In 1982, Roger Waters called The Rolling Stones boring live. Now, they are the highest-grossing touring rock band of all time
In 1982, Roger Waters criticised the Rolling Stones’ stadium concerts, calling them a joke despite his long-standing admiration for the band. The comments reflected his belief that major rock shows should offer ambitious staging and spectacle, an approach he had pursued with Pink Floyd and The Wall.
Waters said he had been a huge Stones fan and still valued some of their music, but thought their large-scale performances fell short. The article suggests the band had little incentive to change a reliable formula: they remained a major concert draw, while albums such as Undercover and Dirty Work were not widely regarded as career highlights. The headline identifies them as the highest-grossing touring rock band of all time.
In short
- Waters admired the Stones’ music but disliked their stadium shows.
- He favoured ambitious staging and theatrical spectacle.
- The Stones’ familiar live formula continued to draw large audiences.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Waters’s criticism reflects the view that stadium concerts should offer a distinctive, ambitious experience, with staging and spectacle that match the scale of the venue. From that perspective, a reliable set-up can seem like a missed opportunity, even when the songs remain valued and the band draws a large audience.
The case against
The Stones’ approach can be defended as a focus on the music, performance and connection with audiences rather than elaborate production. Their enduring ability to fill venues and generate substantial touring revenue suggests that many concertgoers found that formula compelling, and a band need not continually reinvent its show to serve them well.