WXYZ Detroit Rolling Stones news story December 1981

The Rolling Stones arrive at the Pontiac Silverdome in December of 1981. WXYZ, Channel 7 in Detroit, tells the story with Bill Bonds, Steve Handelsman and Gordon Graham.

Category:

Entertainment

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• WXYZ
• Rolling Stones
• Detroit
• Bill Bonds

[RCmack]

I remember this Rolling Stones concert. Numerous folks I went to school with attended this Stones performance at the Silverdome, and many of them came back to school after the concert wearing Rolling Stones t-shirts, sweatshirts, caps; etc. This concert was a big discussion topic in my school for an entire week.

Seeing WXYZ's Live Action Camera also brings back memories for me.

Does anybody know whatever happened to reporter Steve Handelsman?

[WadeFerbmol]

@RCmack Last I heard Handelsman was working for NBC News

[nicka727]

Do you have any WXYZ stuff with Now Is The Time Channel 7 Is The Place?

[WadeFerbmol]

@nicka727 Not that have seen yet. I'll keep an eye out for it.

[WadeFerbmol]

He's actually holding his ticket as he runs by, not giving the finger.

[Lenny728]

Bill Bonds is back on the radio in Detroit with Rich Fisher and Rachel Navada. Monday through Friday 3 to 6pm on WCAR am1090

[Mm71793]

I went to this concert, too! I attended the Monday November 30th show. I had a yellow ticket which was main floor on the 1st night. I don't recall any real problems either, even though it was festival seating. I was 17 at the time and could nimbly navigate the crowd. Within a few years, the term 'mosh' became more common. This did not happen at all, from what I remember, at this concert. The next day at school, I was the only one in my Advanced Math class with a Stones t-shirt!

[prince69602]

I skipped school for this concert, great experience.

[radiodj1520]

I Believe This Was A Video Clip Of WXYZ-TV's Channel 7 Action News' 5:30's Entertainment News Report On A Story On The Rolling Stones In Concert At The Pontiac Silverdome On Tuesday Evening, December 1, 1981.

[airdriver]

@brithgob

At the beginning of the video, I saw the way the fans were running, double checked the date, and was amazed that they still had festival seating. That Who concert was almost two years before this broadcast.

[keef186]

@brithgob I can\t believe they still allowed this type of seating 2 yrs after the Cincinnatti tragedy. There's raw footage on YT & it's very horrible to watch.

[brithgob]

So it sounds like this has to do with the "festival seating" controversy, after 11 fans of The Who were killed in the rush for seats at a concert in Cincinnati three years before this (and turned into an episode of WKRP). They wanted to shoot the fans taking their seats, the promoters said now, they argued, and the camera crews were banned from shooting the 60 seconds of concert footage they otherwise would have been allowed.