The Rolling Stones: Mick Jagger Enrages Tourists, Band Under 24-Hour Armed Guard, Elton John Calls Them ‘Irrelevant’

It has been a rough week for The Rolling Stones, and singer Mick Jagger, during their highly anticipated South American tour that kicked off in Santiago, Chile, on February 3, and comes to an end in Mexico City, Mexico, on March 14.

This past week, The Rolling Stones were in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to perform three shows, and while there, have had a bit of trouble, including a fatal shooting during one of their concerts. Fifty-five-year-old contractor Pedro Luis Tabares, a drink vendor at La Plata stadium, was shot and killed while in a van carrying cash from drink sales as it left the venue. According to the Daily Mail, Tabares was hit by a bullet after a gang driving three cars attempted to intercept the van to steal the money. The gang opened fire on the van, and Tabares was shot. He was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. Police say the gang had inside information about their targets, including the amount of cash they were carrying, and the route the van was to take after leaving the stadium. One man was arrested after the shooting, a 31-year-old Colombian, named as Jhon Alexander Bobadilla Vega.

Since the fatal shooting, the band have been taking extreme safety precautions in the often-dangerous country, including employing a 24-hour armed guard, as well as having the four band members, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, and Charlie Watts each travel in their own separate cars, a source has reported, says the Daily Mail.

“Of course these things are all considered well in advance of a tour, and massive bands like The Rolling Stones are well aware of the risks posed by these places — so they take no chances. Wealthy personalities are always potential targets, but the band are kept safe and secure at all times by the best security personnel on the planet.”

Following the shooting, Mick Jagger seems to have found himself in a bit of hot water with tourists while travelling around Argentina on his time off. It seems Jagger enraged quite a few travellers on Saturday, when he ordered the famed La Recoleta cemetery — where former First Lady Eva Peron is laid to rest — be closed to the public so he could enjoy a private tour all to himself.

According to Cricket coach Will Slemmings, who was one of the tourists turned away at the gates during Jagger’s private tour, he wasn’t the only one upset about the situation.

“We were told we couldn’t get in because Mick Jagger was having a private tour. There were a lot of disappointed people.”

To cap off what has become a horrible week in midst of their long-awaited South American tour, Elton John has some not-so-kind things to say about The Rolling Stones, during an interview this week with an unnamed U.S. radio station, reports NME. After discussing his newly-released album “Wonderful Crazy Night,” and revealing the fact that he is working on songs with The Killers for their new album, Elton John let slip that he thinks The Rolling Stones are “irrelevant,” and instead of working on new songs in the hopes of receiving airplay, the band should write a blues album.

“I think Mick [Jagger] wants to still be relevant on the radio — well they are not. What I think the Rolling Stones should do is a great blues record, and go back to what they used to do — and do things like ‘Come On’ — the Chuck Berry song like they did in their early career. That is what they should do.”

Ouch! While Elton also stated that he deeply respects The Rolling Stones, and Mick Jagger, calling the band — which has been around for over fifty years — irrelevant, is pretty harsh.

[Photo by Carlos Muller/Getty Images for TDF Productions]