MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

R Stones took off in Boston; January, South America

The mythical Rolling Stones began this Sunday in Boston their 31 world tour with “A bigger bang”, their first record in eight years and the group's 32 recording.

The group led by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards which have been playing together for 43 years launched the US leg of their tour in the Fenway Park, and will follow in 2006 with Puerto Rico, South America, Asia and Europe.

It will be a first for Puerto Rico, followed by Mexico and South America in January, February with dates to be confirmed in Chile, Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina. Rolling Stones previous South American tour was in 1995 and 1997.

Jagger and Richards said that "A bigger bang" is one of the most "difficult and important" records undertaken by the group that includes sixteen songs. One of the songs already is famous and controversial, "Sweet Neo Con", which Mike Jagger insists must not be interpreted as an attack on US president George Bush and the Iraq war.

"How come you went so wrong my sweet neo conservative? Where did the money go? Maybe the Pentagon?, asks Jagger in one of the lines which captured the attention of opponents of the war and the occupation of Iraq.

However Jagger insists the song was born out of discussions with US Republican friends, "with which I have differences over the Iraq war".

The Rolling Stones who since 1989 have sold 12 million tickets in their presentations round the world, equivalent to 1,125 billion US dollars confirmed they will be visiting 37 US cities, where almost all tickets have been sold out, some of them at 450 US dollars.

Jagger who is 61 said that what's important is "to try and do what you like most. Maybe the difference between us and the rest is that we know how to do it".

Richards added that the group keeps playing "because we love what we are doing, it's that simple".

Mike Jagger revealed he wishes to return to the roots of the band and underlined the "strength" of the sixteen songs of the new record, twelve of which they will be presenting in their US tour. The official launching of the record is September 6.

"I think it was time to change the way of making records and spending months in the studio with hundreds of people. It's difficult, costly and little fun", stressed Jagger who denied this was the group's last world tour.

Jagger, guitars Richards and Ron Woods, bass Darryl Jones and battery Charlie Watts, who recently underwent treatment for throat cancer, were the only present at the recording of "A bigger bang".