How the Stones' 'Voodoo Lounge' Stage Rose from the Ground and Broadcast a Concert to Space

For the 1994–1995 Voodoo Lounge tour, the Stones wanted to outdo every previous stadium show. They commissioned a massive hydraulic stage that could elevate an entire band platform 60 feet into the air — not just a small lift, but a full stage section with Keith Richards’ amp rig, Charlie Watts’ drum riser, and even a B-stage that extended like a drawbridge. The system used 16 hydraulic rams and required custom reinforcement of stadium floors. It turned the encore into a literal elevation: the band would rise from beneath the stage during “Start Me Up,” like a rock and roll submarine breaching.

The tour also featured one of the earliest live satellite broadcasts of a full concert. On November 29, 1994, the Stones played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, and that show was uplinked to a satellite and beamed to a global audience — including a feed to the Mir space station. Russian cosmonauts aboard Mir watched the concert on a laptop as part of a promotional tie-in. The broadcast was also shown in select movie theaters and on pay-per-view, a precursor to the live-stream era. The technology wasn’t seamless — there were audio sync issues on the space feed — but it was the first time a rock band had literally played for people in orbit.