In 2003, the Rolling Stones decided to add a different kind of show to their run of Australian tour dates. The band had been playing stadiums around the country – two dates at Sydney SuperDome, three at Rod Laver Arena and two at Brisbane Entertainment Centre – but wanted to add one intimate gig. Their booking agent knew just the spot: the Enmore theatre.
Situated in the middle of a then-shabby main street in Sydney’s inner west, still bearing an art deco facade from the 1930s, and with a maximum capacity of just 2,500, it was a change of pace for a band more often found playing to crowds in the tens of thousands. On a tour of the space, the Stones were enamoured: “They loved heritage buildings,” says Greg Khoury, a longtime employee of Century Venues, the company that handles the theatre’s bookings – and locked the gig in. It would become a legendary night.
