparvogamarie said on April 11, 2006 09:16:
Eek I made a mistake in the article...instead of “The first ever before them was Wham! in 1985” it should say “The last band to play before them was Wham”. The “first ever” doesn’t even make sense. My English is so bad...and it’s my first language LOL!
ThePopHits: Yeah Mick had dinner with Marie (lucky jerk!) and in an interview afterwards he said “I recently had dinner with Roxette to find out how she got to play China.” Huh? He had dinner with her and didn’t even know her name???
tevensso (moderator) said on April 11, 2006 10:51:
No you’re right, Wham! was the first western band ever to play China. Roxette was the second and then I don’t know, Elton?
RobS said on April 11, 2006 11:42:
That is quite pathetic that they don’t get a mention in them articles considering it was a big thing when it happend back in 94(?)
I’ve still got a news snippet on VHS somewhere about it.
@Marie, i can’t believe he said that, considering he wanted to get some info on how to play in china, the least he could do would be to learn her name!!!
arnie said on April 11, 2006 11:54:
is this April’s fool?
Marie is not mentioned in none of the articles... where did you find out this information?
Baby-C said on April 11, 2006 12:25:
@arnie: April fools is just on the 1:st of April.. not the whole month. :)
About the info, I guess they got it from somewhere... somewhere where you have not looked.
Bunio said on April 11, 2006 16:23:
heh i would like to know where did you get this info also, or is it just the wish of Sparvogamarie?
CRIZ said on April 11, 2006 18:53:
I don’t remember when but the dinner with Mick J. and Marie was already some years ago...I think I read an article about that in Aftonbladet at that time...
Roxette-atic said on April 11, 2006 19:45:
I wonder if Mick Jagger called Marie “Roxette” during the whole dinner... “Hello Mrs Roxette, Im Mick Jagger!”. She should have kept Roxettes “Chinasecrets” for herself!=)
ally77 said on April 11, 2006 21:38:
I don’t think this is an April Fools it would be pretty pointless if it was!
Fortius said on April 12, 2006 01:48:
I don´t know if the source from where I read this was right, but it said that they had to change the lyrics when they sing “makin´ love” due to the excess of population in China (an invitation to procreation and reproduction of people I guess).
ally77 said on April 12, 2006 09:01:
But then thinking on that, it’s stupid when you think of all those babies in China that need adopting!
Sparvogamarie said on April 12, 2006 09:29:
Tev: Yeah but it doesn’t make sense the way I wrote it. It’s supposed to say they were the last (and only) band to play there for 11 years. First ever doesn’t make sense. I must have been drunk when I wrote it hehe.
Bunio: why would I make that up because it’s my wish?? Why would I even wish that, shouldn’t it say I had dinner with Marie if that is my wish?? Anyway some others have heard it before. Marie and Micke had dinner with Mick, and later in an interview Mick said “I had dinner with Roxette to find out how she got to play China.”
voodoo said on April 12, 2006 13:43:
As a Chinese fan, I must say, the Roxette’s China Live in 1995 was a really really big thing to Chinese music fans.
Although at that time, almost every musican in China was focusing on Heavy Metal, The Roxette’s perfoming still shocked them.
It’s the first time we watch the “World Class” band concert, live.
Well, the Wham! did have been here, but nobody knows them at that time in China. And before Roxette came to China, they was a well known band in China.
I don’t know why Roxette was “forgotten” in some articles, but in China, their visiting in 1995 will never be forgotten.
There’s a Hard Rock Cafe in Beijing since 12 years ago. we can some western band playing from time to time.
to Rox-kuryliw: I don’t think China is a strange country. There were normal people having normal life here. But we came here to talk about Roxette and their music, right?
ally77 said on April 12, 2006 21:59:
Always wanted to visit China, I have a friend who works and lives there... I was amazed when she studied Chinese at university... she did teach me some words once...
ThePopHits said on April 10, 2006 19:20:
I had no idea Marie had a dinner with Mick Jagger!! Wow.
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