“Welcome to Shepherd’s Bush,” proclaimed Mick Jagger. “I’ve been waiting to say that
for a little bit.”
With that opening introduction, shortly before launching into Shattered, The Rolling Stones gave an inspired performance during this June 8, 1999, club show at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London for “1,800 lucky dogs,” according to Paul Sexton’s liner notes that accompany the release of Welcome to Shepherd’s Bush, the brand-new video release from the world’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll band.
Marking a return to what the liner notes term “the nostalgic intensity of a compact Stones show with the exciting echoes of Eel Pie Island and the Crawdaddy Club,” two iconic London venues where the band made its mark in the halcyon ’60’s of the British Invasion, this “secret gig” took place just several days before two sold-out shows at the 70,000-seat Wembley Stadium. The shows followed the release of the band’s 1998 live album, No Security, a series of North American gigs between January and April that year before returning to the U.K. The star-studded audience at the gig marking The Rolling Stones’ homecoming included everyone from Anita Pallenberg to Aerosmith, Jerry Hall to Jon Bon Jovi, along with Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Bob Geldof, Pete Townshend and Lenny Kravitz.
On December 6, Mercury Studios and The Rolling Stones proudly present Welcome to Shepherd’s Bush on various formats, including for the first time ever for a Stones video, 4K UHD with a Dolby Atmos audio option. Other formats include Blu-ray + two-CD set; a two-CD limited edition package of 15,000 worldwide; a two LP black vinyl package, and a direct-to-consumer two-LP set in 180-gram white vinyl.
The 90-minute set featured several rarely played deep cuts, including the only known performance to date of Moon Is Up, from Voodoo Lounge, along with Melody, the Black and Blue selection performed only once before, more than two decades previously, at the famous 1977 El Mocambo show in Toronto which was officially released in 2022. The live performance of Voodoo Lounge’s Brand New Car was one of only seven times the band included it in their set, the last back in 2002. Another highlight featured opening act Sheryl Crow joining the group on-stage for a raucous Honky Tonk Women.
For those who just saw the Rolling Stones live on their recently completed, critically acclaimed Hackney Diamonds stadium tour, Welcome to Shepherd’s Bush offers an intimate glimpse of the group a quarter century ago, returning to their native turf with a vengeance.
“It’s good to be home, I’m telling you now,” said Keith before leaning into his solo numbers You Got the Silver and Before They Make Me Run. “It’s only rock ‘n’ roll, y’know what I mean?” A statement equally true then and now.
