How the Rolling Stones' 1989 'Steel Wheels' Tour Hauled 200 Tons of Steel and Gave 'Factory Girl' Its Live Debut

The ‘Steel Wheels’ tour wasn’t just named for the album — the stage itself was literally built from steel, over 200 tons of it, designed by architect Mark Fisher. The centerpiece was a towering inflatable woman, a cartoonish goddess nicknamed “Miss Steel Wheels,” who would rise from behind the drum riser and pump her fist during “Honky Tonk Women.” That set was so massive it required 18 semi-trucks to move, making it one of the biggest touring productions of the ’80s.

What’s less remembered is that the tour doubled as a deep-cut revival. After decades of ignoring their early psychedelic and country-tinged material, the Stones finally dusted off “2000 Light Years from Home” (a track from Their Satanic Majesties Request they’d never performed live) and “Factory Girl” (from Beggars Banquet, also a first-time live outing). Keith Richards later admitted they had to rehearse the latter because nobody could remember the acoustic picking pattern.