BOOM! SHAKE THE ROOM

A cynical man - and thank god there's none of those around, eh? - might look at the interruption of the Rolling Stones gig in Charlottesville, Virginia due to a bomb hoax and wonder: did the old guys, now quite some way into their tour, get one of their retainers to phone in a threat so they could have a toilet break halfway through their set? A cynic would, of course, be wrong:

The threat was made in a phone call just before 9 p.m. on Thursday and was "specific to the stage area" of the concert at the University of Virginia's Scott stadium, which was packed with 50,000 fans, said university spokeswoman Carol Wood.

"Word was got to Mick Jagger and he announced that the band would take a 10-minute break," Wood said.

The band left the stage and police with sniffer dogs, already in the stadium for checks before the concert, searched the area.

Now, that's interesting - a threat serious enough to pull the band off the stage, and yet the poor saps in the crowd are left standing there while the dogs do their stuff.

music rolling stones mick jagger