Chaos in Vienna

It's a story of triumphs and tragedies, that of the Rolling Stones' tours. With one episode above all others etched into history: the infamous Altamont concert of December 6, 1969, where what was meant to be California's answer to Woodstock turned into a disaster. The disastrous decision to entrust public order to the Hells Angels led to escalating tension until, during the performance of "Under My Thumb", eighteen-year-old Meredith Hunter was stabbed to death by an Angel who had seen him return to the stage armed with a gun after being pushed back once already. A watershed event that would change the live music industry forever, undermining the very idea of the concert as a spontaneous, peaceful space and leading to a progressive tightening of security at live events.

But Altamont wasn't the first time a Stones concert turned into a matter of public order. Two and a half years earlier, on April 2, 1967, chaos erupted at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna. Within a few hours, 154 people had been arrested, amid smoke bombs, firecrackers and police intervention. An episode that speaks to the more turbulent side of the 1960s, when rock concerts also became a battleground of tension between audiences, rebellion and public order.

At the time, the Stones weren't just successful rock stars, but also under close watch by the law. In Britain, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards had been put on trial for drugs, alienating a portion of public sympathy, while, just days before the dawn of 1968, social tensions were already becoming evident, with mass events often serving as the trigger for them to explode. The Rolling Stones' 1967 tour, the last with Brian Jones, would prove no exception.

In Vienna, the situation proved precarious from the very start. The hall was packed, the atmosphere tense. During the performance, a smoke bomb lit and thrown toward the stage was enough to set off chaos. The smoke filled the venue, sparking panic and forcing the show to be halted. The response from law enforcement was immediate and extremely harsh. The final tally: 154 young people arrested.

Below, a vintage video shows the chaos that erupted at the Wiener Stadthalle.

Vienna wouldn't remain an isolated case: similar episodes would recur throughout the tour, with audiences attempting to storm the stage, clashes, and police intervention.

The Rolling Stones' confrontational approach would be seen as yet another source of tension. A tension that would erupt tragically on the night of the Altamont Speedway Free Festival, dubbed by Rolling Stone "rock's worst day". A tragedy that, together with the massacres carried out by Charles Manson's cult, would help toll the death knell for the dreams of the hippie era and the Summer of Love. It would also mark the end of an era for live concerts: in the 1970s, tours would introduce stricter organizational models, with private security and closer coordination with local authorities.

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02/05/2026