Post by Taxigirl on Nov 30, 2003 10:10:08 GMT
Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger is to be knighted by the Queen next month, Buckingham Palace has said.
Jagger will be given a knighthood on 10 December for services to music, almost 18 months after it was announced.
It was delayed due to the Rolling Stones' 40th anniversary world tour, which began last September in Boston and ended in Zurich last month.
Jagger will receive his honour on the same day as rugby star Jonny Wilkinson gets his MBE.
The Stones' world tour, called Forty Licks, was the second- highest grossing concert series ever, according to reports.
Throat problems
The 116-venue tour grossed nearly $300m, playing to more than 3.4 million people, Billboard magazine said earlier this week.
It ranks behind only the Stones' marathon Voodoo Lounge stadium tour, which grossed $320m in 1994-95.
However concerts were hit by Jagger's throat problems, fears over the Sars virus and cancelled flights.
The band played in the United States, Australia and the Far East before going to Europe in June.
In late August they played their most intimate show in years with a date at London's Astoria Theatre to just 2,000 people.
Surprise
The venue was yards way from the site of their London debut in the 1960s.
Jagger expressed surprise when the knighthood was announced, adding that his friends and family were amused at him being given a title by the Queen.
The Rolling Stones singer, once seen as the scourge of the Establishment, said he had not been waiting for a knighthood, although other pop stars from the 1960s such as Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Cliff Richard have received the honour.
"Noel Coward didn't get a knighthood until he was 80. Tom Stoppard's older than me - he didn't get a knighthood until recently," he said.
"I didn't expect to get one. I just didn't," he added.