Chuck Leavell, who has been playing keyboards with the Rolling Stones since 1982, says that he does not know when the band will tour again, but he predicts that the Rolling Stones will never label one of their tours a farewell tour.
In an interview with "Entertainment Tonight," Leavell commented on rumors that the Stones might be doing a 50th anniversary in 2012, and that it might be the band's last tour: "Again, that would be up to the principals, but I don't think the Rolling Stones will ever announce a final tour... I think it's in their best interest not to do that. Others have and it seems to me that in the end they tour again, after they announce it's all over, so I think it's silly to announce the end."
The most recent Rolling Stones tour was from 2005 to 2007, in support of their Grammy-nominated 2005 album "A Bigger Bang." The tour was the highest-grossing concert tour of all time (with revenues of $558 million), until U2 broke the record in April 2011 for its U2 360° world tour.
The U2 360° tour (which began in June 2009 and was delayed in May 2010, when U2 lead singer Bono suffered a back injury) is expected to rake in $700 million in revenue by the time the tour concludes in July 2011, according to Billboard. The U2 360° tour is also set to break the record for the most tickets sold for a tour (7 million), a record previously held by the Rolling Stones (6.4 million tickets) for the Stones' 1994-1995 "Voodoo Lounge" tour.
In addition to being an in-demand musician, Leavell is a tree farmer and environmental activist. He has authored books on environmentalism and has launched the Mother Nature Network website.
In the "Entertainment Tonight" interview, Leavell also shared his opinion on the best concert he ever played with the Rolling Stones: "Rio de Janeiro in 2006. We played to a million and a half people on Copacabana beach. Being right on the beach with that many people watching sticks in my mind. A walking bridge was built from our hotel to the actual stage we performed on to make it happen. There were also hundreds of boats that pulled up from the water looking on the stage as well… it was an extraordinary experience."
That concert was broadcast on TV and radio stations around the world, as well as shown in select movie theaters.
The Rolling Stones have released multiple statements saying that the band has no plans to tour in 2011. The Rolling Stones, who are no longer working with longtime concert promoter Michael Cohl, announced in February 2011 that they have not yet signed a deal with any other concert promoters.
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