Stones rock India
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SARS fears forced the cancelation of concerts in Hong Kong and China.
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BANGALORE, India (Reuters) -- The Rolling Stones have held their first Indian concert, in an Asian tour cut short by a killer pneumonia virus that forced the group to cancel their first shows in China.
Die-hard fans braved a downpour on Friday to see the veteran British rockers in the Palace Grounds owned by a former maharajah in Bangalore, now known as a rock music haven as well as a hub of technology.
"It had to rain, right?," guitarist Keith Richards told the estimated 20,000-strong crowd, whose enthusiasm seemed undampened by the unseasonal summer rain.
Teen-agers and people in their 40s and 50s, who had bought tickets priced from 500 to 1,500 rupees ($10 to $40) clapped, danced and whistled for the bad boys of rock.
"It is our music. It belongs to the time when we were young," said Dally Verghese, a middle-aged woman wearing a blue sari, brocaded blouse and flowers in her hair.
Government restrictions and a weak economy made major rock groups a distant dream for Indians in the 1960s and 1970s, when the Stones were in their prime.
The group are scheduled to play in Mumbai on Monday in the only other Indian concert of their "Licks" world tour. Both Indian shows were advanced by a week as a result of the mystery virus that has so far killed more than 80 people worldwide, mainly in Asia.
As well as their China dates, the Stones also canceled two Hong Kong concerts.
The group, traveling with a 150-member entourage and more than 200 tonnes of equipment, arrived from Singapore on Tuesday.
After Mumbai, they are scheduled to perform in Bangkok on April 10, two days earlier than planned.
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