The battle between rival promoters to bring The Rolling Stones to Ireland is hotting up. With the band - still one of the biggest live draws in the business - currently five weeks into their latest world tour in North America, the itinerary for the European leg, scheduled for next year, is beginning to fall into place.

Ireland is certain to be a stopping-off point and Harry Crosbie, the owner of Vicar St. in Dublin, has confirmed that they will be pitching to have the venue included in the band's itinerary. However, Hot Press has learned that MCD are vieing with their city-centre rivals for what will certainly be one of the big shows of the year.
"There's no way that the Stones would be happy with coming to Ireland for just one club show," an industry insider told Hot Press. "But if a gig in Vicar St. - or any other smaller venue for that matter - was combined with a bigger show, then it might make a lot of sense."
The Rolling Stones have certainly shown an appetite for club appearances. There were very positive noises emanating from the band's camp following the show they did at a small venue in Toronto, at the beginning of the current tour, with a band spokesman suggesting that they would love to repeat the exercise if the circumstances were right. They might well be in Dublin, as the band are known to have a liking for the city. Add to this the fact that Stones' guitarist Ronnie Wood is a known fan of Vicar St., where he gigged on his last solo tour, and the portents are undoubtedly good for the Thomas St. venue.
However, the likelihood is that in the end, money will be the decisive factor.
"With Mick Jagger, there isn't much room for sentimentality," the source suggests. "A band like the Stones tour to make money and when it comes to it, that'll probably be the deciding issue. MCD have always been very tough when it comes to a bidding war – and this is one gig that they are likely to really want to do."
The Licks World Tour has been playing to almost universally full houses, with 78,000 fans at last week's Giants Stadium stop-off in New Jersey alone. With tickets retailing at between $55 and $1,210, that's not a bad little earner!