After Their Hyde Park Shows, Mick Jagger Say’s Stones Are Taking A Break

Mick Jagger has revealed that The Rolling Stones will be taking some time off after playing their last scheduled 2013 concerts in London's Hyde Park this Saturday and on July 13.  In a recent interview, the singer says about his group's future plans, "Maybe there'll be things beyond [the Hyde Park shows], but right now this is the summer then we have a bit of a break."

As for whether fans eventually might get to hear some new music from The Stones, Jagger says that's a definite possibility.  "I'm always writing new songs so hopefully we'll do new songs one of these days soon," he notes.  "It'll be fun."

The Hyde Park concerts will take place almost exactly 44 years after the band played its famous free show there in 1969.  In honor of the historic gig, the stage been decorated to recreate the forest-like feel the locale had then.  Several giant replica oak trees have been brought in to adorn the stage, while thousands of branches have been attached to various pieces of equipment to add to the woodsy atmosphere.

A source explained "When Mick and the band looked out from the stage back in the '60s, all they could see was a sea of people and a load of trees, but many of those have been cleared or replanted since.  So they want to recreate the woodland."

The group's 1969 Hyde Park show took place just two days after founding Stones member Brian Jones died.  It also was the first concert Jones' replacement, guitarist Mick Taylor, played with The Stones.  One of the memorable highlights of that event was when the band's stage crew unleashed thousands of white butterflies as a tribute to Jones.  Jagger tells Absolute Radio that the group isn't planning to repeat that stunt.

"I think the butterflies didn't go down very well last time," he admits.  "I think we got a lot of complaints from the park 'cause they didn't know we were gonna do it, and they were…the wrong kind of butterflies…So, I don't think there's gonna be a lot of that."

Looking back at the 1969 show, Jagger points out, "It was a very sad occasion but it was a very wonderful occasion, 'cause it was a great gig with all these wonderful people, a beautiful day.  So it was bittersweet."