How the Rolling Stones' '50 & Counting' tour brought back ghosts and deep cuts

The Stones’ 2012 50 & Counting tour wasn’t just a victory lap—it was the closest thing to a family reunion the band had allowed in decades. For the first time since 1982, Bill Wyman strapped on a bass for a full set at the O2 Arena, and Mick Taylor stepped out of the shadows to shred on “Midnight Rambler” and a devastating “Sway.” Even though Brian Jones was long gone, the setlist reached back to his era with “I Wanna Be Your Man” and “Tell Me (You’re Coming Back),” songs that hadn’t seen daylight in forty years.

The deeper point: the Stones used the tour to quietly reset their own mythology. By dusting off obscurities like “Emotional Rescue” and Aftermath deep cut “Going Home,” they proved their catalog was never just “Satisfaction” and “Brown Sugar.” Watching Mick Jagger wail on “All Down the Line” while Taylor’s slide guitar echoed the Exile years was a reminder that the band’s legacy was built on more than hits—it was built on the tension between their own past selves.