Stones may visit Australia on tour

Mick Jagger live in concert in London on November 29, 2012. Source: AFP

THE Rolling Stones could still visit Australia on their upcoming tour - with the rockers saying more shows may yet be added.

"Normally when you announce a tour like this, you announce part of it, you leave it to be, you see what happens, you might do a date here and another date there. You don't want to be completely hand fast, so you do leave some dates in between," Mick Jagger said in an interview Thursday. "So we'll see what happens."

The Stones announced this week that they'll kick off their 50 and Counting tour in Los Angeles; the date will be announced later. The second show is in Oakland, Calif., on May 5. They'll also visit Las Vegas, Toronto, Chicago and Boston, and wrap in Philadelphia on June 18.

On Friday, the band said second shows have been added in Toronto and Chicago.

The announcement came months after the foursome performed a sold-out, five-city stint in New York, New Jersey and London.

Jagger called those shows a test.

"We just said, 'Let's do these five shows before Christmas and see how it goes and see if we enjoy it, see if the audience seems to have a good time, and if that works, then we'll try to see if we'll do more,'" he said. "We still wanted to keep it kind of limited. We didn't want to have that yawning (tour) of hundreds of shows lined up for the next 18 months. I just thought it would be good if we booked a small tour, and then, you know, if we want to do more, we'll do more."

The Stones have at least three days in between tour stops, a sign that more shows may be added. Or the time could be used for rest.

"I think it's a little bit of both," Keith Richards said in a separate interview Thursday. "The band wants to pace themselves, but at the same time ... I guess what's been announced is the bare-bones and we will play it by ear from there."

The Stones' last global tour kicked off in 2005 and wrapped in 2007.

Jagger, 69, said he's getting older - and performing can be tough.

"I just have to train a lot and keep really fit. I want to do these moves, but I can't do them because if I did, I'd probably screw up," he said, laughing. "You just got to do what's within your capabilities. I don't want it to look wrong, so I'm going to stay within my boundaries."

The Stones' recent tour featured special guests such as Bruce Springsteen and Lady Gaga, and there could be more surprises onstage.

"I have a feeling there's more openness about playing it the same way," Richards said. "I can't name names or make promises, but that area of the show is open."

The veteran band, which also includes Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood, will headline the Glastonbury Festival on June 29 and will perform at London's Hyde Park on July 6. Former bandmate Mick Taylor, a member of the Stones from 1969 through 1974, will be a special guest throughout the tour.

"I realised how much, not just (how I) myself have missed it, but I could tell from the other guys. They don't say so, but I can tell," Richards said of performing together. "It's what we're good at."

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