<
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/russian-oligarchs-guns-n-roses-robbie-williams-jennifer-lopez-1349163/>
"Looking back on his years with everyone from the Replacements to Guns N’
Roses, Tommy Stinson admits he’s played some “strange places.” But a 2010 show
with GN’R — a private gig in Moscow for a Russian energy company — still leaps
out. “I can’t even believe we did it,” Stinson says. “It was like, ‘What the
fuck are we doing here?’”
In light of the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine — and the global ostracization of
Russia’s most prominent moguls and biggest corporations — plenty of artists
have begun asking themselves the same question.
For several decades, pop, rock, and now hip-hop acts have secretly pocketed
hefty sums playing corporate and private parties in the States. Since at least
the 2000s, a similar circuit has existed in Russia (or on overseas property
owned by Russian businessmen). Dangling paychecks as much as seven figures,
these Russian tycoons hired major acts — not only GN’R but Elton John, the Red
Hot Chili Peppers, the Killers, Jennifer Lopez, Sting, Prince, Robbie Williams,
and Amy Winehouse — for their weddings, corporate events, and galas.
Before the conflict, such shows were considered just another part of a
high-profile act’s revenue stream. “We knew about them then,” says one source
in the business, who estimates that about “two or three” oligarch-funded shows
took place each year. “We knew the background and the wealth. It’s a
take-the-money industry.”
Now, that money seems tainted. New scrutiny is being applied to these
high-living oligarchs who have made or maintained their fortunes under Vladimir
Putin’s regime. Their bank accounts are being frozen. Their yachts are being
seized. Several governments, including America’s, have set up special task
forces to go after the oligarchs. The idea — controversial in foreign-policy
circles — is to squeeze some of Russia’s most affluent, and that in turn,
they’ll squeeze the Kremlin to stop the war.
That has refocused attention on the pop acts that played those private shows,
which have become an even more sensitive topic than secret gigs in the U.S. “No
one will talk about this,” says another industry source. Indeed, by way of
representatives, all of the major artists and all of the Russian tycoons
involved either declined comment or did not respond to requests for comment to
Rolling Stone."
Via a limited share.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
