Keith Richards has admitted that a concert featuring holograms of the Rolling Stones is “bound to happen.”
The guitarist explained his reasoning during an interview with Matt Wilkinson of Apple Music 1.
Asked about the possibility of a holographic Rolling Stones tour, similar to what ABBA successfully launched las year, Richards seemed resigned to the idea.
“Well, I certainly wouldn’t rule it out,” the guitarist noted (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “I’m pretty sure that it is bound to happen. Do I want it? Now, that’s another thing. But I don’t know if I want to hang around that long enough, man. But at the same time, it won’t be up to me, will it?”
This isn’t the first time the subject of a Stones hologram has been broached.
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In a 2022 conversation with Apple Music 1, Mick Jagger admitted that technology opened the door to many possibilities with regards to keeping the Rolling Stones’ music alive.
“We’re already in an AI world of doing this stuff, and you can do a lot of musical stuff with not very complicated computerization, as well,” the singer noted.
In a later interview with the Wall Street Journal, Jagger suggested that AI allows artists’ legacies to continue even after members have died. “You can have a posthumous tour,” Jagger noted. “The technology has really moved on since the ABBA thing, which I was supposed to go to, but I missed it.”
Artists Are Divided on Hologram Tours
While the Stones are keeping an open mind regarding a possible hologram tour, many acts have opposed such an idea. In 2022, Jimmy Page revealed that a potential Led Zeppelin hologram show was scrapped after surviving members disagreed over the concept. Meanwhile, Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park has vocally dismissed suggestions of a tour alongside a hologram of late singer Chester Bennington.
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Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen briefly toyed with the idea of a Freddie Mercury hologram joining the for their performance during the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony, but ultimately decided against it. Meanwhile, holograms of Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison have gone on tour to varying degrees of success.
Arguably the most controversial hologram tour was that of late metal singer Ronnie James Dio. Many fans criticized the trek, accusing the rocker’s widow, Wendy, of trying to profit off of his memory.
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