Fiona Govan
THEY arrived on a private jet emblazoned with the iconic logo a week ago and since then the Rolling Stones have been enjoying some down time in Spain’s capital.
Keith Richards, Mick Jagger and Ronnie Wood spent their week in luxury at the newly opened Rosewood Villa Magna hotel on the Castellana but ventured out into the city to enjoy some of the most touristy treasures the city has to offer.
Sir Mick, 78, posted some of his highlights from his stay in the city including a walk through the rose garden at the famous Retiro Park, tapas at a local bar in Chueca and a visit to Picasso’s powerful masterpiece Guernica at the Reina Sofia.
The band were also treated to a flamenco show where the artists performed a flamenco-style version of the band’s 1966 hit ‘Paint it Black’.
In keeping with sentiments expressed in their famous ‘Sympathy to the Devil’ Mick stopped off for a snap infront of the Retiro’s ‘Fallen Angel’ fountain, with its statue commonly acknowledged as the only public monument to the Devil himself.
Mick also posted a photograph of himself outside the Taberna de Angel Sierra in the Chueca district of downtown Madrid, much to the delight of the British expat signwriter responsible for the artwork at the local favourite.
“It’s pretty cool to see Mick standing in front of my sign,” said Tom Graham, who plays guitar in a rock band when he is not painting signs for a living as Freehand Madrid.
“I’ve adored The Stones since Start Me Up (First single I ever bought) and I’ll be going to the gig on Wednesday,” he told the Olive Press.
Keith Richards meanwhile posted an image of himself at the Wanda Metropolitan Stadium setting up for the concert, with a treasure found by a crew member at Madrid’s Rastro flea market.
Trains arriving in Atocha on Wednesday morning were already full of fans heading to the capital ahead of the concert.
“My train was packed full of people wearing Rolling Stones T-shirts and chattering about the concert,” Graham Keeley told the Olive Press when he arrived on an early morning train from Barcelona.
The last time the band played in Madrid was at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in 2014 for their 14 on Fire tour.
The Sixty Tour show will be the first European tour the Rolling Stones will perform without Charlie Watts who died in August last year.
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